What's going on??,

          I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving eating mashed potatoes and the whole works. I'm so glad you all enjoyed my 100 things I'm grateful for list, it took me a few days to think of them all and I wanted to send it before the holiday. Yes, as you can tell there were a lot of random things listed, but as I thought about the things I'm grateful for there were so many things. Well, this week I have had some ups and some downs and some completely turn arounds. So hopefully I can't describe each of those in this letter.

Last Wednesday was my first time doing Exchanges. The Zone leaders came down from Yakima and stayed two nights at our apartment. Their names were Elder Overson and Elder Smith. They came in on Tuesday night, then we did our exchanges the next day. I was companions with Elder Overson, who knew zero Spanish. Both of them knew nothing in Spanish because they are English elders. Sunnyside is primarily Hispanic, which would mean all the doors we would knock on and the person who spoke Spanish, I would have to speak. It was a great experience for me taking the lead in some of those conversations, I loved it. We knocked on quite a few doors that day and found some great people. The Elders  left the next morning.

Thanksgiving day, my first holiday in the field. This was a very interesting day. Many ups and many downs. That morning we went to a nursing home as a district and sang Christmas songs. The people really enjoyed it and we will definitely be doing that again. After that we went back to the apartment to do some studying  Elder Bradshaw and I were exited to go to out Thanksgiving dinner to less active families home. I knew in advance that it wasn't going to be much of a Thanksgiving dinner just because some Hispanics get into it and others don't. With that in mind, I wasn't awfully disappointed when the mom handed us salad, rice and bread. Haha. That night we also had our "Daily Dose" class or our English class that the Hermanas and us teach. Since is was Thanksgiving night, we had no one show up. That evening Elder Bradshaw was just a little different in attitude, I will explain some of it in the next paragraph. 

This had been on my mind the past few weeks. I wanted to talk about it with Elder Bradshaw, but couldn't find the right time to. Well we were driving around about 8:30 and he didn't say a word to me, and I could easily tell he was frustrated in some way. I kept my composure and tried to ignore it. We were driving around giving people jolly ranchers and a little thanksgiving note attached to it. I had a roll of tape on the dash and when we were making turns around corners it would slide back and forth. Elder Bradshaw grabbed it and chucked it in the backseat. Unfortunately, he missed and it nailed me, point blank in the face. It was at that moment, when I had to talk about some things. I had never really gotten this way before with him, until then. We talked about a lot of things the rest of the evening, probably until 9:30 or so. He had been really stressed out with dealing with the Hermanas and being a district leader and a trainer all at once. I told him that keeping those things to himself would only add to the stress pile. I told him that he needs to utilize me, even though I'm young and new in the field, I am here to help. That was basically the majority of what we talked about, but there was also some things between him and I. So at the end of the day, I was thankful he threw the roll of tape at my face, because we both needed this conversation. The wall that was once between us, is a third of its height before which was not building our relationship. So many things are resolved and we are doing much, much, much better now. Hopefully we can continue like this. 

Saturday was an awesome day. Elder Bradshaw taught a family back in Yakima a while ago and just this last Saturday the family was able to be sealed. Elder Bradshaw nor I had been in a temple sealing before, so it was super cool. We went to the Columbia River Temple and it was an amazing temple! Brother Garcia, the guy driving us, took us to Costa Vida. Missionaries there get 60% off as well. It was so good. This was definitely one of the highlights the week. 

A few days ago, President Wise (Our Branch President) asked Elder Bradshaw and I to give talks in Sacrament Meeting. Luckily we had a few days to prepare both our 12 min talks in Spanish. I wouldn't say I kicked it out of the park, but I feel like we both did a decent job. We were also asked to do a lesson for a Sunday School class. I loved sitting in primary and singing the songs, I wish I could do that every week. This upcoming week, we don't have too much planned. Sunnyside puts on a really big parade this Saturday, so that will be fun, buts that's about it. 

As you can tell, it has been a week of Ups and Downs and Turn-Arounds. I love MY family very much. I miss and love you all. Make sure to check out the google drive for some pictures. Starting next week is Light the World, so go watch those videos, then start Lighting it Up. 

Love you Elder Nissinen 

Hey Whatever. - Mary Roach

Hola Familia,

         Hope you've all had a great week. Seems like everyone is doing well and enjoying the somewhat cold winter. It's defiantly getting colder and the thermal garments are the best. Somehow mom you ordered them on Monday and I got them on Tuesday. That's faster than Amazon! I honestly would where them in the summer, they make the world of difference. Sorry I'm emailing later than usual, this morning we went to a Museum in Toppenish about how Yakima was brought up. It was a super cool super and I learned quite a bit.This week was a super great week because we got to go to Yakima a few times for meetings and P-day, so I hope I can remember all the things that happened. 

Last Tuesday was my first official Zone conference. It was up in Yakima at the stake center. All those pictures you saw Sister Jackman posted were from that. She is the best with pictures. She will literally take pictures all the time and upload them no matter the event. The Zone conference was super great and since it was around the Christmas season they introduced Light the World. I'm sure you've all seen it, but it you haven't go check it out. There's a four week theme and each one is a different way to light the world. So keep those in mind as you go about your day, here in a few weeks.

 

Wednesday, Elder Bradshaw had a meeting up in Yakima as well. To save some drive time, I spent a few hours with another Elder in a town called Toppenish about 20 minutes from Sunnyside. We basically just tracked the area then had lunch at Subway where missionaries get 60 percent off. Great deal, huh. After that Elder Bradshaw and I headed back home and continued throughout our day. I also, finally, got my ironing board. I had asked for one weeks ago and it just barely came. I previously had used an old sheet and a table. 

Last Friday was the day for interviews with President Jackman. To be honest, I actually look forward to seeing the Jackmas and talking with them. They are so cool, down to earth and, just normal. In fact President Jackman doesn't like Mormon Tabernacle choir, but chooses to listen to other singers, funny right? Sister Jackman brought homemade cookies and they reminded me of the ones mom made at home. That was also the time you received that random text message from here. Keep her in your contacts, you will be receiving those every six weeks, I believe. Next time she says it will be a video instead. Haha. 

So Saturday was kind of a different day as far as the evening went. Back a long time ago, Elder Bradshaw met a guy named Pete when he was serving in Yakima. Just this past Saturday Pete got baptized and we were able to go and see him in Yakima. It was the first baptism I have probably seen since a younger cousin or my own, so it was nice to bring back those memories. Pete was an awesome guy and excited, although I had never talked or seen him before he was really happy. I can only imagine how happy I will be when I have my first baptism. Also the Jackman's were there which means I got to see them three times this week. As I said before, I look forward each time I get to see them. 

Dinners have been going great, some nights member dinners fall through, but most of the time we are always fed. One of my favorite Mexican meals is Pasole (Pah-sol-eh). I have no idea how to spell it but it something like that. Its a little hard to explain, but its a soup with these rice balls and meat. Depends on who's making it, but last night there was also pig skin or something like that in it as well. As long as I don't know what it is before i'm eating it I will be fine. Haha. 

We have been teaching Miguel and Lucia, who are doing pretty well. I hope by this week we can get them both set on a baptismal date. The Ruiz family unfortunately aren't doing as well as we hoped they would be at this point. HEY WHATEVER. Somehow they are just never home or sleeping by the time we get there. And yes we have adjusted the time of the appointments but still they are sleeping. We will keep in touch with them, but who knows what this next week will bring. My Spanish is improving for sure, but I know only with time I will be able to see a difference. 

Well that's pretty much my week. I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving. Remember to count your many blessings. I love each of you very very much. Please be safe and have fun.

There will be some pictures in the Drive, but you can also check some on Sister Jackman's Facebook page and I should be in some of those.  

Elder Nissinen 

The 2 Month Mark!

Wow, I can't believe it been two months already since I've been out. Time surely has flown by. Well, its seems like yesterday I emailed you all, but I'm excited to tell you about my week. 

To start off the weather has changed quite a bit. Its super cold in the mornings and gets super cold in the evenings. During the day, however, the weather is perfect and the skies are clear. Most mornings it drops down in the 20s and low 30s through the evenings. So you definitely have to bundle up, luckily we do have the car. We have never ridden our bikes, primarily because we cover a pretty good size area, although some days I wish we could just for exercise. Haha. 

Dinners have been going great. I honestly never know if I'm going to get an American meal, Mexican meal or an American Mexican meal. I hope that makes sense. Haha. 

For instance, they may have burgers one night, then Mole (Mol-eh, not sure if that's spelt right) the next. So it all depends on the mom that's cooking it. One interesting thing I've noticed as well, if it isn't an American family, is that the parents won't eat with the missionaries. The mom will always be cooking something, while the dad talks with us. Rarely will you get the whole family together which is unlike American dinners at home. 

Last Friday our branch had our Thanksgiving Dinner at the church. Yes, that's a little on the early side but that's just the way things turned out to be. We had a great turnout and it seems to be more people show up to these kinds of activities when there's food involved. So we might have to do this more often to get more people to come to church. 

We have been teaching the Ruiz family as often as we can or as their schedule allows. One night we stopped by to visit and they were watching Nacho Libro, but they let us in anyway. Hah. Both the parents work, so it's tough to get them both home at the same time. They have 3 kids, one is 11, and the other two are 7 and 4. They live in a Trailer Home, so some nights the kids can be loud. So I bring out my silly putty and tell them they can play with it as long as they sit quietly, and it works! I guess you can say I work well with kids. Haha. The parents are both reading in the Book of Mormon, which I wasn't totally expecting that, but it made me pretty happy. We will have an appointment with them tonight, so hopefully they're just home. That's one of the problems we face the most is people not following up with appointments, but we are pushing through. We also have been teaching Miguel and his wife Lucia. They are super nice and have pretty good potential, we'll see how next week plays out for that. 

Since I'm sure everyone is wondering how my Spanish is doing, I'll write something about that. All I can really say is its coming along. Unfortunately I don't use Spanish all the time because some people we teach or talk to speaks English, especially the kids. Although I am studying all I can, the best practice is when we are teaching or having dinner. So I try as much as I can to use Spanish. I understand pretty well most of the time, again if they don't speak a hundred miles per hour, but learning and being able to somewhat speak Spanish is fun and I can't wait to  see where I'm at a year from now.  

Well that basically wraps up this week. Our refrigerator is temporarily fixed and seems to be working for the most part. We will be getting a new one this Wednesday, so looking forward to that. This upcoming week we have a few meetings and conferences in Yakima, so a little more driving than we like to do, but I love visiting Yakima. 

I hope all is going well at home. Keep working and studying hard in school and at work. Love you all and miss each one of you a lot. Peace out. 

Elder Nissinen 

Make sure to look in the google drive for some pictures this week. They won't be uploaded immediately, but I'll be working on it. 

Cats and Dogs!

Well it's been another great week as Elder Bradshaw and I are getting more familiar with the area and the people. 

Last week for P-day we went up to Yakima and played some sports with our zone. It was super fun meeting new people and getting some true exercise out. I also got a haircut that day at a nearby Salon academy. The great thing about this place was that they give elders haircuts for free. The only unfortunate thing is it's in Yakima, a 45 minute drive from Sunnyside, and we won't be going up there every week. So we'll have to find an alternative or wait a few weeks. 

This week as you know was also Halloween. We had to be back in the apartment by 6pm, so Elder Bradshaw decided I would just watch the District the whole night. Even when some kids knocked on our door, I couldn't answer it. Other than that it was fun seeing people dress up and decorate their houses. 

Dogs, dogs, dogs. Man they are just about everywhere, and it's not even the big ones. It's the small little Wiener dogs and the Chihuahua that are the worst. You all know me with dogs, I don't do very well, but that's one thing I'm working on. Yes, I know they're most likely not going to hurt me, but some of them I feel like they will. Haha. With that being said, I have grown to love cats. They don't bark or bite, they're just there and will leave you alone. 

We've have had some great diners this past week as well. We sill haven't had an authentic Mexican meal, but I would say pretty close. I'm not even sure what authentic Mexican food really is. We've had dinner with members of our branch every single night which has been great getting to know them more personally. Although it is pretty tough to communicate with them because the listening to Spanish here is really different to the Spanish in the MTC. They speak a whole lot faster and it just sounds like a blur of words put together. It will also be tougher learning Spanish because you really never know if they speak English or Spanish. So sometimes we teach lessons in English, some in Spanish, it just depends on the age of the person. Younger people speak English and the older usually speak Spanish is what I've noticed. But I know my ability to speak and understand will improve with time. 

Elder Bradshaw and I are doing pretty well together and have definitely gotten to know each other better this past week. There are a few things he does that annoys me, but I'd expect that from every companion I get. One funny story that made me crackup was when were pulling up to this one house around 8:30 at night. It was super dark and I couldn't tell what the house number was. As I was helping him backup the car, he told me he didn't need my help, kinda of in a frustrated way. Then he asked me what the house number was. Well we were about 50 feet away from the house and I just could not tell. After he asked me again in a frustrating way, I told him, "I don't know, I don't have night vision". That may seem not very funny written out like that, but just imagine me saying that in a sarcastic way. It was pretty funny. Other than that we are working well together and trying our best. Sometimes I feel like the Senior Companion, only being a couple weeks out. 

There is a family we are teaching called the Ruiz family. The dad speaks Spanish and the mom speaks English and Spanish, but the kids speak English for the most part. They are a pretty cool family and one you can always count on being home at night. haha. We have a baptismal date for the dad on the 1st of December. Hopefully he can prepare himself for that day along with our help, but a super cool family. 

Well that pretty much wraps up this week. We are trying to get someone to fix our refrigerator because only the freezer works and pretty much all the stuff has gone bad. We will see about that today. 

Love you all very much. Thanks for you letters and awesome packages. Please be safe and have fun. I will be uploading pictures in the drive throughout the day, so make sure to look at those.

Elder Nissinen