Patience

Hey All,

This week has been a long, crazy week.  Elder Thurgood and I are adjusting to as companions.  There is always an adjustment period when new companions get together.  We are all different in our teaching styles, cleanliness, mannerisms, etc., so it will be interesting.  I am senior companion now which isn't new to me since with a few of my past companions, I had to be senior companion even though my companion had been out longer.  But due to so circumstances, I got the job.  I have really enjoyed most of my companions.  They taught me how to relax and have fun, but also to work.

The members in the Cannock Ward are really nice and I am enjoying my time here in Cannock.  This is by far my favorite Ward.  I love working with the Young Single Adults.  It helps me relax and let the fun Elder Nielsen come to the surface once in a while and I have developed some great friends among them.  We are all about the same age so it is fun to meet them weekly. 

We have been running around trying to get things sorted and back up and running.  As soon as transfers hit it seems like the work just stops and then you get to revive it and then transfer hits again and the work just stops again.  It is a vicious cycle.  I had a really cool experience this week. We had Zone Conference at the Mission Home in Birmingham.  We had the opportunity to hear from Elder Teixeira.  He is the president of the European area and is from Portugal.  He is a very nice man and man oh man can he teach with power!  He started out speaking to us by explaining "Patience" to us. He used the Latin root and what the Portuguese word for "Patience" means.  So in a nut shell it means to suffer but at the same time to move on.  Elder Teixeira also talked about how most people think that "patience" is just pressing the pause button and sitting in the corner just waiting for everything to end and pass over.  Or that can also be the fast foreword button and we just want it to end.  But patience is letting things play on and work it out.  It is hard because I know for me I just want to press pause and let it pass over.  But we have to face it!  The night is darkest before the dawn.  He talked about how things might get worse before they get better but to trust that things will get better.

The sad news for the week is that Graham and Maxine couldn't come to Church this week.  I was waiting for them as long as I could outside the Chapel, but then had to run and play the piano in Sacrament Meeting.  As I sat and played, I quietly hoped that they would walk in but their attendance was not in the cards that day.  We talked to them Sunday night and Graham got called into work.  They really seemed disappointed. They want to come but Graham's work always seems to need him.  Hopefully things will start to work out.  The couple that walked into Church about a month or so ago got baptized on Saturday.  It was really cool to be a witness of their baptism.  I did not really get to teach them much because they were technically not in our Area.  But Elder Bass and I were the missionaries who initially meet them in the hall at Church and got the ball rolling.  The cool thing is that I did get the opportunity to teach them the Gospel Principals.  So I helped in a very small way.  I can testify that the Spirit at their baptism was really strong.  The other really cool thing that I got to witness was to see their son, who is a faithful member, baptize his father and step mom.  I am blessed to have been a witness of this great step in their lives.

It has been a good week full of ups and downs.  But with prayer, hard work and obedience, things will start to look up.   Remember that "the night is darkest before the dawn" we just need to have patience and press on!  Love you all and this Gospel!

Love Elder Nielsen

Elder Bass & Elder Nielsen, Cannock, England 3/11/14

SNOW!!! in Cannock, England.  This Utah/Idaho boy has not seen snow in almost a year.  Only rain, lots and lots of rain.  Elder Bass and I went nuts and had a great snowball fight.