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