April 28, 2015

April 28, 2015  (No pictures sent)

Mom and Dad,

Well sounds like you guys had a great week! I'm glad to hear about all of the fun stuff you were able to do, like help Grandma and Grandpa, as well as all of the crazy soccer games you went to haha! I look forward to talking with you guys on mothers day as well! It will be the 10th of May, and I bet around the night time, I will give you an update next week when we have a better idea when the other missionaries will be talking with their families! I'm glad everyone is good in health and no one is STRRRUUUUUUUUUGGGLLLIINNGGG haha :) 

This week was super crazy in the zone and in our area! I have taking this whole zone leader stuff a lot better now! Especially when the zone has a really good week, or in other words, they bring a lot of people to church! haha When they do not, we get our heads chopped off by the Assistants, so that is what really makes things stressful, but Elder Sacalxot and I have been keeping the pressure on the missionaries to teach by the Spirit, and commit strongly! We always say, be as bold as Lions, not kitty cats! :) A Scripture I love about being bold, especially here on the mission is found in Alma 38:12! BE bold, but not over bearing and prideful, but be bold because you love the people and you do not want them to make bad decisions! We are still working on that really good Zone Conference, it will happen this next Friday, so we are preparing everything so that it will be great, and so that the missionaries stop conforming, and start flying! 

We are preparing a super cool kid named Jake for baptism for the 9th of May! He is 12, and is a son of a SUPER less active, and was never baptized! Ill send photos next week of him! We are also teaching now the cousin of Liliana, the girl that got baptized two weeks ago! Her name is Alexandra! She is about the same age as Liliana, but is very interested in the Gospel! Sadly she did not go to church last week, but we will be visiting her tonight.  Hopefully we can figure out what happened, and re-commit her to come next Sunday! Speaking of Sunday, we brought 9 investigators to church, which was great! But we were hopping for 12. We should have committed harder, so that those people could've gone to church. I think we are going to start trying to get more references from the Members, because those are the people that get baptized and stay in church! More than half of the people I have baptized, have been references from the members! If you guys could do one thing for the missionaries, its share the gospel with everyone, and give A LOT of references! 

Well tomorrow is a meeting called, leadership council, which the closest thing I can think of comparing it to, is like President Monson in a council with the 12 Apostles. haha! President Russell sits down all of the Zone Leaders and we talk about each of our zones, how they did the past month, and what needs to change to have more success! It is a very cool meeting, and very inspired! However if your zone had a bad month, its a very macheted filled meeting as well. At the beginning of the month of April, our zone promised 24 baptisms for the month, and we had........8. So we are preparing ourselves for tomorrow, and try and learn something from what will be said! Elder Sacalxot and I have a lot of plans on how we can make the work better here in the zone, and we will just have to do as PMG says in chapter 8, Take the Responsibility. 

Anyway I hope you guys have a great week! I love you so much! Thanks for all of your prayers and support! I would not be here if it were not for you guys! 

Love Love,

Elder Naisbitt

p.s. tell Ash I have his letter half written, it will be sent next week! 

April 20, 2015

April 20,  2015

 

Dear Mom and Dad,

 
Thanks for the spiritual experiences! I have been thinking a lot about those this week, and looking for them in mission! The greatest one we had this week was when the four of us taught the message of the Restoration with one of our new investigators. It was one of the best times I have ever taught that lesson, and the spirit was so strong, and it just rekindled my love for that message! I know Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that this is the true church of Christ today! I know that my Family is Eternal! :) I found a great scripture I love in 2 Nephi 31:3 ( I think) and it talks about how as people we need to enrich our lives in the simple things, and that the spirit loves and testifies of clear doctrine! I found that to be true this week! I have been trying to keep my teaching very simple and clear, so that the spirit can testify of the truthfulness of my words. This area is the refiners fire of my mission, I have realized that. I'm just trying to be obedient and learn as much as I can.

This week we worked like horses haha! That is a Nicaraguan saying! Work like Horses! (I love it! :) Our companionship is growing a lot closer and we are trying to work together much more as a companionship! The area is not bad, it is just a butt kicker haha! As mom would say, STRRRUUUGGGLIINGGGGGG :) haha But I'm so grateful for this area and all of the things I'm learning here! 

For all of our hard work these past three weeks, the Lord blessed us with a baptism! Her name is Liliana! She was a super cool investigator! She learned so much, and was able to understand the importance of everything we taught her.  She was even sick on the day of her baptism, but she put on a smile, and got baptized! And on Sunday she had no sickness! It was a super awesome Miracle she had!

Right now we are trying to lock down more baptisms for the month of May, but that means we have to find more people! We are going to focus a lot more on getting references from the members, because those are the people that will get baptized. That usually happens because they have friends in the church and are cultivating a testimony of the truths of the Gospel! 

The zone right now is kind of starting to lose their excitement as well, so Elder Sacalxot and I are putting together a great Zone Meeting for the next week that will focus on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, as well as the Parable of the Talents. The missionaries need to understand that if they are not working at 100% They are like the last man in the parable that hid his talents because he was afraid of losing the talent. We are missionaries called of Jesus Christ.   Christ did not stop preaching, teaching, expounding, contacting, or finding, why should we? The Lord has so many Promised blessings for us, we just have to work harder and harder, and put ALL of our faith in the Lord so that he will give us EVERYTHING he has prepared for us! This not only applies to missionaries, but to everyone! :) we are really hoping that this gets the missionaries to feel three things, first, shame for not working and completing the daily goals of the mission, two, feel the "machetes" and repent.  And three, leave with new feelings of excitement for the work and for this very special time we have to serve as missionaries of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me! Another scripture I have found to be awesome is found in 2 Nephi 25:23. We are saved and blessed by the Grace of Jesus AFTER all that we can do. 

I love you guys! I'm glad you guys had a great week! I loved Dads video of him in the plane! That made my day! I loved the photos of the temple too! the were very very pretty! :)

I love you so much! Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts!

 
Elder Naisbitt

4/13/15

Dear Mom and Dad

 

Well this past week was super crazy week! I do not know what to write about haha this is the first time haha. My life has been filled with just straight problems and helping people get baptized in every area but my own. Last week I did not work one full day in my area... I went to this city down south called Rivas, and worked with the district leader down there named Elder Merrill. We went around and pumped up all of the possibilities for baptism in the zone. My son and I were down there for 2 days helping and visiting. In our area right now we have 5 people with a baptism date. This area has been so worked by only zone leaders, and as we say in the mission, have "pulled out the juice" of the area.  We are really struggling to find anyone to teach. Elder Sanchez and I went and contacted around our area and found this crazy Catholic lady that told us that she is a nurse in the hospital. We explained to her the right way of baptism, and I told her that if you get baptized as a child it is an abomination to the Lord, and that Little children do not need to be baptized. I asked her how many children die everyday with out being baptized and saved, and then she tells us the craziest thing I have ever heard in my WHOLE life. She said that if she found a little baby sick, she would take purified water from the hospital, and sprinkle it on the babies head and say I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost!!!!!! Pure Apostasy! We told her to repent and we left the invitation to go to church. I could not believe that there are some people so blind to their beliefs that they would begin to create their own. 

 

I have been thinking a lot lately on this and how I could apply that experience to my life. Like explained in 1 Nephi 15, that the Iron Rod in Lehi's dream is the Word of God, and if we stay fast to that Rod, we will never be moved. This lady was so lost and confused because she did not study the scriptures on a daily schedule, and only put her trust in other people. We are just like this lady in some way or another. If we do not study the scriptures daily and apply the principles we learn we will begin to fall away from the Iron Rod, and we will never make it to the tree of life. 

 

Like I said we are struggling to find anyone to listen to us right now, and I am passing through another Gethsemane here in the mission. We are going to have a miracle baptism this Saturday! This little girl in the ward, her name does not appear on the list nor in the list in Guatemala, so we are going to baptize her! She has been a member her whole life, and will be the easiest baptism of my mission haha. But It was a blessing of the Lord to give us her. I'm not sad or upset, just trying to understand what the Lord wants me to learn from this situation. Being ZL is really hard because you not only have to worry about your own area, but you have to worry about the entire zone, and if they do not do good, you have the Assistants barking down your neck. So it is just like I have got 20 different plates up in the air, and trying to keep them all moving with out dropping my own plate as well. *Deep Breath* But I know that the Lord is going to bless me and help our Zone do good. I just have to keep being obedient, and learn what the Lord needs me to learn. 

 

I am so grateful for you and your love for me. I am so grateful for all that you do for me and the good council you give me! I look forward to hearing about your spiritual experiences and other experiences in the next week! Please share anything spiritual that passes on in your lives! I love reading about those! :) 

 

Thanks for all you guys do for me! 

 

I love you!

 

Elder Naisbitt

 

I'm glad you are having a great trip in the Philippines and the photos you took are great! 

 

April 6, 2015

April 6, 2015

Dear Mom and Dad!

Well this past week has been crazy! First off I got the backpack and card! So whenever you guys can, you can activate that! :) I loved the dotes and the sweet hot wheels! :) Also the book is super great! :) The camera is awesome! I already put some screen protection stuff on it! Thanks for the awesome backpack! That thing will survive a nuclear blast! :) If it is still in good shape when I get home, It will be the college backpack! :) Anyways! Thanks for everything mom and dad! :) 

The next thing that happened, was that I had changes... I have had SO many areas it is not even funny! But I had an assignment change... I was a district leader before, and now I'm a Zone Leader! My new Companion and other "ZL" is named Elder Sacalxot! (pronounced: Sacal-shut) :) He is super awesome, he is the one in the picture of the van, with just my head, and he is sitting to my right! :) he has the same time in the mission as I do! We go home together this coming December, and were like brothers before we became companions! it was funny, in change meeting when we found out we were going to be comps, we both freaked out and were smiling ear from ear! :) My new are is called Las Villas, which is a suburb of a city called Jinotepe! But being Zone leader, we train...so finally The Lord has let me have sons! :) One of the missionaries I'm training is Elder Jungers, from California! :) The other is named Elder Sanchez from El Salvador! :)  I'm sure you can tell I'm pumped! :) Being called as a zone leader is a huge task though... we are in charge of 20 missionaries here in Jinotepe, and we are expected to train them, support them, show them the example, and always be obedient! I have been assigned to work with Elder Jungers! He is a great missionary, and is going to be a great son!

The area here in Las Villas is a tough area! Remember how Masaya was? It is just like that, but the greater part of our area is basically just one long street. but this week, we are going to find a bunch of new people that will be progressing for the month of May. Right now we only have one possibility for the month of April. I guess the last missionaries here just stopped contacting efficiently, and everyone has disappeared. Coming to areas like these are really tough, but I will make the best out of it! :) Always be positive right? :) 

The house we stay in is super awesome too! :) there are a few photos of it! we live in the upstairs of a house, and there are two rooms we use, the bed room, and the study room! There is also a balcony, which at night is super nice! Here in Jinotepe it is super cold! Like only 85 degrees out around 3pm, and at night it is like 70! FREEZING COLD! I cant stand it! haha but the worst is the freezing cold water! If you have not forgotten, I have had quite cold showers for 1 year and 3 months, but they have been nothing like it is here! SO COLD! :) but it is a good way to wake up! :) 

I miss Bluefields! I left my heart in that place... I know the Lord called me there to help the people we were able to baptize. I love that place! Seriously, I have never loved an area so much as i have Bluefields... :)

Conference was great! I loved all of the talks!

In one of the shoe boxes if you could put a bag of the hand flosser things that have the string in between the plastic so I can floss my teeth easy? that would be the greatest! :) ç

Thanks Mom and Dad for everything you do and for all of the support you give me! I'm glad you all had a great week!  I love you a whole lot! :)

Elder Naisbitt

March 30, 2015

March 30, 2015

Dear Mom and Dad,

Sounds like you guys had a great week! That makes me so happy to hear that your brain tumors and scare tissue are going down!!!! Wow what a miracle! Hopefully this Avastin keeps working as good as it can! I got a call from the Elder Mataalii, old comp in the office, and told me that Tracie dropped off the bag! I don't know if I am going to have changes, so If I don't, I will just have the secretaries put the backpack with the stuff in it, and send it through the mail bag! Thanks you guys!! :) That is great Laub's team won! I loved the pictures on drop box! Hopefully everyone back home has a great Easter week! I'm sure you remember from last year, that Easter here in Nicaragua is the hottest time of the year! It is so HOT! All I do is sweat buckets when we go out and work!

Well this week has been one of the hardest weeks of the mission. Our family did not want to get baptized right at the last second. They had everything, they just did not want to act on the faith and the answer they had received from God, so that was really tough. The assistants called and Macheted us for not getting them baptized. But I was reading an awesome talk from Elder Scott on Saturday night called, "Trust in the Lord." That talk really helped me understand the importance the trust we have in God, and to just keep being obedient. I loved a phrase in that talk, which was, "when God closes one door, he opens more doors of the same importance as the first." That phrase is the phrase of the week here in Bluefields, because on Sunday, literally all of our investigators we had fell, and we were going to bring 0 people to church, but out of the blue, this family was had contacted last week, and another little girl showed up to church on their own! We ended up bringing 14 people to church! It was a miracle for Elder Hanson and I! The family Waggon will get baptized in the Future, I know that! They just need more preparing from the Lord ( Alma 16:16). I have learned this week to take all my trust I had in myself, and throw it all on the Lord! My testimony that God really listens and answers our Prayers has grown! Also that God loves each and everyone of us, no matter what! I will keep you guys updated on how this family progresses!

So like I said above, Changes are on Wednesday, so I will find out tomorrow around lunch what is going to go down! I think President is going to be opening a new area here in Bluefields! If that happens I will stay as DL. If he decides to leave it closed, my comps think I'm going to Zone leader. I have no Idea! I do not want to be ZL, it is a lot of responsibility. But I will do what the Lord wants me to do!

bad weather video

Well I took some photos this week of our one baptism we did have! His name is Curt Myers! He is super great! the baptism service was so funny though! There is an old man here in the branch named Charles Brackett! He is 81 years old, and the Branch President decided he wanted this guy to baptize on Saturday hahaha it was a train wreck! He could not say the prayer, so we had to write it on a piece of paper while he was in the water with Curt Myers haha, and then he kept saying that we was "commissioned by God, and that in the Name of Jesus I baptized you" hahaha after a few tries at the prayer, he finally nailed it and through Curt down in the water! All the members cheered because he finally said the prayer! But all and all it was a good baptism!

Well I hope you guys have a

great week! Learn lots from Conference! Everyone should have a notepad and a pen to take notes! :)

Have a great day!

Love you!

Elder Naisbitt

March 23, 2015

March 23, 2015

Dear Mom & Dad! :)

I loved the pictures!! Kona is a huge dog!! Wow! She looks like she would be a blast! :) I'm sure Elphy was enjoying her time together with her! Elphy always loves to have company! :) Laub's looked very pretty! I could not tell that Braden broke his nose, but that has got to hurt! I'm sure they had a blast together! I'm glad mom is doing good and not feeling any big side-affects! I know the Lord will keep blessing you. I loved the scout stories! That brought back so many memories!!!! I would love to be put in the scouts when I got back! Looks like they had a blast! I'm rooting for the Utes this week!!!! GO UTES! :) Sounds like the temple is going on great too!

So this past weekend, we only were able to baptize two... one fell because he did not want to act on his answer he had received from God. We want to baptize him this coming Saturday, but we will see what we can pull off. The other guy we had, named Curt Meyers, wanted to do it this Saturday instead, because part of

his family that are members would not have been able to make it to the baptism the past week, but he is pumped for baptism on the 28th! We did Baptize Ayoleth and Jerry Merijildo! They are very awesome converts! We are going to go and print them their pictures today, and congratulate them again! We married Ayoleth in the morning, so there are pictures of that as well! I'm can not wait for my next camera...I'M DYING! hahaha I really appreciate your help and getting that to me! I love you guys!

So this weekend we will be baptizing Curt Meyers, and a cool family named: Family Waggon! They are great! They are pumped about baptism and love the church! I think I told you about how we found them right at the last minute of the day, when we could have just gone home, but I felt like we needed to go down this little dark backstreet, and we went all the way to the back and contacted the first house, and started to talk with the Father, Rayco. The rest is history! They have gone to church every week since, and love how we teach and preach! I know they were prepared by the Lord to hear this message! Curt was a boyfriend of a this missionary that is now serving in Boston, Massachusetts! He loves the church, and It was cool, after the interview he was saying  that,

"A lot of people talk really bad about the church and say a lot of stuff like we worship the Devil, and we pray to Joseph Smith, but I decided to try it, and I realized that it was all false. I prayed and asked God if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and now I know. I know this is the church of Jesus Christ, without a doubt."

When he said that It sent shivers down my spine! At times I wish we all could have the testimony that some of these converts have, so simple and pure, but so strong! Growing up in the church you are just taught to believe it, and many never feel what these converts feel. I always expected a huge feeling to hit my heart or to hear the words of God fall upon my soul, but while I was to busy searching for some huge sign, I never paid attention to the simple small feelings of peace that can be felt while praying, reading the scriptures, or sitting in sacrament meeting. I invite everyone who will read this, to look for the peace that comes from God. If you cannot feel that in your life, tune your spiritual radio to find the frequency through which God communicates! I love the example in the scriptures in 3 Nephi 11:1-5 "And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came."

I have learned to Look for the peace, and to always be in a position in which I can always hear the message God has for me.

I love you! I hope you have a great week!! :)

Elder Naisbitt

Marriage of Ayoleth and Jerry Merijil

Baptism of Ayoleth

March 16, 2015

March 16, 2015

Dear Mom and Dad!

And another week bites the dust! Crazy huh? Mom, the physical address is correct, if Tracie tells her taxi driver that direction, they will get right there with out any problems! The other shorter address is:

AP 3527

Managua, Nicaragua

If you send that there, it will come just as fast, just to a different location, but the office missionaries go and pick up all of the mail that is sent there.

Poor ash! I feel bad about that girl that he "liked" but im sure he will be fine! How funny he just called Anthony and invited himself over for a sleep over!!!! Hilarious! I was laughing so hard here in the little cyber haha! And Dads comment about Korv getting hit in the nose! #InstantBlood. Funny stuff!

Well I hope that you guys have been able to rest and everything is going well! I'm happy that mom is feeling good, and not having any serious side affects! that relives me! Just crappy diarrhea  There is this little house near our house that sells really really good banana smoothies! But the only downside is that every morning after eating one, you have wicked runs for like an hour, but it is totally worth it! I usually put oatmeal and nuts in my smoothies, and it makes them so good! haha :)

We had some good news this week too! One of our investigators, named Ayoleth had something super awesome pass in her life! Her and her Husband (less active) have been wanting to get married, and Ayoleth wanted to get baptized in the church as well, but there was a massive kink in the plan, Huebert (husband less active) was already married, and never got divorced. And the X did not want to get divorced, so we were kind of in a stand still waiting to see what we could do. So Huebert went to Costa Rica, where he got married with this lady, and ordered a document from the government to see if he was even married legally or if the papers never got submitted. So Huebert finally came back from this trip with the papers, that said he was Single!!!! I guess when he originally got married, the lawyer never submitted the papers, so technically he is still single and not married, which means that we do not have to worry about going through the divorce junk!!!!!! She is going to get married and baptized this Saturday! That was a huge tender mercy we saw from the Lord this week!!

We had one baptism of a kid named Raynor this past week! There are photos of him on drop box! He is a super awesome kid! he was a member of a less active family, and everyone had been active before he turned 8, but then the whole family went inactive, and he just kept getting older until we found him! He is now 12 years old, and loves the church and has a ton of friends!

This coming weekend we will have 4 baptisms! Ayoleth, and three guys named Jerry, Curt, and Ricky! They are super awesome guys that have been preparing for a long time for baptism, and are super pumped to get it done! :) we are on track to have 10 baptisms this month! I thought last week we were not going to hit anywhere near 12, because everyone we had progressing fell, and did not want it right now. But we were able to move a few baptism dates up from April to March, including an awesome family, named Family Wagon! They are one of the greatest families I have ever met here in Nicaragua! They love the church and are super pumped about becoming members of the church in two weeks! So with them we will end this month with 10 baptisms! The lord has blessed us so much! But like I said last week! Ya gotta be obedient! :) We rely so much so much on the Lord in this work!

Also this week, we have to come again to Managua, but this time it is for a good reason! Bishop Davies (GA) and one member from the area Presidency are visiting Nicaragua! It will be a huge conference with the north and south missions! nearly 400 missionaries! It will be a cool experience! We are leaving Wednesday morning from Bluefields, but this time were are going by plane! Whooo hooo! Much better than 8 hours through bus and boat haha :) In plane it is only an hour :)

Well everything is going good for us! I hope you guys have a great week! I love you!

Elder Naisbitt

Dead mouse