What's up Fam?!

We are at our last few hours here at the MTC. Honestly, the majority of us can't wait. We compare this to a prison. It's an MTC, but an MTC that is a "little bit of a fixer-upper". It's good for us, we learn to have fun at boring times, and how be patient with our situation. Luckily all the guys here are super cool and fun to be with. In reality, the MTC is better than how we are going to be living soon anyways, so we're gonna be wishing we were back here soon! 

I am super excited for where I'm going and my first official companion. I hope I get a great companion! President Heid and his wife came and visited us. They seem so dang cool. I was able to talk to them for a second afterwards and they knew the guy that the Arrington's knows Dad. He said they may be coming here to serve in like January or something...? 

Like I said, the food is rough-ish here. You pick and nibble at the things you like. I tried Fufu the other day for the first time. Tastes like nasty thick sticky play-dough mashed potatoes that is hard to swallow because it's so dense. Africans eat messy here haha. 

Other than that, we've just been in classes a lot. We had a big health meeting with the head doctor of the area today. He told us of how to stay healthy and the importance of doxy, cleaning our veggies and fruit with bleach, and avoiding foods like bush meat (monkeys, rats) and drinking clean water.  

I don't have much else to say. I am sending a physical letter home tomorrow, so you should get it in about a week and a half or so....?

I just want to send lots of pics today. 

Oh by the way, I invented a new game called Hymnball. You take a hymnbook and a paper ball and a trash can and you stand in a circle. Everybody hits the ball before someone takes a shot at hitting it into the trash can. Kind of stupid, but it's fun when you're a missionary for some reason. 

2 african sisters like me here. One's staring at me as I speak. It's been driving me nuts. One of them sits right next to me in our district.... really obnoxious! You want to be nice back without flirting with her back but holy smokes I'm a missionary! Never had black people like me..... way weird. 

Everybody has to sing a hymn in the closing devotional tonight. Our district is singing "I hope they call me on a mission" with an added 3rd verse that goes like this: (I helped make it up)

I have been called to serve a mission

Now that I have grown a foot or two

The MTC has got me ready

To teach in Africa the gospel that is true

Elder Nielsen. 20 times a day guys will come up to me and think we are twins, brothers, or cousins. We are both in the same mission. Holy cow if we are companions we can screw with sooo many people hahaha

Have a fantastic first week of school everyone!! Sounds like you guys got some fun classes ahead. Best of luck in everything you do. Mom, I'm praying for that back of yours..... Love and miss you all!!! 

Elder B

At the mission presidents home!

                                            I was the commentator for the soccer tournament

Akwaaba family! I think that means hi or something.! It feels really nice to email home right now. There have been tons of great stuff that I wanted to tell ya guys, but you have to wait! I'm still changing my mindset. 

One of my favorite guys here. He is so cool and nice and humble. One african didn't know what the spots on my arms were. I explained they were freckles! 

First of all, congrats to Joe and Mom for the new calling and the soccer team. Joe you're gonna love being with your friends again, that'll be sweet! Sounds like your back is getting better mom. Hope you guys had a safe flight and are enjoying Utah. Jacob have fun at college this week!

The MTC is way different here. I don't even think it is comparable to the Provo MTC. Very small, very basic. But it is good too. Lots of great guys around. I think it will help me adapt to the culture easier. This MTC is so unique .There are just shy of 100 missionaries, and 16 countries are represented, making this place have so many languages and cultures associated with it. There is arguably no other place on earth like this one, with so many languages and countries in such a little group. The food is pretty foreign. Mom, you'd be surprised by what I'm eating! I'm stuffing some stuff down here that'd I'd gag on at home I bet. 

This was from Sunday. This is proof of how humid it is here! Brand new shirt when I put it on that morning! And I hardly went outside either. The MTC is air conditioned too. Lemme tell yah, that took some time to handwash that out of the collar.

We hand wash our clothes here too. There is only like one washer and dryer that can be used once a week, so the Africans taught us how to hand wash.  Man is it a workout! Especially at night, cause it is really humid. The heat here is different too. I feel very close to the Sun. It is humid!!!

My companion is pretty good too. He's 22 and is from Kenya. We have our differences, probably due to age and culture, but we are doing good when we teach investigators. He's getting better at understanding american culture, and I'm doing better at understanding African culture.  

Yesterday we went to the Temple! It was also suppose to be my P-day too. The temple was awesome. We drive through trash and poverty,, then turn a corner and BAM! we are on temple grounds. Very cool stuff. The temple is tiny! I was on the 8:30 temple session, so when I was going to leave afterwords, the van was full, so the MTC left like 5 of us there at the temple waiting for the 10:30 session to finish. In other words, I sat outside the temple for a few hours. Only bad part was that it was my P-day to do laundry and write, but I'm learning to go with the flow. 

The view outside my window. Ghana is flat and jungley! 

The african guys have sweet ties, so one night I went around and traded ties with a bunch of them. I only have a few ties I originally came out with. I felt bad trading with the guys who only had 3 or 4 ties, so I gave a bunch away too. 

No joke the whitest guy here. My hair looks like gold in some group pictures! 

Quick stats on the church around West Africa: 

People dream of being a missionary here. West Africa is the fastest growing part of the church right now. On average around the world, missionaries get 1.2 baptisms. In West Africa, missionaries average over 10. Every week, a new unit is established. A unit is a bit smaller than a branch. The people are mega receptive around here, making the Gospel flourish. Can't wait to get out and teach. 

                                       The temple trip. Me and my companion Elder Mwetu

Thanks to everyone for the emails and encouragement. Have a blast in Utah! It's amazing being a missionary. I am learning a lot about the gospel and how to be a better teacher. Good luck in college Jacob! I'm stoked to see some pictures of you and your babes. Have a great week!!  

Love Elder Nissinen.

Our district.  A lot of fun guys! All of us except a few are going to Accra.

Probably the funniest thing I've seen yet. Guy carrying a straight up backpack on his head! Gotta love it. 

Just in case you think Africa is small.... The world maps aren't true to size

This was a letter sent to us by a very kind Elder:

Hey! This is Elder Helm! While your son left to teach a lesson i took his computer! haha I just wanted to tell you that your son is a great missionary! I love the spirit that he brings to our district. He and I have gotten to know each other and he always talks about how much he loves his family and misses his family :) and his mommy :) haha! He is great when we need a laugh! He is so funny and makes being here fun! He is going to do great in the field! I can only hope i am companions with him down the road. 

Well he is coming back soon so..thanks for reading my email! 

p.s. did you know your son is a good dancer? haha

Elder Helm

Ghana MTC

Elder B looks happy at the Ghana MTC

BY FAR THE BEST DAY OF MY MISSION , SO FAR!

Hello all! I have made it safe and sound to Accra!! Holy smokes I'm in Ghana!! The flight was long, but not too terrible. I was the only missionary leaving from Portland, making me the only elder in the MTC from Oregon. A big Utah group found me and a few other guys from Idaho and Arizona, so there are 18 Americans...?? Other than us Americans on the plane to Accra, there was no whites! Some missionaries sat next to each other, but I sat by a lady from Accra, so she was fun to talk to. Ghanaians are already friendly people. 

Don't even try to ask me what happened after we landed in Accra. We had zero idea what was going on and what they were needing from us. Although my mission call says I'm english speaking, I'm definitely not. It's really hard to understand Africans' english. They have to repeat it several times for me to pick up on something. I'll get adapted. We drove to the MTC in some cool vans, and it was a total culture shock just on the drive there. We were taking pictures of things left and right. There's people literally everywhere selling their stuff (usually on their heads!) Can't really describe how foreign it is already. 

The MTC is very small, but there are lots of great people. I am in a 3-some companionship with Elder Myute (It's not spelled right, for sure) from Kenya I think, and Elder Dbondo from Nigeria. Lots of missionaries from Nigeria. They all look the same, so it is really hard to distinguish any of them! We are going to go outside soon to play sports, so it will be really nice to burn some energy. The humidity is pretty real. I was told I'm lucky it isn't the hot season. First thing Sister Robison told me when I entered the doors was "I hope you brought some sunscreen". 

First picture of Elder B with his name tag!!!!

I feel so misplaced here, but at the same time I feel like this is where I should be. When I walked away from our family, I immediately felt really peaceful, like I have been on 50 missions to Ghana already! I don't know when P-day is, or really anything actually, sorry. I will know more soon. Talk to you later! 

Love Elder Nissinen 

Saying goodbye the second time around isn't any easier!!!  It's a very joyful painful experience.  We will miss B so much but know he is in the Lords hands and that Ghana will love him!!!  

Add caption

What a spiritual experience it is to hear and watch your son getting set apart as a full time missionary.  President Richardson is such an inspiring sweet man.  He gave B such an amazing blessing we will never forget!   

President Richardson ask B to give his mom a blessing.  It brought me such comfort and I felt so much love for Elder B.  I feel so blessed and happy!

Goodbyes can be very painful and hard! 

Getting all packed!!!  It was a bit easier this time with B than with Jacob.  B could only had 2 suitcases instead of 3.  

Our last dinner all together!  We went to "Fogo De Chao" a Brazilian restaurant in Portland.  Jacob was in absolute heaven speaking Portuguese and eating Brazilian food!!!   

Elder B had so many family and friends stop by to say goodbye at his farewell party! Our family is so blessed to have so much love and support from everyone! 

Getting Ready!

                It was a awesome night at the temple!

He had lots and lots of shots.  Some were pretty painful but better than getting super sick!

"B" is so excited for his mission in Ghana!!! 

ELDER NISSINEN IS HOME!!!!!

The Best Day Ever!!!

Welcome Home Elder Nissinen

  

             

             

Last letter! The Swan letter

The "Rancho" group (we all 3 served in California together and are going home on the same day)

Hey guys!

So you all have guessed - this week has been a wave of emotions, very bittersweet in every way. I´ve started throwing out a lot of junk that I never used, and after lunch I´m going shopping to bring some Brazilian stuff home. 

The "going home" group in front of the temple after the session

We definitely had a different week with it being the last of the transfer and in my mission. Wednesday was a Self-Reliance training that took up most of the day. We practiced how to do job interviews, brag about yourself, and start thinking about what you wanna do with the rest of your life. It actually helped out a lot getting that perspective back about work and studies. After that the whole group went to the Temple with President Del Guerso - what an experience!! He had the whole group in the Celestial Room and gave us all some council. I´m looking forward to get back in the Temple on the 24th for when B goes through. We got out of the temple at like 8, so to kill the rest of the time I went with Elder Jacobsen and Elder Morgan to a fancy pizza buffet that only is open for pizza at night. The waiters come around like every 30 seconds with a different kind of pizza - sweet or salty. Man it was good! 

A brazilian-style pizza buffet after the temple

Tonight we were invited by a family to have tacos and root beer, tomorrow I was invited to give a brief talk/testimony, Monday we get to travel to the areas we want in the mission and have a Family Home Evening with President and Sister Del Guerso, and then Tuesday we´re off.

To not takeaway anything from my homecoming talk, I want to bear my testimony about the power of a mission. It´s really hard putting it all into words. I know a mission has changed me and I´ll be forever grateful that the Lord calls young men and women to serve. Both California and Brazil have taught me so much. I´ve always had a testimony of the Church, but now that I´ve served and taught, I now know the why. It comes down to this: We have a Heavenly Father who loves and knows each of His children. I know that my mission was for me. 

I´m excited to see you all again this Wednesday. I might need some help with my English, or to at least be able to speak like a normal American haha. 

My prayers go out to Papa and Mama as well. 

See ya Wednesday,

Love Elder Nissinen

                                     Brazilian Grill with the President a couple weeks ago

                                               English Class - with cookies of course!

Gooooooooood morning USA!!!! Happy 4th everyone. I had to be reminded by a Brazilian this morning or else I would´ve forgotten - kinda embarrassing. But I got a good taste of American yesterday when one of our investigators just came back from Disneyland - she gave us a box of Whoppers! 

You´ll be excited for the stuff I´m bringing home for you guys. They give Americans a bigger weight limit for suitcases. I have to start packing this week and leave behind a bunch of stuff. 

We had another great and busy week in the 5th ward. The young woman that went to the English last a couple weeks ago we´ve been teaching. This morning we went over for a quick lesson to follow-up on her prayers and reading. SHE GOT AN ANSWER! We´ve got her marked for the 11th for her baptism. That´d be great to have a baptism on my last weekend as a missionary. We´ve been having a lot of success in this ward, and I believe that´s because of the unity between us 4 and the ward together. Honestly I haven´t seen anything like it in any other ward I´ve spent time in. 

The work in the office is going well. Having to be on top of lawyers and real estate is like pulling teeth sometimes, because we´ve been trying to close a couple apartments that the mission isn´t going to use any longer. I guess I´ll know what to look for when I´m looking for an apartment and have all the i´s dotted and t´s crossed. 

Thursday night we got a call from President, wanting to take us out to lunch the next day. Let me tell ya, we ate GREAT yesterday. He always takes out the missionaries in the office with their companions who are leaving that transfer. We went to Tordilhos, one of the most expensive Brazilian Grills they have here. It´s like Fogo do Chão style - MEAT!!! We had a great talk between the 5 of us there about President´s vision of things and he wanted us to pass that on. One of the things I´ve learned working close with President Del Guerso is how to make something out of what a lot of people imagine to be nothing. That´s how he became a math teacher and then a lawyer. 

I heard the news last night about President Packer. I´m still feeling that urgency that even though we live in the "last days", we sure do have a lot of work and not a whole lot of time. 

I´ll keep praying for Papa that he keeps getting better. He gives me a lot of strength too and I love him and Mama very much.

Have a "bombing" and safe Fourth! Love you all lots

Elder Nissinen