Nick Is Soooooo Lucky!

Nick's first bike area lasted exactly one week! They suddenly got a car. He was so happy! And the missionary in charge of the cars told Nick they were allowed 1,500 miles per month. Nick knew that was way too many and said he asked him about 20 times if that was correct. The guy acted like Nick was dumb for asking. Then later in the month he got a voicemail telling him it was actually 500 miles per month. Oops! They had already racked up a ton of miles. Too late for this month.

The second week of November was amazing. The coolest thing was meeting Etoka and Regina and their children Eliza and Miambo. They are refugees from the Congo. They don't speak English, only Swahili. They've been coming to church for a few months, and even paying tithing. They know nothing about the church's beliefs, but say they want to be baptized because they know the church is true because of the feeling they have whenever they go. It's a little difficult to schedule appointments with them because they can only do it when their translator is available.

They picked up nine investigators in just two days; the family from the Congo, a guy who's wife is a member, and another family of four. Nick thinks the second family's 15 year old son will go the the NFL. He already has BSU and some other schools looking at him. There are also other referrals to contact. They were visiting one investigator in a retirement home, and a girl their age who was visiting someone there, asked them to teach her.

Mike and Mikey, a father and son, committed to baptism in December. They had been rethinking baptism because they didn't like the commitment of going to church every Sunday. But Nick and Elder Huyett talked them through it and the baptism is back on. They told them that church isn't easy for anyone, but once you know it's right, you have to live it!

One week they had to have three days of leadership training meetings from 8:30 to 4:00. He didn't think he would like them because they're long and they have to do a ton of role playing, which he doesn't like to do. But he said the meetings were insightful, though really nothing new. He said any smart and good missionary should have been doing this stuff already. Some of the lessons focus on teaching people and not lessons, basically just being personable. Another focused on teaching people to receive personal revelation through prayer and scripture study.

Two of their referrals are really cool stories. When he was in Kuna, he got a referral for Annalyn, but she moved two days later, and he thought that was the end of it. But another missionary called Nick and told him to contact her in Boise. The other one is Toni's sister. He baptized Toni in Buhl and she is now a student at BYU. She recently wrote to him thanking him, and was wondering how the mission was going. Then she wrote again and thought it was a miracle that he was in Boise because her older sister is there. The sister hadn't been interested, but they recently had a deep discussion and now she's asking the same questions that Toni once asked. So she told Toni it would be okay if Nick stopped by to talk to her. He thinks it's really cool that things from previous areas are coming back around.

On a sadder note, a missionary that Nick is really close to had his sister pass away. They were together on exchanges when the other missionary got the call. He didn't want to go back to his area yet, so they spent a few days together on exchanges before he flew home for the funeral. Nick said he wasn't all there, but he was handling it like a champ.

He was excited to have Thanksgiving Day and the next day off. They got Friday off because he said they would just annoy people if they tried to work. Some of the plans were to go part way to a ski resort and go sledding, go in the sauna that two missionaries have in their house, get a lesson in sushi (and eat it) from Cassie, a girl they are teaching, and check out the black Friday sales. Plus they were invited for two Thanksgiving dinners!

Nick is Halfway Done!!!

Nick is officially halfway done wearing a white shirt everyday. We color in a square for each day. The blue squares are month and percent marks.

His halfway shirt burning celebration was a success. However he forgot his camera and Elder Crook took video of the event. We haven't got the video yet, but we did get a photo!

Things are Picking up in Kuna

Things are a little slow in Kuna. In Buhl, Nick lead the zone in numbers of lessons per week at 20-25 lessons a week and is down to only one the first week in Kuna. But there is a lot of potential. There are seven wards, some serious investigators and a few referrals.

I got a picture from Cheri Spjute when he was there one night for dinner and noticed a brace on his hand. He had sprained his thumb, and Elder Bitter broke his hand playing basketball. And he played football in a Boise park on P-day with lots of his good mission friends. So things were back to the way he liked it in Boise.

In Kuna, which is about 20 minutes from Boise, he and Elder Garlock are in a room off of a kitchen, so they don't have much privacy. Also, the beds were so uncomfortable, they borrowed air mattresses and sleep on those. I feel bad, but it's good for him to have all kinds of experiences! Nick had the stomach flu and lost seven pounds, but a few days later was back up to normal. he says they don't eat any more potatoes there than we do in California. He thinks the potatoe stereotype is way over rated. Maybe he just hasn't been in a town that farms potatoes yet.

The number of lessons goes up each week, from one to six, to eight, and then 10, and they are close to setting some baptismal dates. He's hoping for 15 lessons next week, and his goal is 20, which is also the mission goal. They have a golden investigator, Lucas, who should be setting a date soon to be baptized.

Nick found out that Kenechi Udeze, a former USC and Vikings football player, was baptized in Kuna a few months ago. Nick knows who he is because Nick is a sports freak. Udeze retired from football because he had leukemia, and lives part-time in Kuna. Nick is soooo excited to get to meet him.

They are doing something in the mission called "Miracle May." They held a mission-wide fast on Sunday, and are hoping to see miracles happen in all of their areas. Nick thinks this will be pretty cool because things are definitely getting better in his area. President Yardley told him that there is a very specific purpose for him in Kuna. Transfer calls for next time came in and Nick will be staying in Kuna, Elder Garlock will be moving on.

Hasta la Vista, Buhl!

Tina and Junior, who were recently baptized in Buhl, had stopped coming to church because someone offended them over something dumb. So they had been avoiding the missionaries. Finally they caught them outside of their house and talked to them, sorting through all of their issues. And they came to church on Sunday!

The Ehresman family was set to be baptized, but the mom was having second thoughts because her mom was very anti-mormon, but they worked everything out and she is going to do it! The dad is a member, the mom and 2 children will be baptized on April 10.

They met a guy named Travis who said he was really interested in learning about the church. But he was never home. They were eating at a restaurant in Buhl and Travis came in with his girlfriend and was seated right behind Nick. He started asking lots of questions and said he isn't home too often but he really does want them to stop by.

They have a crazy, less active member who constantly asks them to call the bishop for her and ask for money, or she wants them to help her clean her house. So Nick told her they would set up the appointment at church on Sunday, and she wasn't there. So he's hoping to leave Buhl before he has to talk to her again.

Someone brought their two dogs to church on Sunday...only in Buhl. But they got kicked out, so the dogs waited outside.

They had intervies with President Yardley, and Nick asked to go back to Junior companion and to serve with his friend, Elder Neville. President Yardley had said it might happen, but now wants Nick to be a district leader, and then a zone leader before Pres. goes home in July. Nick said it's early, but if that's what President Yardley wants, he'll do it! He's looking forward to going to Kuna, which is near Boise. And here's the funny thing...he'll be co-senior companions with Elder Scott Garlock from our stake. They weren't close friends but do know each other, and I'm friends with Scott's mom, Eileen.

A 25 Minute Talk With Zero Preparation

They were teaching a lady about the plan of salvation whose mother had recently passed away. So she started crying like crazy. Nick understood that. But then Elder Tukuafu started crying about missing his mom now that he's on his mission. So Nick tried to teach the lesson, but spent most of the time trying to get control of it while the other two balled about missing their moms. He didn't know what to do.

They had a baptism on Saturday, and lots of people came because they had a lot of family that were already members.

Misty is a golden investigator who wants to be baptized ASAP, but hasn't yet been able to quit smoking. The ward is going to hold a fast for her and pray for her to be able to quit smoking.

Nick calls Jerome, 75, their eternal investigator. Jerome has all kinds of wild stories. He claims to have worked on the JFK assination, and has several theories. He says there were definitely 3 or 4 shooters. After awhile, Nick stops paying attention because the stories take forever.

Nick went on splits and visited a family that has been less active for 20 years. The dad plays basketball and had some things in common with Nick. At first they were very negative about church, but at the end they said they think about coming back every day. So Nick is optimistic.

They are teaching the Delloses family, whose dad is a less-active member. He has some crazy theories about the church, and Nick just wants to say, "Umm, no you are completely wrong."

They were teaching the law of chastity to 9 and 11 year old brothers, and Nick looked at the mom as if to say, "how much do you want us to say to your kids about this stuff?" And she said to the boys, "this means no looking at naked women, and no having sex with women before you're married." Then she looked at Nick to see if he needed to add anything. He said that was good enough. Then the 9 year old asked, "does that mean we can't watch Transformers just to see Megan Fox?" But Nick told them he thought that would be okay.

They were assigned to give 15 minute talks in church last Sunday, but Elder Tukuafu spoke first and got scared, so he only spoke for five minutes. Leaving Nick with 25. He did it! He didn't think it was possible, but it was. "It was weird. The blessings of a mission that I can talk and make stuff up that sounds good for a whole 25 minutes!"

Service this week was gardening and building a fence (and it was fun!) for the Thomas family, one of the coolest families in Buhl. Next week they are fixing 4 wheelers for the Poulsons, the coolest family in Castleford.

And...more free food. The past two weeks everyone gave them tons of food. They got cake, donuts, ice cream, peach cobbler, apples, and he doesn't even know what else. He said it was awesome, not just like eating dinner at members' houses. He said it was like all of their investigators saying "here, take all of our food from our kitchen." They received so much food that for two weeks in a row they didn't need to do any grocery shopping.

But still no weight gain!!!

Oh, and about seeing us...he said it was cool and he loved it, but he didn't want to get too crazy or relaxed because he thought he would be distracted. He wanted to stay in missionary mode and act like nothing happened. It worked!

A 10 Minute Talk With Zero Minutes to Prepare

Usually I get the standard email that Nick cuts and pastes for everyone. This week was no exception. He briefly mentioned that he received his patriarchal blessing and that it was really cool, the patriarch said some cool stuff, and he can't wait to get the printed copy. That was it. It was a much bigger deal to me! He didn't even mention that his family got to come!!!

He gave a talk in church on Sunday about the 2nd article of faith. He was so excited that he had spent zero minutes preparing for a 10 minute talk. Before his mission he would have spent two hours preparing for a five minute talk. The funny thing is, my mom forwarded me an email from someone she knows in the Buhl ward who said that he gave an amazing talk in church! Not bad for not preparing at all.

There's still lots of action in Buhl. One of the bishops called an investigator a retard because he is "poor and weird," and cancelled his baptism. After lots of fighting and battling, the baptism is back on for next Saturday.

One investigator said he cleaned his house for the missionaries, but there was still dog poop everywhere! Nick thought Elder Tukuafu was about to pass out, but Nick says he was glad for once that he doesn't have much of a sense of smell. Nick had to stand for the entire lesson because there was no where to sit down. Then the investigator showed the elders his new nipple piercings. Nick got mad and told him that if he was serious about the church, then he shouldn't have pierced his nipples, and he shouldn't have shown the elders because it's "gay, and gross, and weird!"

They started teaching a man who had been excommunicated. He is ready to be baptized and is "super nice and super cool...legit!"

They are teaching a less active family, the Rules, who invited the elders for dinner and promised Nick a big steak. So he was looking forward to that.

Jay, another investigator, is scheduled to be baptized, but the date was pushed back again.

The Pearsons, a family they are teaching, came to church and promised to come next week. So now they can be baptized!

They cut down tree branches for the Kelseys for their service hours this week. And the Kelseys made them lunch. They'll take that anytime!

Nick was looking forward to zone conference the next day, because he gets to see his friends from all over.

Elder Tukuafu is a super cool and nice guy. Nick just wishes he could talk to him. He doesn't know English enough to have a full conversation. But Nick knows Elder Tukuafu has it hard. His mom doesn't do email, so he only emails his brother. He writes letters, but they can take months to get home. A trainer is called the dad, and the companion is his son. Nick said he gave his calling card to his son because he needed to call home when he was super homesick, and he'll need it again for mother's day because he doesn't have much money. It may have been hard for Elder Tukuafu to be there when Nick got to see his family. I'm sure it's much harder being so much farther from home.

Nick thinks a girl in Buhl has a crush on him and it's a little awkward, so that is reason enough to be transferred...hopefully soon. He said he is slowly dying in Buhl.

But he is looking forward to growing two more inches! He ordered a book that (looks legit) tells him how to grow 2-4 inches from a special diet and exercise. He says we can laugh now, but when he's six feet tall in six months, he'll be the one laughing. So check back for an update in six months!

Soooooo Amazing to See Nick!

I was just hanging out in Utah and my friend Kerry asked if I wanted to take a road trip to Idaho to visit her daughter. It was email day, so I told Nick. He wanted me to call the mission president and ask if I could see him (take him to lunch). I didn't want to ask that, so I called to see if Nick had made arrangements yet to receive his patriarchal blessing. Nick had tried to do it before he left, but couldn't reach the patriarch. Somehow he slipped through the cracks in the MTC. Then he was afraid to call President Yardley because he didn't want the Pres to be disappointed in him for not doing it before the mission. But President Yardley was so cool (like always) and said that it doesn't have to be done before a mission or even during a mission, and that it was up to Nick when he wanted to get it. He also told me it would be easier to meet Nick for lunch than to go to the blessing. I wasn't going to ask, but... So I called him back the next day to see what he decided, and he had the blessing set up for the next Sunday. Dave was flying into Salt Lake City to meet me there, so he drove up to Boise instead. We spent the night there, visiting with the Spjutes, where Nick had lived in his first area. It was so great to get to meet their family. I got to see the Boise temple and the mission office next door. We met some of the missionaries and also also Alan Evans (ward mission leader). We went to church on Sunday with the Spjutes, then drove down to Filer to the patriarch's house. Nick acted like he barely recognized us. Even the patriarch seemed surprised

that we hadn't seen each other for almost eight months. I think it was such a surprise that Nick didn't know how he was supposed to act. The blessing was wonderful, and it was so great to be there. After that, the Kelseys who Nick lived with, invited us for dinner. They own a pizza restaurant (Papa Kelsey's) and were about to open a pasta restaurant next door. They opened up the new restaurant just for us and cooked a sample of several items on the menus. Nick and his companion ate with us. It was the funnest thing ever. And the food was sooooo good (especially the seasoned fries). We also saw the Kelsey's home where Nick lived, and talked to Nick and his companion. Elder Tukuafu was so cute, he told us how he had prayed for a good trainer and first companion, and the Lord sent him to Elder Hefler. As a parent, I was so proud to see how much he loved and admired Nick. It was a few short hours, but the best ever! I was so glad I didn't have to miss this milestone. We saw so many great things, and met so many wonderful people (especially the ones who have taken such good care of my son). The whole experience seemed surreal. Probably because I never expected to see Nick while he was in Idaho. But I did!!!

Free Food and a Food Fight!

Transfer calls came in, and Nick was not surprised to learn he'd be staying in Buhl. He says they had seen more success during the few months he was there, than during the previous two years. He would however get a new companion, and a new missionary to train, Elder Tukuafu, straight from Tonga! He was excited that he got to spend the night at the Spjutes while in Boise to pick up his new companion. He also got to visit with some of his favorite people in Boise. Nick was probably learning just as much from training. He not only taught him how to be a missionary, but also how to be an American! Not only was the language barrier hard, but Elder Tukuafu eats completely different food, so grocery shopping was hard, and Nick taught him to cook American also. He often asked the meaning of English words, and Nick was tempted to tell him fake meanings of words, but he thought Elder Tukuafu was awesome and he loved him, so he didn't. Nick said it was hard. Very hard. It would be a tough six weeks, but a good six weeks. They would work hard and get lot's of stuff done.

So here's the update: Autumn's brother and sister want to get baptized also. Jay is getting baptized. The Harvey's, a very sweet family, are going through the temple soon to be sealed. They ran into Elaine at D.I., an investigator who had been dodging them for a month, and she set up an appointment. They got three new referrals this week, and two of them said "Oh, come and teach me because I want to get baptized!"

They started teaching Jeremy again after he got out of jail (for arguing with a cop). But they'll have to teach the lesson again because he was COMPLETELY WASTED! They wanted to leave, but he kept demanding they stay. However when Jeremy started throwing up everywhere, they left! Nick said he'd never seen anyone like that before, and that it was weird, awkward, and gross!

Also, they went to Autumn's birthday dinner and party with her family and some friends. At the end, Autumn's friend stuffed cake in her mouth and it turned into a food fight. Of course Nick had to participate, so he chucked some cake at some poeple on his way out the door. He had to get outta there because he was wearing a suit and had to look fresh.

The Twin Falls area elders played football with the Burley area elders and Nick's team won! Afterwards they went to eat sushi and they greatest thing ever happened...some guy dropped tons of money on them and paid their $300 bill! Nick loves getting free food.

A Very Bad Week :(

So I just figured out why I've had a very bad case of BWB (Blog Writer's Block). This is a very hard thing to write about and I just didn't want to do it. Nevertheless, it deeply affected Nick and his mission, so here it is. One night Melissa was texting me telling me that she was also texting a friend from home who said he was on the phone with Nick. On the phone with Nick? On a Thursday night in February? What the heck was going on? Of course, I wonder if he's goofing off, I mean we are talking about Nick. It was so hard to wait until the next P-Day to find out. I should have trusted him, and I should have remembered that the last email I'd sent Nick told him the names the two missionaries who died in Romania. I didn't expect it to affect Nick much, but actually one of them was a friend of his from BYU. One of a huge group all preparing for their missions during freshman year. It hit Nick very hard to hear about this. His friend was McKay Burrows (and his companion Jace Edwards), who died accidentally in his sleep from natural gas. Nick said,

"I was pretty upset by it, that kind of thing really makes you think. He was just on his
mission doing the same thing I am, but he doesn't get to come home."

He cleared a two-day leave with the mission president, and swapped companions, spending time with his good friend Elder Neville in Twin Falls. He'd needed to talk to a friend and wanted to call home, but thought that was too much to ask. So he called Eric, and it really helped pick him up. About the time off, he said,

"It really gave me a clear perspective and helped me see how fragile everything is, and how
much I want to do this. So I came back a few days later and I'm working even harder, and
I've tightened up on a few rules."

I'm very proud of Nick that he let this have a positive instead of a negative effect on him. But I'm writing this through tears as I can't imagine how difficult this is for the parents of those two boys. It just made me miss Nick even more and wish that I could see him.