November 12, 2014

Dear Mom and Dad!

What a crazy week! Anna sent me a photo of the Utah guy dropping the ball before the line hahaha, you know Anna! It was funny cuz she was like, "well its been a rough time in Utah country or Swoop-town, what ever you guys call it " hahahahah Priceless Anna moments haha :) But that is too bad that they lost!! It was almost like the BYU game that Utah pulled that huge DUHHHHH moment and almost ruined the game a few minutes before it ended! What is crazy too is that Amanda Oliphant and Kaela Mcdougal are back!! That is so mindbowing! When does Ashton Vandermide come home? It has to be sometime soon now right? Thanks for working on my christmas requests! You guys are awesome! I will be looking for the measurements tomorrow! There is a billboard by the office that has that interstellar movie poster on it, and it looks SICCCCKKKK haha I will be watching that for sure when I get back! Mom, I hope you have a good trip up in Seattle, I hope that everything goes well, Youre in my prayers! Hopefully ash adjusts to the strict teachers! I remember, i compained about having the strict teacher, but at the end of the year, they ended up being one of my favorite teachers! He'll learn to deal with stress! That has been one of the greatest things I have learned here in the office. We are under so much pressure and stress to get everything done, and done perfectly. President is a perfecionest, so when things are done, they need to be done well. It has been super crazy the past four months. I should be here in the office through Christmas, but we will see what happens this coming change! The change takes place on the 26 of November. We will go through all of that, and then after dropping the deads off at the airport, we will go home, take a nap, and then go to Presidents house for Thanksgiving on the 27th. YUMMM But the bestpart is that in the stake there is a family that works for the US Embassy and they are members, so every year the missionaries in the office go over there too! :) Its going to be super awesome! :) 

Any way, enough about the future!! We baptized two people this week, Javier, and Alicia! Melves didnt feel ready, so we had to move his Baptismal date, but he will be ready soon! It was such a great weekend! Javier was baptized on friday, and Alicia on Saturday, and on Sunday they were both confirmed! This saturday, and maybe the coming one, are empty for baptisms. The last week should be really really great! We have been finding a ton of people for December, which should make that month really great! I have pictures of our P-day on Dropbox, as well as the baptisms!

The mission has a goal of baptizing 250 people this month, and if we do that, we will make the yearly goal of 1800 baptism, if in December we baptize 150! President has gotten this mission rolling, and it is moving so fast now! All we are thinking about is the next month, and baptizing this month! And he still is raising the goals, and the Rules of Excelence. (which are every day we must complete with the following, 7 lessons with investigator, 4 with Less Active and Recent Convert, and 24 contacts a day. So if we do that President says we are promised by the Lord to have +6 Investigators in church on Sunday) He is pushing us so hard, but we are here to work, and to serve 100%, not 90 or 50, 100%. He is always talking about living the Law of Concescration on the mission, which is in essence, Obedience with Exactness. Obedience brings blessings, but Obedience with Exactness brings Miracles. That has been my goal on the mission, to live 100% to the Lord, because none of this time is mine, nor my investigators, nor the Wards. It is all aloted time given from the Lord. I love the mission, and all that i have learned from it.

Thank you so much for all that you guys do for me and for the misison! I miss you guys and love you more!

Elder Naisbitt

November 4, 2014

November 4, 2014 (No photos this week)

Mom and Dad!

 

Sounds like you guys had a great week! I only saw the pictures of Ash on drop box! What an awesome costume! Seriously, he looks just like Si!  Poor Utes losing in the last minute! I have faith that they will be able to make the game interesting against Oregon, and at least make a pretty decent game out of it :) Go Utes! I cant believe Laubs had that late of a practice up at the U! But whatever it takes to keep her bleeding red! If that girl goes to BYU, it will be super sad! Halloween just doesn't exist here in Nicaragua haha, they just went and decorated graves of their ancestors on Sunday, which was kind of a pain, because everyone that lives in Managua goes out of town for the weekend to celebrate "el dia de los Muertos". This holiday isn't too big here though, just another excuse for The Nicas to not work haha.  I'm so proud of Ash doing that great on his Piano Recital! That would be an awesome video you could send me... :) if you don't have one of those, just a video of him playing in the house! I hope everything goes well for you Mom with the Gama knife surgery. I'm sorry that this is in your life! Your FHE sounded really awesome! If I was doing one of those sheets, you guys would be up top on that list! Thank you so much for all that you do for!

So this week was pretty standard! We are super pumped for the baptism of the other week! it was really awesome to see the change that people make before they are baptized!!! I think that is the greatest part of the mission. Watching people completely turn their lives around! This weekend we will be baptizing this other girl named Alisia! We contacted her in the street one day, and she lives with a Less Active family, so we went there and got everyone super pumped for baptism, and for going to church. She hasn't missed a week yet, and will be baptized this week! How awesome right?? We will also be baptizing two other guys, named Melves and Javier. They are two brothers, who elder Watteyne and I contacted way back in August, but these guys have been so receptive to the whole message, and have made lots of changes, like stopping to drink, and to put their lives in accordance with the Word of Wisdom. They took a little longer to get to this point, but they are so ready to baptized now, and are ready to be members of the church! The Book of Mormon is such a key tool here in Nicaragua, and in all of the world. People here hate to ready, and it is just like they never have grown that part of their lives, but when you get them started reading, and especially the Book of Mormon, they get super pumped, even though its hard. The Book of Mormon is so simple, that like everyone says, a child can understand the points of doctrine that are presented. Javier, one night was like, "Wow, this book really does a good job explaining principles, and the words from these prophets are very clear." This book, really is the key to everything. If someone will start reading the book, they will feel themselves growing closer to God than they ever had! Anyway, I am super pumped for these three baptisms this week, and we have the goal of baptizing 9 people this month, and I think we could do it, its going to be super tough though! :) 

Okay to answer your questions, some stuff for Christmas:

• well first off some sort of fat burner, because here in the office I have put on like 15lbs here in the office! ;) haha no but seriously, the office is killing me haha.

• -Okay but for reals now, If you could send some sort of scripture marking stuff, like those Twistable Crayola crayons work really really well!

• -I would really like some new ties, some of them have been pretty destroyed! I'm down for any color, just not too crazy, and not pink :) 

• -A new shoe shine kit (broke)

• -This isn't really a need, but I'm struggling keeping my teeth super white, I keep them clean, just not super bright anymore. If you could look around for some whitening strips, that would be AWESOME! :) 

• -Another want, if you guys could look for one of those AXE shower scrubber things, that would be sweet too haha, the shower scrubber things here aren't the greatest quality.

• -three more pairs of those good socks from the missionary store. I think some Nicas stole mine while they were doing my laundry in Masaya. But the other three pairs that I have are super good still, and have 0 problems! I just need a few more.

I think that is everything that I need! I am working on your gifts right now, but I need to know, which members of the family have the scripture "quad" that is smaller, like Ashes scriptures. For Ash's scriptures, I need to know the dimensions of the spine, as well as the outside leather piece. I have a video on how do it on Dropbox. If the scriptures are like the size of Dads green ones, no worries. :) if you could do that this week, that would be super awesome! :)

Well I hope you guys have a great day and week! I love you guys so much! Tell the family that I said hi! and I love you! :)

Elder Naisbitt

•  

Oct. 31, 2014

Dad and Mom!

District + Pre. and Sis. Russle

First off, what a win for the Utes! That is so awesome! I miss a lot of things, but I think the thing I miss the most are Utah games! I cant believe either that I'm 10 months old in the mission! I was looking at the photos from you guys, and Lauren looks super old now too! I cant believe it sometimes! but the photo that really shocked me was the photo of Austin and Betsy's little guy, Nate!!!  When I left he was super tiny, but now he looks like Korver! super crazy! Your pumpkins looked pretty sweet! That's fun that Brittnee was able to join you guys! Loved the designs! I hope everything goes well with your tests Mom, and that you are able to get this cool drug! I'm always praying for you! I hope Dad gets home okay! Ash is the man of the house for a few days now! :)

So it was a pretty sweet week! We have been super busy, but it has been a blast! We did baptize and marry Julio and Vanessa! They are super awesome! it was such a crazy night though! we were on the way, and it decided to rain like none other, and for like a half hour! So that put everything behind schedule, but we married them first, and then we baptized them! But it was like God was really trying our faith and the faith of Julio and Vanessa, because there was a baptism before us, and so we asked the ward clerk to keep the water in the font, but i guess he did not relay that message on, because when we all walked in together, the font was empty.... so we were tasked with refilling it, and waiting for that. 1 1/2 later... ahh, so the frustrating part was that we had a bunch of people there to support, but by the time the baptism started it was 8:30, and there was no one left but a few members that were faithful haha. But we finally got them in the water and then we got them home. The next day, they show up to church at 8 am sharp, and are waiting to be confirmed, but again, nobody told the bishop that they were baptized, so by the end of the sacrament meeting we were like, what are you doing Nicaragua????? But they got confirmed, and everything was great haha. We visited them on Tuesday and they were doing great! :) They were for sure chosen by God!

So the other highlight of the week, like I said yesterday was the Trip to the Volcano Mombacho! Seriously, that was one of the coolest hikes I had ever done! It was such a clear day, and we could see for MILES! There a few cities you can see, the biggest one, that is right next to the lake is the city of Granada. We took a video of the part of the trip up, and you cant really see in the videos, but the roads were literally straight up! it was incredible! so we got to the top, and started the small hike, which is where we found a bunch of monkeys called, howler monkeys!, and the entire Volcano is full of them, so as you are walking, it just sounds like a bunch of Hows and screams haha, it was pretty awesome! These photos are so awesome, i really cant describe how beautiful the whole trip was! It will be the only time I go while on the mission, but when we come back, I will be taking you guys there! Seriously!  There are a ton of photo though haha, like 193 of just the hike :) and another 10 from the baptism!

Well that is basically about all that happened this week, but we are now preparing for changes again haha. They will be on the 26 of November! super crazy!

I love you guys! I will be looking for the flat package! so if I get it sometime in November, open it? or wait till December 1? :)

Hey I was thinking the other day, what would be super super awesome, would be a sweet christmas card, but it has the Calender of the 2015 on it! That would be awesome! one of the other elders has one here, and it is super cool! I dont know if that is still possible, but i would really like that :)

Elder Naisbitt

October 22, 2014 - Nicaragua Managua South Mission newest District Leader

Dear Mom and Dad,

Wow! two weeks have passed by!!!! I have missed you guys a lot though! A lot of stuff has happened! A few highlights of Cambios! My new companion is Elder Hayes, he is from North Carolina, he is 19, and has 6 months in the mission! My first companion that has less time then I do! hahaha Another really cool thing that happened was that I am now assigned as a District Leader!! Whoo Hoo! haha I am in charge of two other companionship's of missionaries, The APs and another set of full time missionaries :) It is pretty sweet! I did my first baptismal interviews yesterday, which was really awesome! The people I interveiwed were really awesome! I am going to love this assginment! Getting to know people, I have realized here in the mission, is something that I love to do! I love to just listen to people, and learn more about them! Anyway, so as a District Leader, I have to take nightly numbers from the missionary sets, Sunday numbers, make lessons for District Meeting, and go on divisions all of the time to help and support the other missionaries. Its really nice having the APs in my district though because they are the best missionaries in the mission, and I usually learn more from them, and am able to adapt my teaching closer to their's. I am loving it!

As for the office, I'm doing a lot more number taking now, and I'm always talking with President about what is going on with missionaries, and especially for the missionaries that get sent home for breaking rules, not being worthy...etc. I order plane flights, and organize all of the trips everywhere haha. It is pretty stressful, but i enjoy it a lot! :) 

The area is getting better! We will finally be baptizing our cool prepared family this weekend! I have to pull some money off of my card to help pay for a Divorce we have to do, so just letting you (mom) be aware of that. Their names are Vanessa and Julio! I have some pictures that i downloaded to Drop Box.

Thank you so very much for the Birthday package! Loved the clothse and the food! thank you so much! I will be waiting for the Christmas package! I need to hit the market again and go searching for more gifts for you guys! anything specail that you guys would like? wooden nicaraguan stuff, machetes, whatever... :) Let me know before next week! :)

I love you so much! Thank you for the support and the constant prayers of love! I hope everything goes smoothly for you mom and your doctors! And Dad, we will definitely have to go and drive go karts when i get back! too much fun! :) 

Love you!

Elder Naisbitt

October 9, 2014

October 9, 2014 (no photos this week)

Amada Familia,

Congratulations Mom on your great test results! I will for sure be praying for you, and I will keep praying! I love you so much! I'm glad you guys enjoyed Conference! I thought the talks were really great! We had to listen to it in Spanish, which I understood everything, it just doesn't have the same feeling as listening to it in English! it was super cool all of the language differences we saw! Especially when the Spanish guys came up and talked, and I was like, I understand you! THIS IS AWESOME! haha :) So we have found out what will be happening here in the office this change!!! Craziness le digo yo! (I tell you) So this past change we have received a new missionary couple that is working in the office with us, and will serve their whole 18 month mission here in the office. The office is big, but with 6 people all of the time, it becomes cramped haha, so we have all been making predictions on what was going to happen, and how president was going to change things up. So he brought each of us in one at a time, and sat us down and told us what was going to happen! (drum Roll..........) I will still be in the office, but i will be changing positions. I will become the General Secretary for the mission, and the the Husband of the couple will become financier! They are taking out two of the elders, so Elder Roney is going back to the field, and of course my companion is going home. So Elder Hayes and I will be the only missionaries left here haha. elder Hayes will become the materials Secretary, and help on my duties because he knows how to do it, but I have basically a week and a half to train to become the General Secretary, one of the most stressful jobs in the office... AHHHH :) oh well, that is how it will be now.

Change meeting is officially one week away, so we are putting everything together, and the stress is starting to mount! :) 3 nights, No sleep!

We are really hoping that we baptize this week! I have had a great time this change, i just want to baptize. Elder Kersey is a great companion, but I have learned a lot about patience this change. a lot about how to take into account others ideas, no matter how silly they are as well, and giving up my will for theirs. I feel like that is why we have not baptized at all. He is a great missionary, just doesn't give up his ideas, nor listens to mine, and we have gotten no where. Like I said, i have learned a lot about patience, and how to love your companion, even in the bad times. *sigh* I guess I should not be judging, because i know I have faults, and he has to learn to deal with me, but man this has been hard. The only thing I have not like about my mission is that, minus my training, I have only had one change with all of my companions, which is like 0 time.  But I have learned to adapt. That is the life of a missionary though. submitting yourself to the Lord, and just being obedient. I am loving the mission, and i cant wait to see what else the Lord has planned for me! :)

I love you guy so much! Thank you so much for being so supportive and always being there for me! I could not ask for better parents or a family! Thank you so much! I love you!

Have a great week! Ill be praying for you guys! always!

Love

Elder Naisbitt

October 1, 2014

October 1, 2014

Looks like an Elder's birthday

Mom and Dad!

I loved reading your letters! I really loved the photo of Laubs doing the "Vader" haha it looks super awesome!! All of the pictures of you guys at the game/conference looked really fun! That's too bad that the Utes didn't win!! Super frustrating! But that seems to be a typical Utah game right? Either we smash until the 4th quarter and then we lose or almost lose, OR we are down super far, and end up pulling it off in the last 5 minutes hahaha :) #UtahFanLife haha Moms night out sounded like lots of fun! I will have to remember that Chinese place for dates ;) haha Poor dad working like a horse though! (Canyon voice) haha.  I Hope Mom´s scans go well and that that scar tissue has gone down and that you don't have to deal with those stupid steroids anymore!!! I will for sure write Christian too! and if I get a chance I will look for Mom in the General Women's Conference haha.

So to answer your questions, this week is not change week, change week is on the week of my birthday, in a week and a half basically! hahaha I have not yet killed my companion, but he did have his final interview with president yesterday! He said he liked it a lot! But he is not ready to go home! I guess the thing with being here in the mission is that by the time you finally get used to being out here, it hits around your 20 month mark, and by that time, time is going by so fast, that the mission just ends in a split of a second!

For me, i already feel like this whole mission  is moving way too fast! I know time will only be getting fast, and we will only be closer and closer to the end! Crazy!

This week I have been thinking a lot about the Atonement of Christ. I have put in a lot of study time just trying to understand more about it! It has been a great experience! One thing that I have been doing and have been trying to put into practice in my life right now is a saying that we have here in the mission, which is, "Live in a way in which you let the mission pass through you, and not you pass through the mission." I really have been trying to humble myself to everything around me and just to let myself go, be a better person, and be changed by the experiences here, rather than just be a rock and not learn anything from these two years that the Lord has given me! I know I am a different person, I can feel it, I can't tell you how I have changed, but I know I have, for the better, obviously,  haha!

Crazy, I mean super crazy story this week!!!!!! So Elder Kersey and I are walking through our area on Sunday night, and like I have always told you, our area is the most dangerous area in all of the mission, seriously. But we were just walking through, trying to get to one of our appointments in that area, and we end up walking behind these three guys, and as we approach, they all stop and look at us, So,  we begin to pass quickly on the left side of this group, As I pass one of these guys, he grabs my arm, and stops me. He is looking at me, and he just had this empty personality about him, like he was just zoned out. So I am stopped, being held by this, I'm sure drugged out, guy and his buddies are all around me. I just froze, and just could not do anything, I then remembered I had my wallet, which has license, Nicaraguan ID, Credit cards, Personal cards, money...etc. and I was not going to let these three jack-wagons take it, so I shoved this guy in the chest super hard, but he still held onto my arm. So now this guy is mad, and pulls out a knife and is holding it in the air like he is going to stab me, and that is when Elder Kersey screams, run run! So I push this dude one more time and started to book it, but before I could get away, he shoves this knife into my arm!! My brain didn't process it, but we just ran, and my arm hurt really bad, so as we got away from these dudes, we checked my arm, and there was no hole, in my shirt or through my garment, and my arm just has a slight small cut, which wasn't even bleeding..... We both just kind of stopped and looked at each other, and just thought, what a miracle, seriously. I saw that knife hit my shoulder, but i just have a tiny cut, and a bruise. Miracle! Seriously! ANYWAY morale of the story is, I'm fine, I'm not in shock, I got over it fast. I made copies of all my licenses, and I don't walk around with my debit card anymore haha. I'm

just super thankful that God is watching over us and keeping us safe :) Picture of my arm are online :)

Attack on E. Naisbitt 

Other than that experience we have been working hard! Our baptism fell through! He went and moved temporarily in the North Mission till the 20 of October! Jack-wagons! hahaha :) but he will get baptized when he gets back! We have 4 awesome people lined up for baptism on the 11! It will be a great week!

I love you guys so much! I'm excited for Conference and being able to hear the prophet! :)

Love love from Nicaragua!

Elder Naisbitt

Sept. 24, 2014 -

Sept. 24, 2014 -  (I forgot to post this letter...sorry)

Mom and Dad!

Go Utes! Hopefully they win again this week! I have heard BYU´s quarterback is really good! That would be cool to see him get the Heisman! (no I'm still a Utah fan)!!!!  haha sounds like you guys had a really full week of traveling and getting from place to place! as to Mom´s question about the Xbox! I would be alright with it, i will just feel super betrayed! haha no just kidding! I think it would be awesome! But if you buy an Xbox 1 because from what I heard before I moved through the "veil" was that we could add onto the Xbox 1 and not just have it become an outdated dinosaur in 1 more year! haha but its your decision! I am 2000 miles away and i don't have much leeway haha but I would be down just to have one before I came home.... :) and to answer Dad´s question, I will be killing Elder Kersey as well as I did with Elder Watteyne! Elder Kersey has his finally interview with President next Tuesday! its pretty crazy! Then the change meeting is on my Birthday, like smack-dab the 15th of October! hahaha Yay for me and getting no sleep! Whoo hoo best birthday ever! :) just kidding, it will be really awesome!  Anyway, it sounded like Ash had a great time, and that photo of ash eating those waffles, is priceless! and i cant believe that Lauren is getting so OLD! she looks like she is 20! sorry Dad... haha but she looked stunning in those photos! I saw on the church news, the new dedication! that temple is super beautiful! That's super awesome ash went on his scout camp last week too! Everyone is growing up! But I still feel like I'm 17-18 haha its a weird to think about haha :)

E. Naisbitt, just chillin'

Oh by the way I put Ash´s birthday package in the mail today!   I love Ash´s gifts! I tried looking for an Nicaraguan Flag, but I could not find one in time :) Oh well, next package right? :)

We will be baptizing a really awesome guy this week named Ruben! He has a really huge story, So next week I will tell you guys all about him, and this guys huge amount of faith! Our other two families are progressing really well, and are loving the Gospel! We should have a really great turn out in church this coming week! :)

I love you guys a ton!!!

Love

Elder Naisbitt