Like Nephi Getting the Brass Plates

Hello everyone!

Another exciting week here at the Provo MTC.  It has been a rough couple of days with trying to obtain my VISA but I'll talk more about that later. 

This week has been a week of spiritual highs, as another Elder and I who both have VISA problems, enter our third week here in Provo, Utah.  Because we are starting our third week here that the instructors had not planned for, we have been given the opportunity to learn about whatever we want and to structure our classes and lessons to best fit our own needs.  So we have chosen to teach two to five lessons a day which takes a lot of time and prayer.  I don't think I have done my own personal study because of all the lessons we teach and prepare for but all is well and the spirit is really strong.

My VISA problems continue and the story I will tell is true and I have likened it to Nephi getting the brass plates (but my brass plates are a VISA).  My story begins on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 of last week (it might of been Thursday because the days here really mesh together and I lose tract of time). I was informed that the second part of my VISA had arrived and that I could start filling in the blanks.  The only problem was that Wednesday one of the Elders in my District got extremely sick and we had to have an Elder watching him all day and night.  So long story short all the Elders where with different companions so that the sick Elder could be watched.  As I walked to the building with my companion to fill out paperwork, I had the feeling that this isn't going to go well.  And I was right. The application was very in depth and asked for almost everything but my blood type.  But I filled it out and set up an appointment to get finger prints and then continued to pay for my VISA.  The rest of the week was very uplifting and great.  But the day came for me to get finger printed.  And the Lord works in mysterious ways because I had a thought that I should bring all my paper work and my passport to get finger printed.  And I'm glad that I listened to that prompting.  Me and my companion where driven up to Salt Lake City, Utah to the Department of Homeland and Security we had fun talking to our driver and looking out the window.  When we got the the Department we headed in and had to go through security but I didn't bring any of my VISA stuff in with me.  So we where told to go and get it, so we did.  This was the first attempt.  As we walked back into the building with the right stuff we were led through security.  For a Missionary who has almost everything he needs to talk to someone about the Church in his pockets going through security was interesting lets just say that.  When we got everything back into our pockets we went to the desk and they checked all my paper work.  They wanted me to log into my VISA application which is online.  But I had forgotten to bring a number with me that I needed.  But I did have that number in the car.  There is the second attempt. As the third attempted started, we grabbed everything we could possibly think off out of the the car and went back to the building.  We went through security again taking everything out of our pockets and so on and so forth.  But as we got up to the desk to log into the application it showed that the payment had not gone through.  So I couldn't get finger printed that day!  We came back to the MTC and I attempted to pay again.  As I did that it said that my card had been denied so I have attempted to pay three times now.  But as you know, Nephi was blessed and he eventually got the Plates and I to know that I will be blessed and that all will work out in the end.  That is the extent of getting a VISA.

I love this gospel and the great opportunity of being a Missionary.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true with all my heart.  And as Job has said," I know that my Redeemer lives".


Love,

Elder Nielsen