Photo Update! Nick's Itinerary Arrived Today!!

It’s official!! We received Nick’s itinerary for his travel home!! Monday, September 24th, we will get to hug on our happy missionary!! ❤️

Nick didn't have an update today, but shared a quick note of cheerful encouragement. He is happy, he is healthy, he loves his companion and the people in Delicias, he is working hard and appreciating seeing the miracles in peoples lives as they become closer to Christ.  The biggest challenge they face is the geography and limited resources... it's a humble area and people are so spread out, everything is so far away including church, and bus fair can be kind of pricy.  Other then that, everything is good and he promises lots of stories with lots of details when he returns home in 3 months!!  Haha!  

Nick had the chance to pick up a shovel and help a sister out with some yard work.  He said it made him feel right at home, and realized he missed the whole yard work thing.

Till next time!

12 Weeks Left - The Two Cycle Countdown Begins!!

Hey family!!!

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD AND LO!!!!!!!!!  Thank you for all the photos - Everyone looks amazing!!!!!! I hope you guys really are amazing!!!!!!  You all look younger than ever though!!! (That is everyone but Nat, she definitely got old!) Haha ;P

Everyone here is freaking out about Mexico and the World Cup!  Time is flying faster then ever, I know I was here last Monday but it feels like a day ago... So, training here in the mission is your first 12 weeks, or 2 cycles.  And well, I only have 2 cycles left, so I'm starting my last 12 weeks! It's like I'm in training again! Haha!! So officially I only have 3 months left… that's so weird!!!  After this letter you'll only get 11 more from me. I'm just freaking out a little thinking about it??? WHAT IS HAPPENINGGGG?!!  I'm not trunky or anything, I just can't wrap my head around it.

Elder Riley and I are great! This cycle has been a blur and his training is half over. Not gonna lie, our área is kinda hard, but we get along super good, so it's not even a problem! We just work hard and do our thing :D On a sad note, Elder Hostman left the zone... that kinda bummed me out. We were in the same ward and this will be his last cycle and we were looking forward to being able to spend it together here in Delicias. But he'll be in good hands, Elder Mamani will be his District Leader in his new area!!!

It was Elder Riley's birthday, so, in the morning I made him pancakes and a smoothie, that was pretty cool!!! And well…  We celebrated more at dinner with our good friends, a family here in la Revo!!  It was way fun and we had a lot of laughs!!

Also, I don't remember if I've told you guys or not, but I've learned how to cut hair here in the mission.. and, low key, I'm pretty good at it. Soooooo, We were in the Ciber, and long story short, I ended up cutting a kids hair for free... and it turned out really good!!! So my fame of being a 'barber' has spread amongst the kids on the soccer fields! jajajajaja!! but it's all cool!!!

Other than that, not a whole lot more has happened! It's finally starting to rain, so that's been cool. Although, la Revo is pretty much just dirt, soooo it just becomes mud. But it's cool!!! :) The bikes are good, we're well! We've been working hard and we haven't found a lot of new people to teach, but we'll keep working on it!

I hope your guys are well as well, and that you're enjoying your time in Pajaro Dunes!!! Not gonna lie, I'm low key jealous... Sooooooooo, we're going next year, yeah??!!

Chico pues (Awesome, so) until next time!!!!!!

love you guys!!
Nicki

Everyone's Talking About the World Cup!!

Hey Fam!

This week has been great - honestly! It's been amazing and Elder Riley and I are getting along fantastic and the days and weeks just go flying by!!!  We`ve already been together for four weeks, starting the fifth one now! This week we start the 5th week of the 6 week cycle, and then you don't even wanna know how long I have left in the mission! Hahaha!

So yea, this week's been kinda crazy... everyone's talking about the World Cup!!! And how Mexico totally beat Germany!!! Even our Sunday School teacher totally used it in his lesson about why we're here on earth and everything!! Hahahaha! So yea, it's a big deal when Mexico plays here!  

This week was great. We've seen a really cool thing happen here in la Revolucion. One of the people we're teaching has a daughter. She's 12 but if you didn't know, you'd think she was like 16. When we first showed up at her house, her mom (a member) told us that her daughter wasn't gonna want to talk with us about the gospel. So, we did a dynamic in the teaching to get her in the room listening to us. Then we left and came back a few days later, and when we got there, the daughter was in her room watching TV.  So, we invited her to come out just to see a magic trick. She came out to see it, and stayed for the lesson. Then, she went to church Sunday, and when we came back to teach a third time, as soon as we got there she came out and sat down and listened to us, and when we asked if someone wanted to read a scripture, she almost shouted out MEMEMEMEME and we were like woah okay, cool, you read it!!! :D It's been amazing teaching her and her family and she should get baptized soon :)

But yea, it's been amazing here, super hot, but amazing. We're happy, we're good, and we took some fotos!!! Soooooo that's kinda all I have for this week! :DD

But I love you guys, I hope youre well!!!!!!!!!! 

Stay goooooood!!!

Till next time,

Nicki

God Loves His Children!

HEY FAM!

Okay, So, Jose got baptized a few weeks ago - which was so great - but, afterward I was secretly nervous because I'm training, right, and we had NO other people to teach... sooo we were out there contacting and I was wondering what else to do. I prayed a lot for help, and the Lord came through, we got a call from the bishopric in our ward... AND THEY HAD A REFERENCE FOR US!!!!! 

A sister that had been inactive for 4 YEARS called them and said she wanted to get back on the path! So she asked them to send us to her house!  We went, and we meet her, and sons, P, who has been baptized and her younger son, JM, who is INCREDIBLE.  He's only 10, and hasn't been baptized yet, but he is amazing!  When we went to their house the first time, they were so happy, and just so kind. We asked if we could sing a hymn with em, and they totally had favorites and knew all the words, they even knew the page number of the hymns and they don't even have a song book. They're incredible!

THEN this sister tells us that her sister ALSO wants us to visit her!! It's been just incredible seeing God work miracles here! 

... AND THEN my buddy, Elder Hostman, passes us a reference -- Another amazing person that wants to be baptized... Sooooo yea, we're teaching and working a lot now!!!!!!!!!!  Our prayers were answered and we're busy and happy - and sweaty, and happy, and sweaty... and happy... and sweatttyyyyyyyy!! Hahahahaha! :D

But it's good! It's always cool to see the Lords hand in our lives.  I'm especially grateful as I see God work through us here in the Revo (Nick's area is called 'Revolution'), and recognize everything He's done for us. He's really helping us out, and it makes me realize how much God loves His children - people really matter to Him. Pretty neat :) But, that's about it so I'll send ya some pics :D

I love you guys, I hope youre well, 

Hasta Prontooooooo!!!!!!!!

Nicki

I'm 20!!

I'M 20!!!!!!!!! 

That's cool! :D I'm not a teenager. NOT ready for that! Hahaha! And now we're in June soooo that's weird. Time keeps flying!!!

I'M TRAINING and we've been together two weeks already!! My new companion is Elder Riley from Idaho Falls. He's a cool kid, big kid, fun dude. We are enjoying ourselves. And we are burnin up here in Delicias, and well, I've given up on the don't sweat thing, now I just kinda embrace it! Hahaha! Let's just say I totally sleep without a blanket. It's hot, like 92 or more degrees in the house hot. Hahahaha!  But I love it!!!

We had another baptism here too!! The same family as the last, the son J got baptized two days ago!  Elder Riley did the ordinance! They were both just sooo happy and it was really cool -- it was really sweet. Good stuff!!

What else, umm it's been forever, but I'm just gonna send pics because it's been like overwhelmingly long. 

But, before I go, we learned something cool... a way to make sure your spiritually healthy, like your pulse is an indicator of your physical health.  So, consider your spiritual pulse.  To make sure your physical heart is healthy you have to:

eat right

exercise

get plenty of rest

drink plenty of water

pay attention to your body

To make sure your spiritual heart is healthy you need to:

pray

use compassion and understanding

lose yourself in service

rely on the spirit (holy ghost)

emulate the Savior

If you do that your spiritual pulse will be strong! But yea here's a few pics for ya! Hahaha!

I love you guys!! I hope you're well!!! Till next time!

Nicki

My last Sunday with Tommy Boy!

(I very well may be 20 but I'm such a kid! Hahaha!)!

Mothers Day SKYPE

Mothers Day SKYPE - BEST-MISSIONARY-MOTHER'S-DAY Gift EVER!!

Even Lauren and Julian were able to FaceTime in to say hello and have a little chat with our Missionary!!  These are pretty priceless moments!!

Zone PDay Fun!!  Temperatures are soaring are air conditioning is sparse... the best activities let you burn off energy and cool down all at the same time!!  Haha!!

A Baptism... These are the moments that make the rest worth it!  "A Missionary:  Someone who leaves his family for two years, so others can have theirs for eternity!"

May the 4th Be With You - ChiMex Style!!

IT WAS STAR WARS DAY and THANK YOU LAUREN AND JEWLZ FOR SAVING THE DAY ON THAT ONE!!!

So, yeah, we've got a little light saber Star Wars tribute for you...

Elder Fardos y Elder Thomas - Light Show and Laughter!

But hey! I hope you guys are well! We're all good out here in Delicias! Sweating like crazy already, Hahaha, but we're well!! We have had a great week here! But Wow it's been getting toasty here!! Like toasty toasty Hahahah! Checkin Accuweather says that it's like high 30's Celsius already, but the real feel is like 40 and I do testify of that! Hahaha! I kinda forgot just how hot it gets here in the summer time!! I'll probably be here until August, so I'm looking at a warm summer! But I wanted to burn it up here in Mexico to the very end - so what a better way to finish the mission! Hahaha! I remember when I opened my call I totally said that its' gonna be hot all the time and well, yup, it's warm!!!! But I'm learning to love it!!!! 

And, yea, this week was really cool, Elder Thomas and I are just working hard daily at the missionary grind, and I honestly can't believe that I'm gonna be doing my last video call with you guys... Really, I'm not sure how I feel about that fact. I'm definitely starting to finish my mission. After the call I'll only have like 4 1/2 months left maxin it. BTDubs, our church servics are at 12:00, we eat afterwards, and then we have to get back to the revolu, and so I'll probably be calling you guys at like 5:00-5:30 my time :) I can't believe that this is it!!!!!

Honestly tho, things are great here. Pray for a family we're working with right now, because they have a baptismal date for this Satuday!!!! They're amazing and we've been teaching them for about month, and they told us this last week that they've seen so many changes in their family, they feel more love at home, they've grown closer to each other, etc, and theyre just really so great :) So we should have some baptisms this week!!!!

We learned about something cool this Sunday or really we were reminded of something cool on Sunday! The teacher was talking about obedience, and he said that the best obedience is when we obey, because we're a child of God, and we love Him :) It's the best reason or way that we can obey Him :) It's something small and I thought it was cool!  It made me question myself, why am I obedient? If there are some rules that I follow because 'I have to' or because some other reason, it's probably not the best reason. :) 

Any way, I'm way too excited thinking that NEXT WEEK I'll see you guys!!!!

Soon I'll just leave you with some pictures... First, a little Zone fun!  And like I said it's been hot and one day we got to the food early so we went to a park, did comp study, and poor Elder Thomas got all tuckered out ;) Hahahahaha!  I love this kid!   

I hope you guys are well! I love you guys!!!!!! God loves you!!!!!

UNTIL SUNDAY!!!! AHHHHHHHH, I can't wait!

Nicki