SURPRISE!!!!

Dear family and friends, 

Things have changed! Big time! 

We received a call from President Heid Thursday. Apparently some Sister's apartment in a nearby area almost got broken into the day before, so they needed a safer place to stay. Our apartment is the closest one to theirs, so we were ordered to swap apartments with the 4 Sisters (ours is much safer). I assumed I'd still be companions with Elder Madsen, and that our areas would be white-washed. 

Well Saturday I got another call and was told that Elder Madsen was no longer going to be my companion. I'm with Elder Winborg, from Eagle River, Alaska! He's been out almost as long as me, and he's a great guy. I am still in the same apartment as Elder Madsen, but I'm no longer with Elder Bergeson and Kambwiri, which makes me a little sad. We are lucky though to be in the Sister's apartment, which is much nicer than ours! My area is about 20 minutes from my old area, so it's not too big of a transfer, but it's still stressful.

I will miss being in the same apartment as Bergeson. Man can he eat! We are in the same district though. 

Rose, a wonderful lady who will be baptized 12th March. She doesn't speak English, but she is so kind.  

The hardest part of all this is leaving Sangonaa. I loved that area so much! Everything I've learned up to this point has been in Sangonaa. The work was going soooo good too (4 baptisms next month) and I won't be there to keep it going. It's being white-washed by Sister missionaries. So basically the past few days we've been going around saying goodbye to everyone and helping the Sister's understand our area and investigators. Yesterday Elder Madsen and I gave our farewells in sacrament. Boy, it's sure hard leaving an area after so long! However, the work is apparently going great here, and Elder Winborg is a hard worker, so I'll be alright!

Had to say goodbye to Pascalene. Not easy. 

Just some friends of ours. This girl is so cool! I always told her she was my kid sister. Great girl. 

One lady I baptized with her family. One of my favorites to hang with!

I've learned a few things through this madness: 1) - It's the Lord's work, wherever I go. I'm hesitant on turning the area over, but the work is the same wherever, and the Sister's will be just fine in the end. His work will press forward. 2) - "I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord!" As part of the Lord's army, I listen to my commander, President Heid, and don't complain. He knows what's best for this mission, and I listen and obey as a soldier would do. 3) - It's important to be satisfied with NOT receiving recognition for my efforts. I so badly wanted those 4 convert baptisms next month, but letting others fulfill what I started needs to be alright by me. I don't need to to be recognized for everything I do. We're all a part of a team.

3 of the 4 in this picture have been baptized in the past 5 months. Seth and his friend Matthew are very strong in the gospel and awesome people! 

I'm excited to visit my new investigators and new area this week! 

Yes, I did receive the Valentine's Day packages! Those were some really great treats! Nothing beats American chocolate. Thanks a lot family for putting that all together. 

Congrats Jacob on your progressing investigator. Hard to believe Chancho is leaving. He'll be a great missionary. I'm excited for him! Good luck Joe in tennis this week. Have fun camping this weekend! 

More news to come! 

Love Elder Nissinen

Golden Investigator

Dear family and friends, 

Jacob, I'm using the title of your letter. Congrats on your new "investigator". Make sure you stay in contact with your investigator daily, as taught in Preach My Gospel. 

As for my week, it was awesome! Tough, hot, humid week, but boy were our efforts worth it. I would like to report about our "new area" we explored this week. It went surprisingly really well! We found several people who are prepared for the gospel. This area is a bit more secluded and not near as populated. There are also a lot more people who can speak English in this area, so it's all good news for us! We were blessed with two super golden investigators this week. One man is neighbors with Seth (our recent convert) and has such a similar life-story. Both men are the same age and have been through similar experiences. The man is named Matthew, and he's such a prepared individual. We've set his baptism for just under 3 week's time. Matthew is lives alone and gets really lonely, so we visit him throughout the day and talk about his life. We had fun the other day as he showed us pictures from his past. 

Yesterday had to be about the best Sunday I've almost ever had. We had FOUR investigators attend Sacrament, and all FOUR have baptismal dates for next month! We are so excited for the chance to possibly baptize FOUR converted souls into the Church the same month. It's a lot of work and preparation to make it happen ( a few can't speak English or are illiterate), but having investigators who desire to come to Christ is what we love! 

Like I said, the weather is really heating up. I'm getting heat rashes from it. 

I'm excited for what this week will bring us. We're having an increased focus on knowing the member's in the Branch and working with them. 

I wish I had a funny story to share, but I can't think of any this week.... darn! 

The work is good, our investigators are awesome, and our area is massive! We are having to bike all day instead of walking to meet our appointments on time now. 

You'd be proud of my budgeting, Mom.  I've done really good the past two weeks of using my Sub money, so I get to spend on average 20 cedis a day!~

Well, I love my mission.  I know without a doubt this is where I'm suppose to be right now.  Ghana is so life-changing.  I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have to be here serving the Lord among so many wonderful people.  Everything about this mission is fun!  I love the gospel.  I love teaching it to others, no matter how terrible their english is!  My mission is helping me become more patient, more humble, more Christ-like, more selfless, more thrifty, and more loving.  And most importantly,  I have a deeper understanding of the gospel and the scriptures.  I am gaining my testimony of all different things.  This experience is tuning me into a man!  Nothing else I could be doing now would replace these things I'm learning and seeing!   I've noticed the past few days how simple life is here, compared to the U.S.  I've always dreamed of living in the 50's or 60's. where things were just simpler and slower.  I've realized I'm somewhat living that lifestyle now.  Things are slower, simpler, and less high-tech.  I love Ghana for that reason!

Sounds like everyone is doing well. Congrats Joe on being smooth at the Stake Dance. I haven't received any packages yet, but I'm keeping my eyes out! 

Thinking of high school....  Jacob did a pretty good job of matching "Nissinen" with "A+".  I sort of changed that one to "Nissinen" with "Oh Boy".  Sorry Rosie and Joe!  Everybody leaves their mark.  

Tonight the 4 of us are going to a members house to eat Fufu!  I've eaten very little all day so I can have room for my Fufu tonight!  It'll make for a nice picture too.  Fufu isn't spicy.  Many food are.  Elder Madsen struggles with the peppers still.  Sunday he was sweating and crying at a meal.  My nose only gets runny now.  Your tongue adapts overtime.  Ghanaians like there spices!!!

Have a great week everyone. Sorry for no pictures, it was a busy week. 

Love always, 

Stayin'!

Awesome P-day zone activity at the beach today!  Way fun!

Most of our Zone today!

Dear Family and Friends,

We were fortunate to be able to have Elder and Sister Vinson, a General Authority, come tour our mission this week. On Tuesday him and his wife, as well as President and Sister Heid, came and spoke to us. All of the talks were basically on obedience. I loved them all! It was a 3 1/2 hour meeting, but it flew by for me. I really enjoyed all the messages shared. Elder Vinson is really impressive by his knowledge of the gospel and Preach My Gospel. He didn't have a written prepared talk. He spoke by the Spirit, rattling off scriptures, page numbers, and quotes. I learned a lot from him,  but one memorable thing he taught was how the parable of the Good Samaritan is actually about The Plan of Salvation! Mind = Blown. Afterwords, President Heid assigned 4 missionaries to have a personal interview with Elder Vinson. I was "lucky" to be one of those! I was nervous, but it turned out to really relaxed and brief. President Heid liked the flashcards I had made, so he showed them to Elder Vinson too. Elder Vinson is an awesome man! 

As for the rest of the week, it turned out to be about the same as the last. Elder Madsen was "Senior Companion", so he was leading in just about everything. He actually did a really great job. I'm proud of his efforts in not giving up. Saturday was the hardest day of my mission. Everything fell apart and nothing worked out. We taught like 3 lessons the entire day, but Elder Madsen was dedicated and pushed through it well. 

We've readjusted to the circumstances. This week we are going to where possibly no missionary has gone before!! There's a part in the edge of our area that I believe has never been trodden by missionary foot, and as we all know, desperate times calls for desperate measures! We plan to go out with Seth, who lives over in that area, later this week. It should be fun! 

The few progressing investigators we do have are doing great. We've discussed serious baptismal dates for them, and even had a few of them choose their date themselves. Good things to come! 

I am not getting transferred, which I can honestly say is good for me. Elder Madsen and I need more time together, and this area at this time is stretching me and my skills. Had I'd left, it would have been too easy I believe. 

Please put your hands together, because ELDER MADSEN HAS FINISHED HIS TRAINING! That's something that'll only happen once, so it's significant. 

Found this guy the other day.  If Joe keeps up with his pushups, he'll be just like him!

We call him Hulk Hogan.  I mean, I'm already a toothpick,
 but he magnifies it!

By the way...I can eat anything now, no problem. Speaking of food, last night at a member's house they gave us a stick of Orbit gum to chew. As missionaries we don't chew gum, but we were just chilling inside their house, so we had some for like 20 minutes. It was AMAZING! Totally honest, I was giddy. Like I was smiling ear to ear chewing this gum. It's been 6 months since my last piece. I forgot how to chew it too. I think I looked more like a goat or cow than a human. Really funny! 

I discovered a food called "Red Red".  It's by far the best meal I've eaten here! A little tricky to find, but it's so good.  It's red beans with gari and fried plantain.  I don't know why it took me 6 months to find it though! 

A question I get asked a lot from letters back home.  What do you love most about your mission??????? That question is impossible to answer. I love everything! The country, the people, the work itself. Everything, if looked at in the right light, is fun. I really love my mission. Being around people all day is a lot of fun. Teaching the gospel and seeing it sink into peoples' lives is fun. I love it all! 

Sounds like everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!.Good ol' President's Day is a fun one too. Have a great week! Take care of that truck, Joe. I was getting a little edgy seeing wood in the back of that thing. Keep up the hard work. Jacob, don't worry about the ladies. Treat them like investigators... sometimes they're aren't many, sometimes there are. Sometimes they call you, sometimes they don't! Haha.... 

I'll be keeping my eyes out for Ninnie's package this week!

Love always, 

Elder Nissinen

Joe, You're Not the Only One...

Dear family and friends, 

Well, this was another wild week in Sangonaa. That about sums it up. 

Last week Elder Madsen and I were a bit disappointed in our numbers, so we had a companionship challenge to work especially hard. A lot of investigators have not been keeping any commitments and have been hard to stay in contact with, so we were really needing some good help. We worked and worked, but the results were still the same for the most part. The language barrier has been taking its toll on us as well. Many people we teach still require a translation, so we have to rely on branch missionaries and others to help us out. It was a challenging week to say the least, but I'm having to constantly remind myself that it is the Lord's Work, and I cannot take away anybody's agency. As long as I do my very best, whatever happens happens, and I have to accept it and keep my head held high. That's life though, right?! We are planting seeds to say the least. 

A lot of focus for us has been on the less-actives and trying to get them interested and coming back to Church again. I get just as excited when I see a less-active in church as I do an investigator. Same! 

There's been an investigator that lives in our area that has been coming to another Ward's meeting time for several weeks now. She brought herself one week, then her husband the next, and then her two friends the next! So we had to "investigate" her. Unfortunately, she can't speak any English, so we were only able to receive her phone number. She never answers her phone, so for weeks now we've been dying to know where she lives so we can come teach her. Well, she came to our meeting time yesterday, and we followed her home! After asking her why she has been coming to our church, she told us that she felt like coming one week, and that every week after she feels like she needs to come back each Sunday. We're really excited to start teaching her family this week!

Birthday Boy Madsen! Our wonderful chicken and mashed potatoe with gravy dinner! It wasn't like the good ol'american potatoes, but I loved it! Bergeson is a genius cook!

Root beer floats!!!! So good!

Saturday was Elder Madsen's birthday. We did some service in the morning, then came back for Elder Bergeson's pancakes, then went out for proselyting. In the evening they got a chicken for dinner and I was in charge of desserts. Well, about an hour through preparing the chicken, I started to get really light-headed. My stomach dropped, and I decided to go to the bathroom....

This is me right after I passed out!  I yelled for help, and they were about to pound the door down, when I told them my head was against the door and they would hurt me if they continued. It was quite the experience!  Passing out is so bizarre!  

.... Well I woke up with my head against the door on the floor! I passed out! Don't really know what it was from. Preparing food like that has never bothered me before. I was thankful I was sitting down and no injuries occurred, other than my neck is a little stiff. I'm still surprised it happened. Joe, (my brother who passed out last summer watching a chicken be butchered.)  you ain't the only one brotha! The sweaty picture I sent is immediately after it happened. 

This week is a very exciting week. Elder and Sister Vinson, a General Authority, is touring our mission this week! He's giving a talk tomorrow for us. We have done a lot of preparation for his coming, including reading several different assignments from conference talks and Preach My Gospel. It is a very serious event, but I'm excited for his address to us. This is Elder Madsen's last week of training (can't believe it), so he's in charge of the phone and planning. I will do my best to emulate a junior companion so that he can prepare. Transfer news is this week as well. I would like to stay or go. I'm neutral, but I love Sangonaa.  Time goes by super fast.  6 months, already?!  Too fas, too fast.  I love it out here.  It's a total blast!!!

I just spent 3 hours hand washing my clothes .  My hands are tore up, but it feels good to be done with that job today. 

I forgot to send this to you.  Flashcards I made about a month ago.  I use them on every lesson!  Very handy.  I got them laminated and everything.  

Thanks for the emails and pictures! Totally jealous of the splitting wood party! Have a great week. Don't get too sunburned in that burning 63 degrees hahaha....

Love always, 

Elder Nissinen

We Push On!

Dear friends and family, 

Sounds like you are all doing well. Congrats on making it halfway through the school year! I am jealous of the camping trip. I too have a lot of fun memories at Mt. Hood Village. 

I thought this picture was a good photo-opp!

Well, this week was pretty challenging in it's own way. 

Tuesday we had our Missionary Worldwide Broadcast. It was way awesome! Elder Bednar and a few others gave talks on our purpose, and how we can be better missionaries. Elder Bednar gave a great discussion about the Holy Ghost, and how critical it is in the conversion process. There were a lot of things he said that I learned. Some other guy gave a great discussion about how we can better teach Less Actives and Recent Converts. He noted that missionaries should treat these people just like investigators, and re-teach them the discussions.That stuck out a lot to Elder Madsen and I. We often just visited the less-actives and said "why aren't you coming to church?" without really teaching them something. If we can rekindle that feeling they felt at baptism, then they will choose to come back once again. So that's been something we've been focusing on: teaching the less-actives. 

After church Elder Madsen gave me a gnalry haircut!

As you know, our teaching pool expanded a bit. We had to work pretty hard to see everyone. It was rewarding going from lesson to lesson all day long for the most part of the week. Even still, the most of our investigators aren't progressing much. Last night I got pretty frustrated. The mother of the 3 children we were planning on baptizing this Saturday told us she no longer wants them to come to Church anymore. Something about her pastor not allowing it. It was a real shock and bummer to say the least, but we're praying for the family. We are struggling for baptisms! We must remember that now matter how hard we work, it's the Lord's Work, not mine. Ultimately, it's our investigator's decision to progress or not. They have and always will have their agency. I'm learning to be "ok" with that the more and more I'm out here. 

Old lady Theresa who can't speak english.  She tole me I'm her boyfriend? We plan on baptizing her within a month or so.

We do have great progressing investigators though. One girl who we planned on dropping a few weeks ago suddenly flipped! She's reading the Book of Mormon twice a day, has a desire to be baptized, and comes to church on her own. We found an old lady who comes to church every week, it's just we didn't know about it. She doesn't know any English, but has a desire to be baptized. With the help of a few neighboring members, we are teaching her in 95% translated discussions! We got her a Book of Mormon in Twi. 

That was our week in a nutshell I suppose. The work is hard, and sometimes not as rewarding as I would like it to be, but I need to be content with what I do have. Elder Madsen is growing well. He's talking more, teaching more, and familiarizing himself with all the people we teach quite well. Only 2 more weeks of training! Yay! 

Yes, transfers are in two weeks. Jacob, thanks for the advice about transfers. I'm anxious about what's next, but I can't focus on that. There's too much to be done around Sangonaa first. I know whenever I go that I will miss Sangonaa very much! Time goes by too fast. I can't believe I'm almost 1/4th through my mission. Crazy! Yeah, I'm completely adjusted to everything now. Nothing is crazy now. We're going to the regular chop bar for lunch. Probably the normal banku and groundnut soup. 

We traveled all the way to the mission home to get supplies, including a box full of Book of Mormons!  It was fun having the Junior companions carry it home.  It's one of my favorite pictures.

I was able to get a few pictures this week, just so you aren't mad at me Mom. 

This is our kitchen!

Love you all. Thanks for the great pictures and emails. 

Elder Nissinen

Dear Family and Friends, 

Thanks for all the great letters this week. You all sound like you're doing well! I received the package today, so thanks a lot! That bike pump is legit. 

As for Elder Madsen and I, we are doing well. He's developing and adjusting to missionary life quickly. We didn't have as much success as weeks before, so we're buckling down this week to get back to our usual selves and really "attack" the investigators, so to speak. A lot of investigators with baptismal dates have fallen through lately. It's part of the work, but I want to improve. 

On Friday I was washing some pants, and I noticed my phone in one of the pockets! The phone was spoiled from all the soap and water. I will be getting a new phone hopefully tomorrow. 

We've been teaching 3 children who come to church with their cousin's family. The parents aren't members.The children are really interested and need to be baptized. Our original date was the 31st January for all 3. The father told us the other day that he only wants the oldest to be baptized instead. It was a bit of a roadblock for us. We will obey the father and baptize the oldest. We've done a lot of scheduling with the father so he can make it to the baptism. We know he will feel the Spirit watching his boy get baptized, hopefully leading to the other's baptism shortly after.

On Saturday our district had a little party at our apartment! It was a lot of fun. I'm really lucky to be in a district of 10 Elders who I really like. We made a Ghanaian rice dish called jollof rice with fried plantain and a piece of chicken. It was a fun evening.

10 Elders in our apartment! Adjormann District!

Sunday some investigators came to church, but the main ones that we are focusing on didn't. I'm learning that teaching people is a constant change. The teaching pool changes a lot!

Tomorrow is some big Multi-zone Training Conference. One of the Area Seventy is coming to tour our mission soon too. Looking forward to that! 

I really don't need anymore packages, but I'll take them gladly! Snacks and junk food is perfectly fine with me.  I miss everyone at home of course, but sometimes I miss Joe especially. He is a cool kid, even though he's bigger than me now.  We got along pretty good for the most part. I'm looking forward to attending his graduation when I get home and hanging out with him when I can. 

I'm sorry for the short letter. Some weeks are the same as any other week, so there isn't much to talk about sometimes. Best of luck with finals. I can't believe you are halfway through the school year too. 

Love you all. Thanks for all you do to support me in this missionary work. Have a wonderful week! Enjoy the camping as well. 

Love, Elder Nissinen

Dear Family and Friends, 

Well, it's been another sweat week - I mean sweet week! The Harmattan is going away, so it's warming back up again. 

Elder Kambwiri, Elder Bergeson's companion. He's still in his training. He's the first missionary in our mission from Malawi. Neat guy! 

Elder Madsen and I worked real hard this week. One of our weaknesses has always been member-present lessons and contacting. We focused on those two things this week and were able to get some really nice work done! We found several new investigators who have already accepted baptismal dates next month. We basically had a member with us every day of the week. Hard work pays off! All that means now is that we have a much bigger teaching pool, so our workload has only increased. 

On Wednesday I went on exchanges with an elder from Mozambique in his area. Jacob, people there speak Portuguese! I told him all day I wish my brother was there to speak with him. He's still learning English. Elder Madsen was with our District Leader in our area all day. He did really well. I was proud that he could handle the area and the phone all by himself and get a lot of work done without me by his side. 

This week I was looking inside a little pharmacy at the medicine they have. One bottle of "black seed" read this: "Science has proven that this Black Seed formula will kill every disease except death". Ha! One of the funniest things I've read in my life. 

Elder Madsen got a little sick Friday, so I took him to the hospital. He just had some bacterial infection like I did. We were only there for a few hours and then we went home and he slept for the rest of the day. He's back to normal now, so that's good. The Sanders bought us american pancake mix, maple syrup, and 2 boxes of Kraft mac and cheese to help Madsen recover! The four of us in the apartment sure enjoyed that!!! We even added extra flour to help the pancake mix last longer! 

My poor companion!

Other than his hiccup, our work has been nothing shy of BUSY. It's so fun working hard for the Lord, right Jacob?

 To answer your questions: 

1. Cold showers are great. I don't mind.

2. I think the package arrives any day now, so I'll get it next monday

3. Yes, I still have money! I exchanged some of it today for a good rate, but I still have plenty more (I think $40)

4. No crazy food this week that I can think of. Other than Elder Sanders buying me a little bag of M&M's and an actual chicken burger with an actual chicken breast with fries! That was really a treat. 

5. Ant problems are always here (why does everyone ask about the ants?!)

6. I don't need a backpack. 

7. Transfers are in 4 weeks. I don't know if I will be transferred or not. There's a chance. 

8. I haven't seen Liongitau since before Christmas, but we've texted and called a few times. 

9. I haven't heard of any crazy terrorists in Ghana... 

One thing I thought of this week:

In life, we can either dwell on the negatives that we can't control, or the positives we can control. In our mission, our attitude is having the glass "half-full" instead of "half-empty". Sometimes we get caught up in the negatives of daily life and forget the blessings we've been given. Trust me, it's easy as a missionary to have your glass "half-empty". I'm personally so glad for the hard days I've had at Wendy's and on the farm. It forced me to have the "half-full" mindset. I challenge all of you to focus on the glass being "half-full". Have a little pep in your step. SMILE! 

Anyways, congrats on having no school. MLK rocks huh! Have a great week everyone. 

Love, Elder Nissinen

Dear family and friends, 

It's been another great week out here in Sangonaa! Happy birthday Dad! Hope you're feeling better. 

Elder Madsen and I are doing well. The both of us have done some introspecting, seeing how we can improve ourselves as missionaries of the Lord. For me, my patience has been short, so I'm working on improving that. It's easy to lose patience with people, but I can't control things I can't control, so I shouldn't let that get to me.

  I like being trainer. Everything falls on my back, but I like having the ability to be a leader.  Sometimes it's a challenge during teaching. New missionaries do silly things because they don't really know mission life, but I'm working hard at preparing Elder Madsen for when I leave. I'm giving him all the tools he needs to be successful, as far as I know. Training is fun! 

We were blessed this Saturday with the baptism of Seth!  This was Elder Madsen's first baptism in the field.   He's such a good guy and will be a solid member/leader in our branch. Sunday he was confirmed and given the Priesthood.  After his interview, we took him out to Papa's Pizza. It was a real fun night. The pizza tastes just like home! Probably even better. I am surprised at how little I must eat now. I eat one meal and am fine for the rest of the day.  We sure like Seth. He sent this text the following morning:

Seth is 60 years old.
This was the second time in his whole life that he has had pizza.
We love Seth!!!

"Good morning Elders. I thank you so much for the wonderful time we had yesterday.I am now fully convinced that your church is truly the Church of Jesus Christ. And you are his messengers. Thank you for your kindness. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Heck yeah! Those are the kind of investigators we constantly need: converted converts! 

Well that's about it for our week. We were blessed to receive more member-present lessons than I've ever had before. We are developing a strategy to utilize a member every single day of the week. I know it will bring success. We had a good attendance at church probably 80 or 90. Our branch is growing. I would love to see the day when we become a ward. It's not too far away. 

I accidentally ate a piece of fruit that was full of maggots. Whoops!  It was really gross. My thumb was covered in white little maggots. 

 I'm really excited for the package, especially the deodorant. You should have seen the 4 of the other night when Elder Madsen and Bergeson got some late Christmas packages. They shared a bunch of junk with us. We were going crazy eating chocolate, Reese's, and Jelly Belly's! One senior couple brought us a small bag of peanut M&M's. Boy were those good!  American snacks are amazing! You forget how good they are, and how easy and fast it is to get a meal.

Sounds like everyone is doing well at home. Joe told me about his pushups. He'll be way ripped if he sticks with it for the year. I told him as he's gaining weight, I'm losing it! He will certainly weigh more than me by the time I get back. I bet it's nice being back in the schedule again. I can't even believe it's almost halfway through the school year. Jeez! Enjoy the cold, work hard, and most importantly, HAVE FUN! 

Love you all, 

Elder Nissinen

Dear family and friends, 

I've done a lot of self-evaluation these past few days, something everyone kind of does during this time. I realized that this year may be my only year in complete full service to the Lord, so I want to do it right! I've done a lot of thinking about my actions, and how well I am representing Jesus Christ and His Church. Sometimes, unfortunately, I forget that everyone sees me as a full-time representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I want to focus a lot more on myself as a missionary, not myself as a tourist of Ghana.

Elder Madsen is doing great! Hard to believe he's halfway through his training now. He's a little quiet still, but the both of us are going to be sharing the teaching/talking. I am going to get him out of his comfort zone! He'll just be that much more prepared when the time comes for him to be Senior Companion. 

One exciting event this week was our Branch New Year's Party! Us missionaries have been working hard to invite all we could to this party, and our efforts payed off we think. We had roughly 400 in attendance, which is pretty remarkable, considering we get less than 90 in sacrament normally. It was a great opportunity for less-actives and especially investigators to be around members of the church in a friendly, easy-going environment. It was one of the happiest nights of my mission.

As for the investigators, Elder Madsen and I are really cranking on finding people to teach. We are in need of a bigger teaching pool! This Saturday we are baptizing Seth. Seth's an older man, and is by far the most prepared person I've ever seen. He's remarkable! Seth is a solid gold investigator. He reads his Book of Mormon, comes to church every Sunday, and even bore his testimony Sunday! He called us the other day and invited us for lunch! It's the first time I've been invited to a lunch appointment! We can't wait for Saturday to baptize him. He'll be such a strong addition to the Branch.

All of us are constantly sick in some way or another (minor sickness). I feel great. I wasn't able to do a full fast yesterday. I felt like vomiting, so I took some water and I felt better. We've all got runny tummy almost daily. Elder B. was puking the other night. Livin' the life!! Never or rarely getting sick at home is something to be thankful for. It's a real challenge to be healthy. I just listen to my body and do what I need to do. Yeah I take doxy daily. I have lots of mosquito bites, so I'm never not going to take the doxy.

Sounds like you all are enjoying the snow, holy cow! Hope you all set some great New Year's goals. Go out and reach them. Have a great week. Remember who you are. 

Love, Elder Nissinen

The Craziest Week Of My Life!

Dear family and friends,

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas... and have a Happy New Year! 

I will do my very best to keep this letter brief and concise, but there is so much that has happened lately, I can't help but give the details. 

First off, it was a blast talking to family at home! I loved it. It was a lot of fun hearing everyone's voices and laughing for a while. I really enjoyed the funny questions you asked me, like if we use shampoo. I don't know why, but the questions were kind of funny! Not going to lie, it was difficult to say goodbye. I felt at peace afterwords. It was the best Christmas gift I got this year! Thanks again for the nice American money surprise. I'm rich!!!

This is me calling you on Christmas day!

So backing up to Christmas Eve: 

The four of us built a bonfire using some doors we didn't need in the apartment. We also used old church magazines from the 90's. It was a lot of fun! Elder Madsen called home.  We bought some fireworks and had neighbor kids come over and blow them up "for us". Afterwords we sang Christmas songs and went to bed. 

Singing Christmas carols

For Christmas Morning:

I was able to sleep in until 8, which was really a treat. I opened up packages from home and the four of us gave each other gifts. I gave the other Elders an African tie with a chocolate bar, and Elder Madsen a surprise shirt he thought was for me. Elder Bergeson gave us handmade cups from coconuts, and Elder Kambwiri got me a bar of soap. We planned on making smoothies and some type of pancakes, but it was lights off! ALLLLLLL week we had power, but the President of Ghana decided to give us darkness for a Christmas present. So no smoothies! 

Elder Madsen and I delivered the special gifts to Sister P. and her family later that afternoon. It was quite special. I got a bit emotional when I told her that back home, we have a special family we give gifts to each Christmas, and that for this year, that family was hers. It was Elder Madsen's favorite moment of his mission so far. We went around and passed out like 300 pieces of candy to investigators and kids and recent converts, then hiked home for me to call. Christmas in Ghana is sad, to be honest. It's just another day. No gifts, no celebration, no nothing. People are working, cooking, all the regular chores. It looked like any other day. In fact, kids will tell you "Santa Clause doesn't come to Ghana". 

We got matching shirts from some fabric we got.

You all want to know about the cat party and baptism on Saturday:

I got a call at 7 am from Lovi, the member in the branch in charge of getting the cat. He told me the cat was too wild, and that we needed to come ASAP to kill it. So we all threw on clothes and the 4 of us were there quickly. Unfortunately, the cat was a big one, so his claws were too strong, and would rip through the sack, so we were not able to beat it. Instead, they had us hold the legs together and take a knife to his throat. Sounds gruesome, but it was a lot more humane than our original plans. Actually, it's the most humane way to go about it. I was surprised by how tight I had to hold the legs together. See, when the cat is on the brink of death, it will release some serious strength. My hands were sore from squeezing so tightly! Right afterwords we had Mavis' baptism. Lovi stayed home to clean and cook it for, then we'd come back and eat it. The baptism was a success! Her husband baptized her and confirmed her, so we were happy everything went smoothly. After, we went back to her place and ate the cat! Not even going to lie, cat is better than chicken! So tender, so juicy, so good! Elder Kambwiri is a bit like Joe: very sensitive to blood and foreign foods, so he had his back turned during the killing and eating. 

Mavi's baptism

Bergerson goes for the tail

Eating Cat tail

At 9:30 that night, Sister P. called me. She was crying, and needed our help. Elder Madsen and I had no choice but to help her. She had been verbally abused by her drunk "husband" pretty badly, and needed a place to stay for the night. We took her over to Branch President's house and had him help with the situation. He had us take her to her sister's house in Mame, a little far away. We walked with her there. When we got there, Sister P.  said she needed to get her 5 year old daughter. See, she only had her baby boy with her at the time. Her daughter was with her husband. We walked around for some time, looking for her husband and daughter. We searched in bars, her house, everywhere, but still couldn't find them. We called him and he would answer, but was so drunk he wouldn't tell us his location. By this time it was like 11:45 pm. We needed to get back home, but couldn't leave Sister P.  alone. Anyways, the 1st Counselor in the Branch owns a big bar (ironically) and he offered to help her so we could get some rest. Elder Madsen and I said a special prayer for her to find her daughter and be protected.

Sunday morning rolled around, and we didn't know Sister P.'s situation. She came to church! Second hour during Gospel Principles class, she walked in with her two kids. She told us that night she found her daughter and husband, and ordered him to give her her daughter. He beat her and choked her, so Sister P. had a big scratch on her neck. We talked with President E.  some more, and he wanted us to get her out of the house. We went with Sister P. and literally packed her bags for her and her children. Mom, I used the packing method you use! There would have been no way we could have packed clothes for 3 people in a small suitcase unless I did your folding method! I gave her money for a taxi, and she loaded up her stuff and headed out of there to her Grandfather's place, about 20 minutes away. We had to work quick before her husband got home, so he wouldn't see us.

She called me late last night, telling me the Grandfather wanted her to leave the next day. So basically she had no place to stay. This morning the drama continued, and we are in the process of having members and President E.  help her out and plead with the Grandfather to keep her.  Sistert P.  cannot return home to as her husband will continue to beat her.

As missionaries, all of us are called to save souls. Typically this is saving souls spiritually. But for Sister P.s case, we are saving her physically. We know without our and other's help, Sister P. will likely get beaten to death. It's a really stressful situation for us right now, as we have done basically all we can to help her and her children. The mess is still unfolding, so more news will come soon tonight. Your prayers for Sister P. and her children would be really appreciated right now. 

So that was my week! Bonfires, calling home, a baptism, eating and killing a cat, and helping out someone who can't help herself. Pretty wild, ain't it? My companion and I are emotionally drained from all these events, but we are hoping things will ease up. 

My wall in my bedroom

This is what the school rooms look like.

We have a New Year's Branch Party on the 1st, and it's going to be big! Tons and tons of investigators and nonmembers are supposedly coming. Music, dancing, sports, and banku!!  

Have a wonderful week, and a Happy New Year! Make some nice Resolutions for next year. 2016 is coming soon! Thanks for all your support and love. You rock. 

It's a good thing everyone is on vacation, cause this letter is going to take a day or two to knock out! Sorry.

Love Elder Nissinen