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