100 THINGS I AM GRATEFUL FOR

     *10 fun and goofy things

1. Green grass- there's not a lot up here.  People usually rake dirt outside their house.  It's rare.

2. A walking bike- faster than walking, and a pain if it isn't working.

3. A thick winter coat- who knew it'd be so helpful in Southern California?

4. The mailbox- it's always a surprise when the mail comes at 4:15 pm.

5. La Bella Hair Gel- just like home :)

6. California sun- I haven't gotten sunburnt yet!  Maybe just a little tan.

7. My iPod & speaker- every morning I listen to it. It's so awesome!

8. Barney Fife- "Not much gets by me."  "Nip it!" -classic!

9. Rain-when it rains, it pours.  Usually it's only a few times a year here.  Oregon rain is awesome!

10. A toaster- I brought one a couple weeks ago.  No more plain cold cereal for breakfast!

     *Okay, now 10 serious things

11. The Book of Mormon- our keystone.  It answers all my questions.  The main tool we use.

12. General Conference- I didn't want it to end! I'm reading the talks over & over.

13. The temple- it's a blessing every time I go, & I wish I could go more often!

14. The sacrament- what would I do without it? I can get re-baptized every week! What a great feeling.

15. Patriarchal Blessings- I read mine every Monday.  It's helped me so much.

16. Preach My Gospel- everything applies so much to what we do. The doctrines are simple.  This work is His.

17. Active church members- they love the gospel and the missionaries (and they feed us!)

18. The Priesthood- what a blessing for everyone, and a responsibility to serve.

19. The Plan of Salvation- knowing where I come from, who I am, why I'm here, & how we can return to our Heavenly Home.

20. Prayer- Heavenly Father ALWAYS answers prayers in His own time and His own way.

     *10 experiences I'm grateful for

21. Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings- the time goes by fast. Christmastime everywhere is a blast.

22. TREK- for teaching me how to work with all my might and helping others do the same.

23. That us brothers got to split wood for hours in the backyard- I miss those days.

24. Getting off work on my birthday and finding my car to be all seran-wrapped. My awesome friends!

25. That I earned my Eagle after years of being a Boy Scout. It's helped me in so many ways!

26. Going snowboarding on Mt Hood- Because it was just so much fun!

27. That you all have been helping the Young Men in our ward & being missionaries.

28. That countless times our family has been kept safe & healthy (B's crash, my shotgun, etc)

29. Our family reunions- It's so great to be in the Long family, it's a ton of fun!

30. Opening my mission call- who knew I'd be here of all places?! The beginning of two years.

     *10 places I'm grateful for

31. DISNEYWORLD!- some of the most happiest times we've had in the happiest place on Earth.

32. Mama & Papa's shop- so many school & scout projects, parties, and laughs in that shop.

33. Glencoe High School- It was hard and long, but for some reason I miss it.

34. Seminary- I met some of my closest friends and my testimony grew the most.

35. Christensen Farm- bailing hay, and hard work- all valuable lessons.

36. Wendy's- I learned how to talk with people better & have a happy attitude, all while serving burgers.

37. The MTC- 6 solid weeks of no music, TV, sleeping in, etc- and all spirit.

38. The Forest Grove Church Building- from primary to an Elder, I've grown a lot in that building.

39. Home- there's no place like it. Literally a heaven on Earth with so much love.

40. Apple Valley CA- I've learned so much about myself and my Savior. The starting point of my change.

     *10 people I'm grateful for

41. The Long Family- all of you have supported me for this mission, the packages are GREAT! 

42. Joseph Smith- the Restoration is awesome, and of course he was a prophet- DUH!

43. The Cannons- for loving missionary work and getting me excited to go.

44. Coach Morgan- for always encouraging us to improve our skills.

45. John our neighbor- for letting us mow his lawn for all these years.

46. Brother Maurer- for inspiring me to love the scriptures and be a light in the world.

47. Ryan Peacock- for being a friends and example since I knew him since 5th grade.

48. Brother Nelson- for being a great YM leader and a friend to me and my family.

49. My companions Elder P&B- we're like brothers, we can laugh and work all day.

50. President H- every week he sends an email with encouragement and advice.

     *Papa

51. You're always willing and ready to help me with anything, anytime, even if it's just a conversation on your porch swing.

52. You're the best church librarian, and you can make anyone smile.

53. You know I can make you say "uncle" haha, and you taught me how to drive a manual.

54. That the most important thing to you is family, and you love them so much.

     *Mama

55. For also being a convert to the church and how much you love the gospel.

56. I love all your Christmas decorations, and it's funny how often you clean your house- it's awesome!

57. That you're really creative and crafty, and your chicken & dumplings are so delicious.

58. You have so much love and hospitality for your family. You always want to help and work.

   
     *Grandma & Grandpa Nissinen

59. Grandma Nissinen- for her support on my choice to serve God and His children as a missionary.

60. Grandpa Nissinen- for loving his family and always caring for them.

     *My all-star brother Joe

61. For your happy attitude and always willing to have fun (ping pong, computer games, etc)

62. That you can school me in soccer- you'll be great in high school next year if you play.

63. That you want to make your parents and Heavenly Father proud of you.

64. That you and I tease eachother about girls all the time (Kyra) ;)

65. That you're working so hard in everything that you do.

66. That no matter what, you love your family and willing to do your part- I love you Bear!

     *My favorite sister Rosie

67. That you're loving Seminary and the scriptures- they're so important!

68. That you're working hard and enjoying time with good friends and family.

69. That you're a friend to everyone and can make anyone's day with a smile.

70. That even though you hate it, you let me pinch your arm hahaha.

71. Even though it's tough and annoying at times, you're a SUPER piano player & teacher. Our house sounds a lot nicer.

72. That you know that you're a daughter of God, and that you take that seriously- I love you!

     *My smooth-move brother B

73. That you're determined to give it 110% in everything, especially in school & sports.

74. That you can get along with anybody, and you know what to say at the right time.

75. You're representing the Nissinen name well at Wendy's, the Christensens, etc. You're such a hard worker!

76. For knowing when's a good time to work and to laugh- and you know how to do both!

77. That you're patient with me and being an example throughout my life.

78. That you're a great older brother and preparing yourself for a mission- I love you!

     *The best mom ever!

79. For loving me no matter what I do, and that I'm your missionary son.

80. That you love Andy Griffith just as much as I do :)

81. After school you always asked me how my day went- I'm grateful that you pray for your children.

82. That you came up with the Fast Sunday Tie idea! I look forward to wearing that tie every month.

83. For sending packages, ice cream money, and emails every week.

84. That you ALWAYS act out of love. Everything you do is because you love your family and this gospel- I love you!

     *My awesome Dad

85. That I can always look up to you.  I hope to be a father like you someday.

86. For teaching me the value of hard work- there's no better feeling; and you're a great example.

87. Your loyalty to Mom and your family. I can always count on you and look to you for help.

88. For the discipline in our family because you love each of your children. You always want us to improve.

89. For supporting me throughout my life with every decision- sports, scouts, school, my mission.

90. That you made this choice to be a member of this church. I wouldn't be here without you- I love you!

     *Last but not least, my Savior and His Atonement

91. His perfect attributes of charity, patience, and kindness.

92. That He always knows how I'm feeling because He felt it. He understands.

93. That He loves all of God's children, enough to die for us.

94. That He's always there and wanting us to turn to Him when we make mistakes.

95. That He lives! And we'll all live again someday.

97. For the many times He has comforted me when times are tough, and giving me strength.

98. That I have His name on my badge and that I represent Him literally for 2 years.

99. Because of all this, I'm so grateful our family can live together forever in the Celestial Kingdom-It's so true!

100. That even though I'm not perfect, I can wake up everyday and know it's a new day. Through daily repentance I feel like I can work with no regrets. Through the Atonement, I'm becoming someone better. I'm so grateful that I can overcome my many weaknesses. This time of Thanksgiving is a great time for families & friends to be together. And even though we won't all be together physically, I'll be thinking of you all. I'm so grateful for this gospel, for the commandments that keep us safe, and for my eternal family.

     Please be safe. I'm so grateful for this time to be serving with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I love being a missionary and seeing the change in people's hearts as they accept the gospel and have the Savior in their lives. Have a great Thanksgiving.  There's so much to be thankful for.

I love you!

    Elder Nissinen

                          

        

Hi everyone!

This last week was CRAZY!!!

Starting off on Monday, we picked up a new investigator! He's Adrian, 13 years old. We found him through street-contacting, and he's pretty interested in learning. We first taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and even though his mom was doing the dishes in another room while we taught, once we started teaching repentance and baptism, the noise stopped in the kitchen. Elder P. noticed through some reflections that she stopped to listen from the other room. The Gospel is SO AWESOME!!!

This is what it looked like going to get our mail!

I don't know what happened, but the rain suddenly hit Apple Valley like no other!! The intersections in our area turned to huge puddles, and biking through them became impossible. So we walked :) That big thick jacket from CTR was a life-saver! And we stopped one night at a member's home, and she gave us homemade hot chocolate!!

One of the missionaries that we room with got sick for a couple days, so for those days we went on exchanges while one of us stayed home. On Tuesday night we got to play volleyball with the YSA ward! I met a guy from Hillsboro who lived right next to the Burgerville and Airport - small world!

On Thursday Elder P. and all the other leaders went down the hill to the mission office for a training with some executives from the Mission Department. My takeaway from it all is to use our time more effectively to find more people to teach - and that's also our responsibility.

For Thanksgiving we're planning on having a Turkey Bowl between all of us missionaries and then eat and visit members for the day. Strangers usually don't want to talk to missionaries over their families. But it'll be a fun day!! 

I'm learning so much everyday. The scriptures have become my best friend, and every question I've had has been answered in them. I care so much for the people in this area, and I don't want to stop working!! It's a great feeling at 10:30 when you know you've done your best - you're exhausted! I don't think I've ever slept this good either :) My companions have told me that I've even taught in my sleep haha.   

And my testimony of fasting has grown so much!! After we fasted last Sunday for a specific part-member family in our ward, we stopped by their house this week and had a great conversation with the mom and children who aren't members. We can tell her heart had been softened by the Lord, and she invited us back! We taught her and her son the Restoration, and she was glued to us when we bore our testimonies :) Last night we watched the Restoration movie with her son, 15, and after bearing our testimonies of the Book of Mormon, he said that he believed he knew what we were saying was true, and wants to find out for himself.

The Church is SO TRUE!!! I love it and everything about it!! We're continuing to work hard, and we see miracles every day. Thank you for all your prayers. Keep reading your scriptures daily - there's power in them!! I love you all so much!! Have a great Thanksgiving!!! I'm so grateful for my awesome family. Have a safe time :)    

                                 Love Elder Nissinen

A member let us use his dirt bikes for a picture. I guess this is why they don't give missionaries motorcycles

Elder B. rockin out Santa's new ride

Elder P. hugging a Joshua Tree!

The Best Tripanionship ever!!!!

Hi everyone!! Looking back a few days ago, I've been out 3 months already! Time goes by super fast. Though the days are long, the work is great!

This week was pretty hard for me and my companions. All of our investigators were either sick, working, not home, cancelled, or dropped us. One day we had all of our appointments cancel. So this week all of us are focusing on finding a new solid investigator who is sincerely seeking the truth. 

Yesterday we fasted because of all this, and we specifically fasted with a recent convert in our ward. His wife and children aren't members, so we fasted that the Spirit would soften the family's heart to the message of the gospel. So we hope we can stop by sometime at their house and begin a friendship with the family. 

The major spiritual experience we had this week was also at Church yesterday. Our most solid investigator Eric (12) came to church, so now we officially have a PROGRESSING INVESTIGATOR!! He's getting baptized December 7 into our ward! He was feeling a little sick yesterday, but he told us that he knew he had to come because Satan didn't want him to - so awesome!! He's definitely been prepared. And our Deacons quorum is amazing! He went to their Bishop's Youth Discussion (like our Bishop's Chat) last night, and he already has some great friends in the small Granite Hills ward. 

Elder P. and Elder B. have been doing awesome! We get along great together, and it's totally fun to tease and mess around with each other. We each have different strengths that make our tripanionship awesome! Elder P.  has the experience and wisdom, Elder B. is bold, sincere, and knows how to lighten the mood, and I'm most familiar with the area and willing to work 110% :) 

Elder P. told me of a tradition that he and his family are doing every day. There're 531 pages in the Book of Mormon, and every day he and his family read one page until he gets home. They have it planned out so that the day he gets home, they all read the last page together and pray about the Book of Mormon. That's a super cool tradition! Maybe we can do it.

Can you send me a calendar or list of people's birthdays? I think someone in our extended family has a birthday in November...haha

I hope everyone is having a great week!! I'm so grateful for an awesome family that loves and lives the gospel! 

Be safe, have fun, and do your best :) The Church is true!

Elder Nissinen

Hi everyone!! 

This week has been AWESOME!! If you haven't heard, I'm in a trio now!! I found out Tuesday night that my trainer Elder P. is training two missionaries now - the other one straight from the MTC! And...he's waiting for his visa to Brazil too! His name is Elder B.  from Dallas Texas, and he's a lot of fun. So with 5 elders in one house, there's definitely never a dull moment. 

So what to talk about...On Tuesday at the S. family home, I gave all the kids those bracelets that Ninnie and the cousins made for me to hand out. And they LOVED them! It was to help remind them about putting on the Armor of God everyday, and they really liked that lesson. 

As for investigators, we picked up a couple new ones this week. Eric, a 12 year old who's the brother of a member, is getting baptized within the next month! The only issue is that he technically lives in another ward, but he takes the lesson at his sister's house, so we'll have to figure out logistics for him to be baptized.  Debbie dropped us because she wants to read in the Book of Mormon by herself until she feels ready to talk with us again. It's kinda a bummer, but we've picked up a few more investigators who are making strides towards committing to baptism real soon. Elders P. and B. are really hard workers, so together we'll definitely be seeing some great miracles happen in the Granite Hills ward during this transfer - we're excited! And our Bishop and Ward Mission Leader are more excited than ever!

On Friday, all of our lessons fell through, so we spent the whole day street contacting people and talking to as many as we could about the gospel. We ran into a couple of Jehovah Witness missionaries, and we had an...interesting discussion with them haha. Another person was looking to fight us when we approached him in his garage. Who knew it'd be so crazy in California? haha

But one of the highlights this week has got to be Chris. He's been meeting with the missionaries for a few months now, and most of the time he cracks jokes with them. But ever since we talked about temple marriages and sealings, Chris has been showing signs of interest. His wife passed away 5 years ago, and they actually were never legally married, so when we talked about temples, he couldn't stop thinking about it until our next discussion. We talked about baptism, and why he hasn't felt like being baptized since missionaries started talking to him, he looked at me straight in the eye and said, "Am I really worth it?" I almost cried at his sincerity. After talking with him a little about the Atonement, and talking about coming to church, he said "Ok lets be serious about this. When can we do a tour of it?" We'll be setting it up this week with Chris. He's an awesome guy. Truly there's something different about this area now that we have 3 of us in one area. 

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!! I heard the Ducks lost, but we don't have to talk about that. Thanks for the package!!! The pillowcase and the Ducks shirt are AWESOME! And I totally laughed when I read the Andy Griffith quotes. The Nissinen family is so cool :)

Thanks Mom and Dad for the Duck shirt!!!

Thanks for emailing me and telling me how things are going. I hope you all are having fun today (is there no school?). Tell Papa thank you for his service in protecting the freedoms we have here. I hope you all can reply soon! 

I love you!

Elder Nissinen

My last picture with Elder D.  

Hi everyone!!!

This whole week has been fun and work. With the Trunk r Treat, Halloween, and Elder D.'s going home, every day has been a blast!!

So to start off, Elder D.  and I decided to have a little fun with our Zone Leaders this week. To kick off the fun, we put a rubber band on our kitchen sick's hose, so whenever one of them turned on the sink, they'd get blasted with water!! We soaked them three times!!! For revenge, they took our bikes seats off and hid them. So we took their showerhead and hid that. Then they took cold water and dumped it on Elder D.  while he was showering. We were like that the whole week - it was pretty hilarious!!! 

The Trunk r Treat was on Tuesday night. The 4 of us missionaries were in charge of cooking and serving the chili dogs. There was a HUGE turnout, so I was basically running around the whole time stocking up on buns, hot dogs, etc. Two of the deacons dressed up as missionaries, and the Bishop dressed up as a Polynesian missionary, skirt and all! haha I wished I got some pictures of it all, but I was too busy running around. 

Thank you all SO MUCH for the pizzas on Thursday!!!! We had no idea it was gonna happen!! :) There were 8 of us that night, and we had PLENTY of pizza for everyone. Thank you!!!! It was a fun and relaxing night. We only had a few trick-or-treaters that night, so we gave them all the candy that members and investigators gave us. We had SO MUCH candy!!! And it was just a lot of fun to hang out and enjoy the night. 

Over the last couple days, Elder D. has gotten pretty trunky, naturally. I can't blame him a bit, since I know I'd be pretty trunky if I was within hours of going home. He's pretty excited, and it feels just like yesterday that we met 6 weeks ago. The last couple days he's been sending packages home full of stuff he's accumulated over the last 2 years. On Wednesday we had to get a box for his bike at UPS, and once we got the big box, we realized we had a problem: you can't fit a bike box inside a Corolla. So what do you do? Well, picture a box as big as a car roof that is being held down by 4 missionaries as it flaps on top of the car!! The wind got so bad, we decided to take our belts off and loop them around the box to hold it on!! We laughed at everyone's reaction of seeing a hug box being held down by belts on top of a Corolla. Pretty funny!!! 

 But now I'm starting over with a new companion!!! I guessed right: I'm staying here in the Granite Hills ward, same house and address. So you can continue to send me stuff to the Quivero address. But my new companion is Elder P. This is his last transfer too! He's from West Jordan Utah, 21 years old, and......he's a redhead!!! He was a Zone Leader last transfer, so I'll be learning a ton from him over the next 6 weeks. 

My new companion Elder P.

So here's some "missionary slang" that we use to talk about our "posterity," or missionaries that we train. Elder D.  was my "father" (the person who trains you), and Elder P. is my "stepfather" (the person who does the follow-up training if you don't have the same trainer for 12 weeks). When you're an elder's last companion, you "kill" him. So the story goes: I'm killing my father and my stepfather. It's kinda crazy, but the missionary life is like a "mini-life:" you're born and you die, you have companions and trainees, and before you know it, it's over.

Quick story about Debbie. Remember her? We first committed her to a baptismal date, and after coming back from out of town, she cancelled it. Anyways, last week, we taught her the Plan of Salvation, she felt the Spirit, and now BOOM! She's getting baptized December 14th! She's the most solid investigator we have, and we have plenty more along the way to the waters of baptism!! We're working with that HUGE family - they're in a pretty rough financial condition, so us and the ward council are doing all we can to help them. But we do what we do - TEACH! :) 

I'm so grateful for this work!! I've really been learning what it means to "focus on what you can control," and because of people's agency, it can be hard to see past that. But I'm so grateful for everyone's prayers. I love Sundays, especially Fast Sunday. The Fast Sunday Tie is an awesome tradition!! 

I'm so glad to hear everyone is doing great!! Winning soccer games, being busy working, and working hard in school! Keep it up everyone!!! I love you all! 

You'll hear from me soon! Love you!

Elder Fuss 

Thanks Mom for teaching me how to dishes!  You taught me well!!!

Thanks to all my cousins who made me 60+ rubber band bracelets to hand out to children.  They will love them!!!

Hi everyone!! Boy, the time is FLYING out here! Elder D. can't believe today is his last P-day as a missionary, from then on he'll have infinite P-days! It's bitter/sweet for him.

Anyways, this week has been GREAT! We've continued to work hard and give it a 110%, and after all has been said and done, (drum roll).....we got 20 lessons this week!!!! It's been the first time in a LOONNNG while since that has happened in the Granite Hills ward! We were so grateful for the many opportunities we've been given to share our testimonies and to teach everyone we meet. 

We couldn't have done it without the help of Armando. On Tuesday we had our District meeting at the church building, and right after we started, a random man walked in and asked if someone could show him around. Immediately Elder D. and I hopped up and gave him a tour and taught him the Restoration right there in the foyer. He wants to change his life around, and something pulled him to check out this church. If he stopped by any other time, the building would've been locked. Turns out Armando lives in a different ward than ours, so we introduced Armando to the missionaries who serve in that area. But it was definitely a miracle that everyone in our zone saw that day.

By the way, thank you SO MUCH for the packages this week!!! Our zone is officially set on Halloween candy! :) We're having a "party" Thursday night since we have to be in by 6pm, so we're getting all the missionaries in the area to come over to our house and hangout. It'll be a blast!! I've also been trying out those ForeverMints, they're great!! Thank you for the packages and everything you all and the rest of the family have been sending me! It's so fun to read the postcards from the cousins and everyone else. Thank you!

The Granite Hills ward is having their Trunk r Treat on Tuesday, and the 4 of us Elders in the ward have the honor of making the chili dogs for that night haha. I may even bring my Brazil apron along - I'll send pictures of all the fun next week. It'll be a blast! We're inviting all our investigators and people we're teaching to it. It'll be a lot of fun! 

I was so glad that the S. family sent you some pictures the night we taught them. They're one of my most favorite families in the ward! We've been teaching them every week, most of the time on FHE, and they're a ton of fun! 

By the way Mom, check the mailbox within the next couple days if you haven't gotten something already :) I can remember all of our families birthdays, but I can't remember the cousin's. If you could send me a list or calendar or something that'd be a big help! Happy Birthday Mom!!! :)

Oh before I forget, in case I do get transferred to a different area this week (which I doubt), don't send any letters or packages to the house address. If I do get transferred, it'll take a while for missionaries to forward it all to me wherever I'm serving. But you can send stuff to the mission office. I'll know for sure where I'll be in a week, and I'll update you all then. 

Thank you everyone for the awesome emails, letters, packages, and prayers!! It's so awesome being a missionary! I love it! Please be safe! 

I love you all!!! You'll hear from me soon! :) The Church is so true!!!

Elder Fuss

PS "Like I said, you made an illegal U-turn. And I Gomer Pyle of the town of Mayberry of the United States of America, arrest you."

"Hooray!!" hahaha

Getting Flu Shot!

Thanks Aunt Ninnie and Family for the "Greenie" Box full of all "Green" things!

Hi everyone!!! I hope everything is going great at home!! I'm glad to hear you got the SD card and letters! 

This week has been so great!!! Spending a lot of the day with Elder Robbins of the 70 was such a blessing!! You outta see the notes I took during that meeting!! I took sooooo much away from that meeting! Elder Robbins does time management for businesses, so a focus of that zone conference was becoming more time-efficient, better-planning, and hopeful missionaries. From that meeting, our studies have really improved, so that we're really talking about people and what exactly do we need to teach and have them feel in order to know the Church is true. 

But it's been hard. There wasn't a lot of teaching opportunities, and a lot of appointments canceled on us. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on. Elder D. and I have been working harder than ever, more obedient than before, more focused, etc, but not a lot was showing for it. Elder D. called it an "Agency Week" haha. 

Although this last week there was not as many lessons as in the past, we continued to work hard and look for opportunities. I'm growing everyday. Sometimes it's hard to look at numbers and not see the success there. Many of our past investigators have been investigating for a long time, and little if any progress has happened with them. One of our investigators who had a baptismal date (Marcos) is going to court this week, so we may never see him again. But I'm so grateful that my zone leaders asked me and my companion to fast on behalf of the zone. On Sunday I was really asking Heavenly Father for the help that I need as a missionary and for the ability to reach the zone's goals for the number of baptisms and lessons. 

But Heavenly Father answered our fast in another way. During Ward Council that morning, I got a phone call from the sisters in another ward. They said that a family of 8 is on their way to our sacrament meeting this morning, interested in hearing about the gospel and to learn more! This family was originally tracted into by the Spanish elders, then got contacted into the Sister missionaries, and when they realized that this family was in our area, they referred them to us and figured out a ride for them to church! All of this was within a half hour of happening!! Immediately the Ward Council pitched in, welcoming this family, showing the children the Primary and Nursery, and leading us to their classes. A fire lit underneath the ward, the first time that investigators have come to church in months in the Granite Hills ward!! I've been praying for this ever since I've heard the ward's history when it comes to missionary work. 

We set an appointment for that night, we taught them the Restoration, and....drum roll...They're committed to be BAPTIZED!!! November 16 is the day for 4 convert baptisms from that family!!! One lady, her 8-year-old daughter, an older daughter, and the older daughter's boyfriend,  It'll take some work; the boyfriend and girlfriend aren't legally married, and their financial situation is rough, but all things are possible through Him who strengthens. And they're SUPER humble!  :) My fast couldn't have been answered in a more profound way. Again, everyday my testimony grows. 

Elder D.  and I have high hopes for this week!! We have 16 appointments planned, and we'll have even more!! We really can do it! I truly believe that something great is right around the corner :) I have such a testimony about missionary fasts!! 

I've been feeling everyone's prayers and I'm so grateful for it! Tell Ninnie THANK YOU for sending the funny post cards from the family. I've been getting them everyday!! I also got the package with the pictures and chapters from Suit Up - They're so great!! I've added the pictures to my missionary wall next to my bed :) 

I don't want to leave this area!! There's so much work to be done here, and Elder D. and I are more energized than ever to get out and give it everything we've got! The only time I think about Brazil is when I'm speaking and studying Portuguese :) 

By the way, there's a rumor about the mission receiving iPads that the Zone Leaders "leaked" to us. They may be just pulling my leg, but there's a chance we could get them this week! And you know me when it comes to Apple stuff, I couldn't be more excited! haha

The Church is so true!! I'll write a letter with responses to all your emails and send it out tomorrow. I fixed our mailbox so it has a flag on it: basically it's a pencil with an index card box-taped on the side. It's pretty ghetto but it works! :P 

I hope B and Rosie are LOVING Seminary! And Joe, you're not far behind at all! :) Keep working hard, being safe, and doing the very best you can! 

I love you all so much!! The time is going by fast here, and Elder D. is counting down the DAYS before he leaves. I have more months left than he has days! haha He's handling his grandpa's death really well, and missionary work really helps with it.

I Love you!!!

Elder Fuss 

Hi everyone!!! It's great to hear from you again!! Mondays are definitely my favorite day too!!

As I've looked over the past week, I've noticed it's been a really good week for Elder D. and I. I got both of the GREAT packages from you and Ninnie - the Greenie box and the Mickey Mouse box. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! They're so awesome!! One of the boxes hung around the Mission office for almost a week, and everyone inside wondered what was inside the package. And guess what?!? My mission president and his wife know who Barney Fife is!! :D Tell Ninnie thank you so much for the really cool surprises she put in there. My companion told me they were some of the largest packages he's seen on his mission!

I also got Mama and Papa's and your letters with the "lunch money" in it. Unfortunately there isn't a restaurant in the area that we bike. On Friday, one of the Elders that we share Granite Hills ward with was having a bad day. So we drove out to McDonalds and I bought everyone ice cream cones :) Sounds like something Papa would do :)

Overall this week, we got a couple new investigators, and we committed one to baptism!! Marco is his name, and we've been stopping by his house everyday to see how he's been doing. We invited three investigators to church, but unfortunately none of them showed up :( But we won't give up!! This week we got 13 lessons in, because a lot of appointments canceled last-minute. The numbers sometimes don't show the effort, but Elder D. and I are really trying to work hard!

You wouldn't believe this, but on Tuesday, I actually had to pull out my winter coat and wear it!! Up to 40mph winds, and we couldn't even ride our bikes in it, it was so rough!! So we walked from appointment to appointment in the crazy wind and rain!! In California!!!

You might wonder why I titled my email, All Dogs go to Outer Darkness. In Apple Valley, EVERYBODY has at least one dog! And so naturally when two guys in white shirts and ties ride their bikes down any street, every dog barks at them!! Thankfully they have fences around every house, but it doesn't make it easy to knock on someone's door when they have their dog barking at you. At one person's house, Elder D. almost got bit by a tiny little rat of a dog. They can drive you crazy!! haha I'll remember not to get a dog when I come home haha.

I don't know exactly why, but Sundays are so awesome as a missionary! The Bishop has us sit in Ward Council, so it's good to have the rest of the ward know that we're focused on the Work. The Sacrament means so much, and everything about Church is great!

After three weeks of not having a haircut, I definitely needed one!! So my companion and I went to a local place. I'll send a short video I made of us on the way to the Family History center.

We're in a different Family History center today, so unfortunately I can't print all of your emails and the chapter today.

I hope you've been getting my letters! I sent one to Mama & Papa and Ninnie last week.

As for addresses, I figured out our correct house address. I wrote it down and sent it in my last letter, but it's also Apple Valley, CA  if you haven't gotten the letter yet. I think it's faster if you send it to our house instead of waiting till Thursdays for the Zone Leaders to get all the mail for us. I check my mailbox everyday :)

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!!! I'll send home the receipts I haven't thrown away. I get $40 every other week, and you can tell I'm not the most frugal missionary hahaha. It's all fun. I'm excited to hear from you all again!!

Please reply as soon as you can!! Right before I log off I'll send you some pictures and hopefully a video that is small enough to send.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!! I'll send a letter or two in the next couple days to you all!! Please be careful, stay awake when you're driving (cough cough B...haha), and be safe!!! I'm so grateful for my awesome family!!

The Church is true!!

Elder Nissinen

October 7th

Dear Family,  How're you doing?!?!

Sorry about what happened last week. I was hoping we could chat, but we had to leave a little after I sent those emails.

I would've emailed earlier this afternoon, but we didn't have the keys to the Family History Center until now. This morning we went on a hike to a greener part of our zone on a more rocky hike. It was really neat!! I'll send some pictures, and a video too if I can. :)

I've been doing great this last week. Elder D. and I have been working really hard, and we can see the success we've been having so far. The area is pretty tough; religion isn't a lot on people's minds, and if they are religious, they're usually not open to Mormon missionaries. But we're seeing the "little victories" we have every day.

 Before I came here, Elder D. and his companion were having less than 10 lessons a week total. And since Elder D. and I have been working all day, this week we had 16 lessons!!! Our goal is to have 20 this week, and we have a lot scheduled already!! We'll do great if we just keep working.

 Conference was SO COOL!!! It means so much more when you're a missionary!! We got to watch it in some members' homes, which was pretty cool. It's so cool to think that you all were watching it together too at the same time!! I hope you all got to see it! One of my favorites was President Uchtdorf's during Priesthood session - really awesome!! There were some really great talks on Saturday if you didn't get a chance to see some of them. Now I just can't wait till we get them in the Ensign!! :)

After Priesthood session a few of us elders went to In-N-Out for dinner. It was my first time!! Not too bad, but I'll have to say 5 Guys and Wendy's are better haha.

 I've done just about everything a missionary does when it comes to dealing with people. Elder D. and I got into a really interesting "discussion" with a lady who straight up called us "brainwashed." But we both testified of the truth and that we know that the Church is restored. And then the lady got up and went back into her house. It was definitely a testimony-builder. The thing about the gospel, is that it MAKES SENSE!!!! Because God is our loving Heavenly Father, everything about it makes sense - everything!! There's just so much confusion in other religions, so it's difficult for people to see that yes, we needed a Restoration, we need the Book of Mormon, we need that priesthood authority, etc. etc.

So one of my Zone Leaders had a bike that he used, but since he broke a bone in his collar, he drives a car now. So I use his bike now. In the last week Elder D.  and I both have had flat tires from biking in the thorny desert. It's pretty funny and frustrating sometimes, but we make it work.

 The city of Apple Valley is nice, especially at night. Since there's hardly any street lamps in my area, the night sky is awesome! A lot of dust, and people ask me if it's different than Oregon. I just tell them it's a different kind of beauty. :)

 Anyways, I've been working hard and doing my best. I can honestly say that although I may be disappointed in our investigators in not showing interest, I'm not disappointed in myself. And I think that's what success really is. Elder D. is a great companion. A little nerdy, LOVES to play Dungeons & Dragons card game  (which is what he does on P-day with some other elders), but he's got TONS of experience out here.

 The days feel like weeks, but the weeks feel like days :)

 Remember that other address I wrote about in one of my letters? The one on Quivero Rd? You can forget about that address and send stuff to the mission office.

 I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!! I'm looking forward to getting those packages. Our Zone Leaders pick up the mail on Thursday mornings, so if you've sent it already, I'll have it this week.

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!! I Love hearing from you!! I hope everyone is safe and is having fun at home!

If you can do an email chat with me, I'll be here for about another half hour or so. :D

 LOVE YOU!!!!

 Elder Fuss

Elder Nissinen with his new companion Elder "D"

Hi Dad!!!!!

The Rancho Cucamonga mission is a BLAST!!!!! It's totally different than the MTC, or really anything that I've done, but I'm working hard and trying to be the best I can :)

So Tuesday night we got picked up by a couple random elders who took us to their different apartments and we slept there for the night. I got to sleep on the floor, but I was SO TIRED that day from everything I was OUT in a heartbeat! The next morning we got up, worked out, and then headed back to the mission office to get our new companions and to do a little training.

So drum roll........ my new companion is ELDER D.(rhymes with "C." and everyone gets it wrong haha). He's a really cool elder, and actually I'm gonna be his last companion! (For a good reason, not the same as Elder H.). He heads home in early November, so this'll be the last 6 weeks of his mission! He has a TON of experience here with almost 23 months under his belt, and I'm always learning from him and his teaching skills. We work great together. We both try to be out as late as we can before we have to be back in our apartment by 9. Elder D.  is from Pennsylvania, and he just turned 21. I'll send you some pictures of us :) 

Elder D. and I serve in the Granite Hills ward with another set of missionaries in the town of Apple Valley. I'll help paint a picture of Apple Valley for ya: Imagine the scenery in the movie Napoleon Dynamite and replace all the grass with dust. When we're biking to our appointments, I'm just imagining someone to randomly yell out "RAWHIDE!" because it's a total desert. They call the area the High Desert, and I can see why. But the weather is AWESOME!! We're in the sun just long enough so I don't get burnt, and it's around the high 80's everyday. People tell me I got here just in time to miss the really hot spell during the summer in the Desert. 

The church here is pretty small, and the ward is mostly older couples with a few young families. The Bishop is cool. We had breakfast at his house on Thursday morning and his wife made everything GREEN since I'm a "greenie," which was pretty funny. We get dinners almost every night, and most of the meals I've had here have so far been casseroles haha. Oh well, a missionary is always hungry. The people here are really.....different too haha. Since it's SoCal, we meet all sorts of interesting people with tattoos, crazy hairstyles, and come from a poorer area. Most of the time we've spent here has been biking around our 2 square mile area and trying to set up appointments with Less-actives, Recent Converts, and the few investigators we have. BUT on Thursday we visited a former investigator named Debbie and taught her the Restoration. She was really receptive to it and told us she felt the Spirit. And guess who extended the baptism invitation? ME! She said......YES! And we have her scheduled to be baptized on November 9th. We're really praying for her to come to church, since that's something that a lot of missionaries struggle with is getting investigators to come to church.

Our apartment is actually a member's home that she doesn't live in anymore, so the missionaries use it. There's 4 of us in it, and we share it with our Zone Leaders, who are also really cool elders. It's honestly quite a dump haha, but we do with it what we can. Actually funny story, on Saturday we helped a member's neighbor move, and in return, we got a couch and table! So we took our dumpiest couch and table and put them on the street!! Haha only in California!! And...within 5 minutes someone pulled up and hauled the table away. And the couch is still on the street but no biggie - it's California haha. 

Thank you SO MUCH for your emails!!! I LOVE hearing from you and everyone!! 

Thank you for teaching me how to work hard. There's a lot of "free-time" on a mission, but the Lord will really bless us if we're outside our apartment working. We've also been trying to get the ward involved with helping us with referrals and lessons, but it's been hard, so we try to stay busy doing whatever we can to find. Thank you for your everyday example to me, your prayers, your love, your support, and every little thing that has prepared me for this moment. 

I LOVE YOU DAD!!!!! Please respond when you can, since there isn't really a time-limit on the computers for missionaries :)

Your missionary and son,

Elder Nissinen

September 20th

Hi Mom!!!

I'm super excited to go serve in California!!! I saw a picture of my new mission president, President H. He and his wife look like awesome people! I'm so excited to meet them and get right to work :) 

Did you and Dad get my travel info in an email? 

So before Elder H left, there was a 3-some in my district. So after he left, one of the elders in the trio became my companion. His name is Elder A., an 18-year old missionary like me from Texas. He's really cool and really wants to work hard. Our planning meetings and lessons are a lot more efficient and we get a lot done. 

I talked to Elder J. and he and his mom know about calling from airport. He's really excited to go serve in Tulsa OK. From my district, there's two sisters going to Scotsville Arizona (Sisters A and B), two elders and a sister going to Tulsa OK (Elders J. and M and Sister T), one elder going to Eugene OR (Elder V), and two of us going to Rancho Cugamonga (me and Elder J.). We're all leaving within the next few days! We all opened our reassignments together - it was like Christmas!! :) 

Today we did Initiatories at the Temple for the first time as a district - It was a great time!!! After I email I'll start packing. I washed all my clothes already and ironed a lot of it. 

Anyways, hope we can chat whenever you can.

LOVE YOU MOM!!! 

Elder Fuss

PS. Keep an eye out for a package that I'm sending home :)

California here I come.....!

I got my reassignment today!!!!! Turns out, no one was right!!! 

I'm going to CALIFORNIA!!!!!!! Rancho Cucamonga Mission!!!!!!! I leave Tuesday morning on the 8:45am flight to LA!!! 

WOOHOOOOOHOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :D Super excited!!!!! 

Saturday, September 7th

Dear Family,

          Thank you again for the really awesome package!  I loved everything about it: the really neat dictionary, the AMAZING mickey pin, ( that's my ultimate favorite :), and the index card!.  My companion had never heard about folding a card like that, so he was stoked to do it at members homes! It's a really neat idea!  Thanks you!!!

     I also got Mama & Papa's letter today too!  I hope everyone had fun up in Detroit Lake and that Papa had a really fun birthday.  Tell Papa to not worry: I'll still make him say "Uncle" :)  They're so funny and I love them a ton!
  Every time I get a package, I make a new friend.  Somebody always notices the Andy Griffith pictures, and they tell me "I love that show"!  I don't feel so alone watching TVland anymore haha.  My district gets a kick out of it, and  Elder H. just rolls his eyes, haha.
  Which teachers does everyone have this year?  Any that I had?  Classes here at the MTC are nowhere near like school.  i mean , what class in school would you start off with an opening prayer, reciting our purpose, the firs vision,  Moroni's promise and then having someone give a spiritual thought and bearing their testimony?!!!  That's never happened in Senior Ricardo's spanish class.  That's for sure!!!
It's awesome here.  No one is ever alone here.  The companion is always within sight and sound of you.
     A quick question for you mom... should I wash my laundry bag every time I wash my clothes?  It it good for it?
     Anyways, I hope everyone is staying busy and having fun!  Before you know it, I'll leave the MTC, Halloween will be here, then shortly after it'll be Thanksgiving, and I'll talk to you all on Christmas!!  It'll go by so fast, I can tell.  I'm just excited to get to work!   The work is real! Testimonies grow everyday.  The spirit is ow we do everything as missionaries.
      I love you all!!!!!!!!  Again, thank you for the letters, packages, and emails!
                                            Love you all,
                                           Elder Fuss

Dear Family,

     I'm so glad you got the SD card with no problem.  If you want me to take more pictures (anything in particular), please let me know:)  So about that tree, they show it to all the new missionaries on their first day here.  No one knows why, but you're right! It does smell like butterscotch, cream soda, something like that. It's kind of another of those crazy quirks at the MTC.

     Elder H is a great guy! He's definitely an Alabamian, even though he doesn't have the accent. Just the way he does stuff, you can tell he's Southern. He has a big heavy laugh, and me and him get along great. Every week we have what's called companionship inventory, basically where we smooth out the rough edges in our companionship and see where we could improve.
   
     I'm learning so many things here at the MTC. Things about the gospel, the language, being a missionary, and being a leader. Now that I'm District Leader, I've learned a lot about working with my district to figure out, set, and achieve goals for the district. On Wednesday, I noticed a missing seam in one of my slack's pockets. So what did I do? With some needle, thread, and 45 minutes, I finally fixed it up as good as I could haha. But it looks good, and you can't hardly notice the stitching, especially if I'm wearing a belt.

     You'll be glad to hear this Mom. I'm so grateful you gave me that small iron you got from Goodwill! These irons here aren't really reliable: water leaks, they've burnt out other elder's shirts, and it flickers on and off. But that little iron is as reliable as ever. I've let others elders in my district use it too. It takes a little longer to iron, but at least there's no gunk that gets on your shirt. And another thing that'll brighten your day, Mom. I'm really glad you made me take that haircutting set. Don't get me wrong, the barbers here do alright, but I've used the different razors to trim necklines that were uneven and to trim sideburns. If I ever have to cut hair in the field, I'll be ready :)

     I heard about everyone's first day of school! It won't be long before everyone is into the outline of things. B, the first week or so of Wendy's is basically video orientation: you watch videos about how to do stuff for HOURS. It get's pretty boring, but hey, you get paid to do it. But you're getting some great hours. 7 to 3?! I wonder what you'll be doing for 3 hours before the place even opens. What does everyone say about you working there after your brother quit? Haha.

     Elder H is like a big fuzzy bear. He has a LOT of body hair, and sweats a lot because of it, but he gives really big hugs. So basically he's like an older brother bear haha. And he's cool and always ready to relax and have fun, which you need if you want to survive the 10 hour study schedule of the MTC :)

     I would record a video of myself, but it's against missionary rules. I could ask my mission president when I get in the field, but I know at least in the MTC, only cameras with the picture function only are allowed. Sorry! But it'll be just a couple of weeks until I can call you from the airport.

     Oh also, I weighed myself again during gym time. Before I left, I weighed 160, and after working out I weighed 157!!! Last time when I weighed myself I had my church clothes on and weighed 164, so it's an improvement! It all starts with cutting out the donuts in the morning- those things are killer! Haha. You'll get this letter after I email you today, but I love getting all your letters and hearing that you're all safe. I love you!!!

Your "missionario",
                                 Elder Nissinen

P.S. "I can take some manners, I can take some cleanin' up, and I can take a bossy mouth. But I ain't about to be to death with no spoon!" -Briscoe Darling (HAHA!)

The Seven Dwarfs!!!  Jacob is "Sneezy", because he is the only one that hasn't been sick yet!

Hi Mom!! 

B looks great in his uniform!!! He'll have a great time working at Wendy's!!

And I love the bracelets too! All the missionaries that I've shown them to, they think it's an awesome idea! :) 

In my room on my desk I put up a few sticky-notes to help me think about missionary work and why I'm here. One of them says, "What Do I Stand For?" The bracelets we had before reminded me to write that. Sometimes missionaries don't follow all the rules, especially the Lights Out rule at 10:30. Some will stay up and talk in the vending machine room for hours after lights out, which make things difficult for everyone else trying to get some sleep. But there's a lot of good elders here who're trying to be obedient.

In my district there's 11 missionaries total, and there's one district leader per district in the MTC, so I'm it! :) There was an elder before me who was the District Leader, but they switch leaders every three weeks so more people can have the chance to serve in a leadership position. 

I'm glad you're always out on the lookout, Mom ;) Sister S. sounds like a really nice person! Where's she from?

We mostly speak English here honestly :P It's hard speaking Portuguese when most of the MTC is speaking English, but for one part of the day (usually the morning or evening classes), our district tries to go on just solid Portuguese.

I'm excited to get the package! Honestly I don't think my room could hold any more sweets haha. Between the four elders in it getting stuff from their families too, no one is every hungry haha. But we share and don't eat a lot of it. Before the MTC I weighed 160, and on Wednesday after working out, I weighed 157! The hardest part is not eating the donuts for breakfast, because those things are really tempting to have in the morning.

If I could've packed more of something to the MTC, I would've packed more athletic socks. Since we wear a pair during gym-time and on P-days, I go through two pairs pretty easy. Whenever you could, if you could send some socks (it doesn't matter which kind), that would be amazing!! Thank you for everything you've done for me!! 

Tell Papa HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Elder Fuss!!! I hope gets a thank-you letter I sent a few days ago for the last big package from the family. I hope he has a great and super fun birthday! I love you Papa!!!!!

Our residence hall is kinda weird lately. Apparently I talk in my sleep and I sleep walk. Every night it's either me or another elder in my room talking or doing something weird in our sleep - funny, huh? I never know what's going on when I sleep. I'm so tired at night that I just crash until the alarm goes off. 

I'll try to send pictures as often as I can. On some computers it doesn't let me, but I'll try everywhere I can. 

If you have any questions about anything, I'd love to answer them! I can't believe I have less than 3 weeks here! Elder S. got his reassignment today: he's going to Oakland/San Francisco California, and he leaves Wednesday!!!

Thank you for replying to my letters, emails, etc. I LOVE hearing from you all!!! There's so much to learn at the MTC, and we're constantly praying for the Spirit, or else we really can't teach. I'm soooooooo grateful for my family!!!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! It won't be long before I call you from the airport!!! 

Elder Fuss

Elder Nissinen loves the MTC!!!!

Dear Family,

   Attached is my SD card of pictures.  I tried to get a lot of the day-to-day things we do here.  If you've got questions about what some pictures are about don't hesitate to ask.   I hope it gets to you safely.
Anyways, thank you for you emails yesterday!  What's great is that i can print them out and read them over and over.  There's so much to do here in so little time, but we have so much fun here it's always a SPIRITUAL BLAST!!!
On Thursday we taught one of our other investigators.  Her name is Bruna and we teach her every other day.  In "reality", she really our teacher posing as Bruna, but we experience Turns out she loves to sing and, itself is so real.  Anyways, she's kind or a stubborn woman who doesn't think religion is important and God, Christ are a belief that binds people.  Elder H and I wanted to show her God's love for her, so we decided to sing a hymn before we have an opening prayer in our lesson.  Turns out she loves to sing, and I felt inspired to sing " I stand all amazed" in portuguese.  She didn't sing, but as Elder H and I sung, I could tell she was getting emotional- the spirit was there. We didn't talk much after that.  We invited her to pray on her knees out loud about our message and if God is really there.  She said she'd try, but thats a start.  Even though we didn't commit her to baptism, we invited her to feel the spirit, and thats what does the real teaching in people's lives.  It was just and awesome 20 minute experience.
     P-day went great!!! Laundry went as smooth as ever, emailing wasn't much of a problem (except figuring out the pictures), and the Temple we so awesome!!!  My first haircutting appointment went pretty well too!  A lot of Elders complain, but for a 15 min haircut, it wasn't bad at all.  Better than what I could do in an hour, HaHa.  But what's even neater is that some Elders in my district wanted me to fix their sideburns, neckline, and the lines in their hair with my razor!!  haha!!
     Last night was our first TRC- Training resources Center or something like that, it's where volunteer members sit down with missionaries and the have them teach a lesson or share a spiritual thought.  To me, it was a TON of fun!  We laughed with the members as we got to know them, and helped bear and grow their testimonies- all in Portuguese!!!!  I got the SUPER AWESOME FAT PACKAGE from the rest of the Long family- totally rocked my day!!!  My companion and I were laughing the whole time!!! and the rest of our district is pretty jealous. But we'll share all the stuff because heaven know we can't come close to eating all of it in less that 4 weeks.  They really liked the Wendy's  stuff too- great touch!!!
     I am going to try to write all the families in the next day or two and thank them all for their support, thoughts, and love.  I have all the families addresses except Ro's and Bogy's.  So I'll probably send them to our house and you can forward them to them.  I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks and that school is just around the corner!  What classes and teachers do the kids have? How are piano, soccer, running, and the new job coming along?  I'm excited to hear about your scripture studying and the goals and effort you all have put into studying the scriptures daily!!!  The blessings will continue to be poured out upon you all.  I love you a ton!!!!  Missionary work is fun, hard, and worth every second!!!
It feels great to have badge bearing his name, and that I can testify of the importance and divinity of my calling to be a set apart servant and representative of the Savior.  It's so awesome!!!

                                                                  Your missionary,
                                                                   Elder Nissinen

P.S. I love the bracelets!!!  I wear mine every night to bed.  They're so cool!!! Thank you!!!!

August 29th

Dear Family,

      Tuesday we got soaked- physically and spiritually.  So guess who came and spoke to us on Tuesday night??  ELDER NEAL L. ANDERSON!!!  The devotional that night was broadcasted to nearly all the MTC in the world!!!  His talk was titled " First love, then sacrifice." I thought it was really fitting for missionaries because we love and sacrifice so much.  He said, " we love the things we sacrifice and we sacrifice for the things we love".  So true!!!  The whole Marriott Center felt so awesome with all the missionaries singing and paying attention to an apostle's voice.  Really neat!

     After we closed the devotional, the security told us we couldn't leave because of lighting and thunder outside, so for another 15 minutes, everyone just sang hymns until we could leave.  But it was still pouring when we left.  We all knew we would get soaked, and we did.  But it was actually fun!  And good news, the CTR tie didn't get wet either. :)

     Tuesday we also had another service day!  I actually look forward to cleaning, believe it or not.  This time instead of vacuuming, I cleaned the sinks and counters in the bathrooms-gross!  Even elders make a lot of mess with their hair in those sinks.  But it was fun to just get out there and work.

     Funny thing with everyone's clothes being soaked on Tuesday, when I passed by the dry-cleaning service building the next day, the line was backed up so far.  I even think they had to turn some missionaries down unless they were leaving the MTC within a week.  But my suit's OK- if it starts smelling, I'll have it dry-cleaned.  They recommend having all your suits dry-cleaned before you leave the MTC anyways.

     In our district, we challenged each other to bear our testimonies (in Portuguese) to 5 different groups per day, and Elder H and I have been studying and practicing for our lessons.  We have 2 new posing investigators now, Bruna and João (John).  We teach one of them every other day, so there's a lot of studying that goes in that.

     I got your package yesterday!  Thank you thank you thank you so much!!  I know which of the hundreds of packages are mine because of The Andy Griffith Show pictures- they so make my day!  And I still remember the episodes of those pictures. :) Thank you again for the iPod and speaker!  I saw that there's pictures on them from the photo shoot a few weeks ago, and they look great!  Thank you!!!  My companion and I laughed at the Yahtzee game.  I'lll see if we can play it in the MTC, I'll look it up in the handbook.

And best of all, thank you so much Dad for your letter.  I love reading it, and I'll always treasure and protect it.  I'm so grateful for your example to me and your family.  I love and miss you so much, and it won't be long before I'm home.

     I'm excited to email you tomorrow.  I'll try to keep my emails short so you can respond quickly and we can have a conversation.

     I love hearing about the exciting things going on at home!  Tell Mama & Papa that it was great getting their letter in the package!  I miss them a lot too.  Have you been keeping up with America's Got Talent? Haha.

     I love getting your letters, and I always read one before I go to bed.  I think about you often, and I'm so grateful that families can be together forever, and that we all will live together after this life.  That's probably my most favorite thing about the gospel.

     Thank you for all that you do, everything that you've done for me, your prayers, thoughts, and support throughout all my life.

                               
                                                                             Love,

                                                                                    Elder Nissinen