No Invitation is Wasted, No Effort is in Vain!

Okay, this week... Wow, it's been a good one!!!!!

Okay first off I'm happy and healthy!!! AND I TOTALLY INDULGED MYSELF... I found a bombilla y mate... soooo I bought one :D because I've been carrying mate with me for like 2 cycles (thanks to an Argentine missionero that gave me it) soooo I didn't take a pic of it but next week for sure :DDDDD I'm happy for that!

But yea, this week has been dope! We had an amazingly cool spiritual experience this week that I absolutely loved. So we're in a wealthier area of Chihuahua so we always ask for references... and finally, one Sister came through!!! She invited us to a noche de hogar (family home evening) and she invited another family! So maestro and I worked on a short little message about the family :)  And Wow, it was so amazing, the feeling of the spirit was so strong that there weren't many dry eyes at the end of the night... So after we shared our message, we asked them if they'd like us to visit them :) they said 'yes, we want you two to visit us in our home!'

And that was it, we went on our way, and them too! And we thought it was a great night and a great experience, but didn't know how great until Sunday came around...

The Hermana that hosted our noche de hogar was asked to share her testimony about missionary work, and she shared the most powerful testimony ever, and something she said really got to me...

She said she's been trying to get this family to hear the missionaries for EIGHT YEARS!!!!!! Eight years!!! And they never accepted her invitation!!! She complimented us, and she said the family basically begged us to visit them this week! She said she was so excited that she could hardly sleep... 

What struck me was the importance of the situation. I didn't realize that 8 years of invitations to meet with missionaries and go to activities were upon us. But what we did realize was the distinct feeling of God´s love for this family... I don't know... it was like being in the final game of the world cup and we had no idea it was the finals until afterwards. And the thing is, we didn't do anything special to earn or win the game, we just played our part in the moment! It was God and the Holy Ghost, this sweet Sister, and so many missionaries before us... I really started to understand that no invitation is wasted and no effort is in vain, and that God has His timing... it was something incredible. I don't know if I could ever describe what I felt while this Sister was sharing her testimony... It was incredible. :)

What else, what else... oh something that I loved from Elder Uchtdorf :)

"When the darkness of night falls, we do not despair and worry that the sun is extinguished. We do not postulate that the sun is not there or is dead. We understand that we are in a shadow, that the earth will continue to rotate, and that eventually the rays of the sun will reach us once again. Darkness is not an indication that there is no light. Most often, it simply means we’re not in the right place to receive the light."

If we feel isolated or even abandoned, we needn't worry, because the light of God's love will always come just like a sunrise. :) Sometimes we jsut have to move ourselves a little bit to see it a little better. :)

But yea, that's this week in a nutshell!!!! I hope you guys had an amazing week!!! 

Until next time,

Nicki :D

This is the cutest bulldog ever. He's so sweet oh my gosh, he's like a little kid! Hahahaha

#transformationtuesday Hahaha

Everything Depends on Our Perspective!

FAM!

I'm definitely missing la Junta - I would have been happy to stay the rest of my mission there :( I was honestly in love with that place... One day I'll take you guys there!!

But yea, this week was kinda hard getting used to the city again!! Seeing a traffic light actually kinda freaked me out!!! Haha! I haven't seen so many cars in so long!!! And the area we are in is known as a harder area... they've only had 6 baptisms in 2 years, and my comp and I are both new here, so it was a week of knocking on SO MANY DOORS and getting SO LOST, but we managed to have some fun while we were doing it!!! I really do enjoy doing missionary work, even if at times we get rejected, and boy, do we get rejected here! Hahahaha! The people are a lot different from la Sierra so we've got our work cut out for us!!  But it's cool to be back here in the city. It's different, and different is good!!

I learned a lot this week, and it was fun. My comp and I both learned a lot, but something a member said Sunday in a class really stood out to me. We were talking about what it means to be perfect, or how we can become perfect. Something that I absolutely loved was this:

'The Earth is full of mountains and valleys. There are peaks as high as Mount Everest and canyons as deep as the Grand Canyon. One might say, just looking at the surface, that the Earth's shape is incredibly imperfect. But, if you change the perspective, and look at it from a distance, like from outer space far enough to look at the Earth at the size of a billiard ball, the earth is some 3 times more perfect than a billard ball.' (Evidence in detail at the bottom of the post)

Everything depends on our perspective! We as humans have our 'mountains' and 'canyons' whether is physical, spiritual, or temporal - maybe challenges, mistakes or sin.  But the thing is, it only looks like a huge issue if we're staring directly at the face of the 'mountain' or flaw. If we simply change our perspective, and view the person in his/her entirety, divinely created in the image of a perfect and loving God, we can see how perfect the person really is. :) So, all of us, with all our flaws and faults, can be seen as perfect in an eternal perspective.  And we can all be encouraged that the Lord has always used imperfect people to do His will perfectly. :)

That's a lil' something that I really liked, and I think its something that everyone can learn and benefit a little bit from, whether youre talking about yourself or someone that you have a hard time getting along with! Simply change your perspective. :)

That's kinda all I have this week, I hope you guys had a great one!! Let me know!!!

Till next time :)

Nick

(Pictured traveling in the back of a truck, his preferred mode of transportation from la Sierra ;-) Ha!)

Evidence that the Earth is Smoother than a Billiard Ball

The World Pool-Billiard Association Tournament Table and Equipment Specifications (November 2001) state: "All balls must be composed of cast phenolic resin plastic and measure 2 ¼ (+.005) inches [5.715 cm (+ .127 mm)] in diameter and weigh 5 ½ to 6 oz [156 to 170 gms]." (Specification 16.)  This means that balls with a diamenter of 2.25 inches cannot have any imperfections (bumps or dents) greater than 0.005 inches. In other words, the bump or dent to diameter ratio cannot exceed 0.005/2.25 = 0.0022222

The Earth's diameter is approximately 12,756.2 kilometres or 12,756,200 metres.
12,756,200 x 0.0022222 = 28,347.111  So, if a billiard ball were enlarged to the size of Earth, the maximum allowable bump (mountain) or dent (trench) would be 28,347 metres.
Earth's highest mountain, Mount Everest, is only 8,848 metres above sea level. Earth's deepest trench, the Mariana Trench, is only about 11 kilometres below sea level.  And if the Earth were scaled down to the size of a billiard ball, all its mountains and trenches would fall well within the WPA's specifications for smoothness.

It should be also be noted that if the Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is an oblate spheroid and should therefore also be tested for conformity to WPA specifications due to its shape. The distance between Earth’s poles is shorter than its diameter at the equator by approximately 43km. The maximum deviation with the respect to the Earth’s average diameter is half that distance, or 21.5km, which is within the scaled up WPA tolerance of 28.3km.  It can therefore be seen that the Earth would conform to WPA specifications for billiard balls if it was scaled down to the appropriate size, and it could said to be smoother than at least some billiard balls that would be permitted by the WPA. 

Getting Back to My Roots!!

Hey!!!

Well, I'm getting back to my roots! I had changes, and have to leave the beautiful town of la Junta, and they sent me to... CHIMEX!!!! I'm still a zone leader and all that jazz, but now I'm ZL of my first Zone in the mission!  So, I'll be able to do Divisions in Cerro Grande!!! That'll be super cool!! There's a lot of people that I love and wanna see!

Although I'm super excited to be here, I'm absolutely heartbroken to have left the Junta, and honestly, now the city just freaks me out a lil... so many cars, street lights, I'll be taking the bus again... Everything's a lot more hectic... Definitely not used to that in la Sierra! But it's a change, and change is good!

My companion is Elder Gonzalez... He was with me in my Zone in Chuviscar forever ago and in my Zone in la Sierra just now! And now we're comps!!! He's absolutely awesome, and I think I've mentioned him before... His nickname is Maestro, or teacher, because the Dude knows EVERYTHING about the scriptures. He's super rad and SOOO FUNNY!!!!

Honestly, I'm grateful for the companions I've had recently!  Elder Mamani was incredible, you guys got to know him a bit, hard working and hilarious. Equally hilarious and hard working, and already my good friend is Maestro, and now he's my companion! Someone up there is looking to help me out here in Chihuahua! :)

But this last week I had with Mamani was awesome! We had a baptism!!!  The son of Leonela!!!!!  (He likes super heroes... so we took a super hero pic too.  Guess which one is his favorite!  Ha!)

​

But yea this kid is way awesome!! His baptism was a really sweet experience. He really wanted to do the right thing. He's such a good lil kid, o chamako, as they say here :) He'll be a solid young man in the near future.

But yea! Not a whole lot is new here, We had changes, I'm excited, and everything seems to be going good!!!

Also I wanna let you guys in on a lil mission secret. They say the good missionaries wear out their shoes fast because they're always walking to find people, but the great missionaries rip their pants because they're always seated with people, face to face, helping them get closer to God :)

And I think I've already ripped like 4/5 pairs up to this point... So, not to pat myself on the back or anything, but according to the saying, I'm thinking this means I'm pretty a decent missionary :P jajajajaja just kidding! :D

Oh! Also, I totally got a package from Grandma and Cards from Abu and Tia! I think I might've got more but I didn't note everything so I don't have a list with me to give proper shoutouts... But THANK YOU everyone for the cards and good wishes that were sent me!

Okay the sweetest thing happened this week :)

There's the sweetest senior couple in the Junta, and one day we set off to visit the Sandoval family, because they're still new in the church and we wanted to make sure they were good. When we got to the church, the older couple, Hno y Hna Olivas, was already visiting them, and having a Family Home Evening with them, singing hymns and everything!  I don't think I've mentioned the family Olivas, but they're incredible. I have loved eating with them every Wednesday. They are so friendly and optimistic, and they always wanted to help us! Honestly, they gave me such a great example to follow for how me and my future wife can be in our senior years. :) And Hno. Olivas gives the best hugs!!!!! They're really just amazing people and I'm super thankful for the time I had to get to know them. :) #Relationshipgoals

But yea!! I love you guys!! I hope you have an amazing week!!!! I love you guys so much, and remember, always choose to be happy:) I'm happy here. I'm really truly happy here in Chihuahua. Theres no place I'd rather be!!!!

Till next time!!

Nick

Such a Small World!!

Hey!!

Well, it's time, one more week in this cycle, and we should have a baptism this week, just to finish up the wonderful cycle that I've had. I think the time keeps going by faster and faster. I can honestly say that I've enjoyed this cycle, this area and this companionship. Mamani is great, and absolutely hilarious. If we have changes, I'm gonna miss the guy. I hope nothiing changes here!

But Okay, the highlight of this week was Saturday and Sunday I think :) Mamani and I have been working with the Young Mens President, and have been making a homemade piñata, and well, it was ugly but it was SOOOO FULL of sweets! Hahahaha! The kids loved it!!!! We had mutual Saturday and we beat it up. It was way too fun. I really liked it. And well, Mamani and I got to practice our graffiti - or at least painting it! Hahahahaha!

Sunday was also incredible, because of testimony meeting. The Sisters that got baptized in November shared their testimonies!!! Everyone of of them!!! The Spirit was super strong :) I almost cried. These girls were so strong, and so firm, it made me super happy. What I loved most is when one of them said, 'I dont need the missionaries to visit me. I love it when they come and share something, but I know this church is the church of God and I will be here every Sunday whether the missionaries come or not.' 

As a Missionary, that is the best news you can hear!!! And she said it so strongly... it was something that touched me deeply. I'm grateful for the experience that I've had to get to know her and feel her testimony.

And I just about cried when I opened up my email today... Here's why...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!  RECONIZE THEM??????????? THEY'RE ROOMMATES!!!!!!!!!! TOVYN BERGASEN AND MITCHELL WHITE (ELDER WHITE) YEA, THE SAME ONE THAT WAS MY COMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I almost cried right here in public with strangers everywhere. It just made me way too ridiculously happy!

 Nick & Tovyn on a race weekend during the summer before the mission
And a Comp Snap of Nick & Mitchell from the CCM in Mexico

But yea, that's what's up for this week! :) It's been a good one, and we should have another good one this week! :)

Changes will be announced next Sunday evening, so, I'll let you guys know what happens then!!!!

Till next time,

Nicki :)

Starting the New Year with Multiple Updates & Photos!!

Dec 18, 2017

Yo Fam!

Well another week in the books... and it's been a good one! Honestly it was a long week, but it was a good week. Even though it felt long, I swear there was not enough time to do everything that I wanted to do! But that's okay :) 

Elder Mamani and I are doing well. We get along super good and we pass the day laughing. But we also work a lot and we've seen a LOT of miracles in our short time together! For example, this week we were knocking on doors and exploring areas to find new people to talk to, and we found a lot of cool people, but the coolest experience was when we knocked on a door and the people inside were super nice and after talking a little bit they told us that they've wanted to talk to us, but they were intimidated to approach us? They told us that they had been praying that we would arrive at their house. :) That was a super sweet moment to be in for me. It happens more than I ever thought would happen here in the mission. There are a lot of miracles to be seen in the mission... Like a LOT!!!

But yea, actually right now I'm in Madera! And it's snowing here!!!! It's awesome. But, the internet is bad. like realllll bad. I can't load fotos soooooo give me until next week okay???? We'll have the SKYPE and I'll see if I can't send you guys some fotos then :)

Everything is really good here :) I'm really happy and we're always busy, in our own area teaching and talking with everyone, animating members, and traveleing to diferent areas! Know that everything is really good :)

I dont have a whole lot to add... Its a short one, and without pics I know Im the worst son ever but they'll come dont worry hahahaha :D

I hope you guys have a good week and a wonderful Christmas... In one short week we'll be seeing each other!!! This has been the longest time we'll have to go without visual contact. I basically have 9 months left and that freaks me out. Time is flying and it'll be 2018 before we know it!!!!

Anyway, just give me a week and everything will be up to date okay?? 

Love you guys!!!!

till next time!!!!

Nick

Dec 24, 2017

SKYPE!!

Christmas Eve we were able to talk to Nick face-to-face!  It was so good to hear his voice and see his smiling face!!  The internet was so poor, we weren't able to have much of a conversation... we just kept connecting and reconnecting.  So Nick was able to try again at a members house later in the evening, and we were able to get in a few minutes more!!  Seeing our missionary was the BEST!!

Dec 26, 2017

Hey!!! I loved being able to talk to you guys :) Yesterday everything was closed for Christmas day, so they gave us permission to send emails today :) I love you guys so much!!!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and were able to remember the true meaning of Christmas siempre :)

I love you guys a bunch!!!!!

Nick

Jan 2, 2018

Okay, I'm starting the last year of the mission... Whaaaaaatttttt?!

So this week has been cool, it was rather short, and being in my little pueblo (town), there wasn't a lot of movement here. Almost everything was closed, and for that I wasnt able to write yesterday. I hope you guys got my pics last week! 

This week has been really calm, we got to see the movie Coco, and holy cow I loved that!!! That movie is incredible. One of my faves. Or maybe it's because I haven't seen a real movie in 15 months... who knows! Hahaha! But I really enjoyed it! And I totally want a 'Day of the Dead' inspired guitar like that now. Way cool! :)

This week I also gave a talk. It was about new years resolutions? But yea, basically the point is not to worry if a goal seems out of reach, or if you feel inadequate or insufficient. God has always used, uses, and will use imperfect people in perfect ways. For example Moses, he was one of the greatest Prophets of the Old Testament and when God called him as a prophet to free His people, Moses was concerned.

And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.  And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say

And that is just one example of his many concerns. But the idea is that even though Moses wasn't feeling like he could do it, God helped him so that he could. And the same goes for us. If we have a goal, and it's a good goal, if we ask for help, God will help us. I myself have various goals for this year that follows. It's my last year in the mission and I want to be able to have a great one. I want 2018 to be amazing, and I have some goals to help with that! Hahaha, I guess we'll see how I do when I get back in 9 months hahaha. :)

I loved seeing you guys this Christmas! Honestly that was the best. I wasn't expecting to see so many people, but it made me so happy to see all of you guys!! Crazy to think that I'll only see you guys once more on SKYPE before I take off. But, I still have 9 months of work to do here! 

I hope you guys have a great year and a great week. I'm always praying for you guys, and I feel your prayers.

Until next week! 

Love you guys,

Nick