1st week of school!

Hola Hermana Nielsen,

Well I was glad to hear that you finally met up with the Espinels.  I am sure that meant a lot to them.  I will copy and include the message that they sent to me about it.

Hola Scott! Hoy mi familia y yo tuvimos la grata sorpresa de reunirnos con la hermana Nielsen, y pudimos conversar , leímos la biblia , oramos y compartimos una tarde muy bonita. Ella està muy bien, asombrosamente habla el español muy bien, incluso mejor de lo que hablas tú 😀... En serio, habla muy bien ! La vimos distinta , està mas Madura , demuestra tener un corazòn humilde y es tan Bella por fuera como por dentro. El lugar donde ella està es un poco peligroso y es un lugar bastante humilde. Mi familia y yo quedamos muy contentos de verla. La familia López son personas encantadoras y estàn cuidando de las misioneras. Nosotros mañana estamos regresan do a Dominican Republic. Aquí te envío una fotito . Cariños y abrazos para toda tu familia.

Today, I befriended another family from Peru, (Joisee Nunez) they said you ate lunch with them yesterday and that today you were being transferred to another city.  That was not too long in Villa de Salavador.  They said you went to san juan de miraflores.  Miraflores, isn't that where the Espinels were from?  Perhaps you are in that area to teach their families.  Sister Nunez said you were an excellent missionary and that they miss you alot.

 

Well, last week was a craaaaaaazy week.  With mom gone, and having to sub the 3 paper routes, it was nuts.  We would get up at 4 am and cody and I would do the sub routes and then summer and cody would do theirs.  Amber would have to help out on Tuesday and Thursday so I could make it to bball at 5:30 am.  Then every evening we had meetings for back to school.  On Monday, we had cody's parent meeting for football, and his meeting with the college teachers for his ENG 101.  He has Ms. McMullen as you did.  Did you rent your books for that class or buy them?  Tuesday, we had the 4 am to 8 at night as we had the choraliers parent meeting.  On Wed. I had and adjunct faculty meeting until 8 pm with the day starting at 4 am.  The poor kids had nothing to eat.  I was not home enough to even make them dinner or anything.  I am not sure what Addie ate all week.  Cody made some jerky for our elk hunt and I think that is what they were living on.  Thurs. we had Mutual and we got home about 8:45 pm.  Friday we had a ward back to school picnic in the park and the bishophric was in charge.  So I had to make 10 pounds of BBQ chicken, the others were doing pulled pork.  So I was running around like a chicken without a head. and got home late that night.  Sat. I had to teach orientation at the college and worked all day.  Mom did not get home until around 6 pm.  Cody wanted to go to the archery club after his scrimmage in Winnemucca and then we had to get to a reception for Jason hiles and his new wife.  So we got home after 9 that night.  I still have 19 tax returns I need to get done before Cody's elk hunt which starts today and my accounting class starts tonight here at GBC.  So I did not have any time to do any thing I needed but do papers and run to kids meetings.  I also had to go with Summer to Adobe on my lunch hour to meet her teachers and find her locker and classes.  We never did make it to Carly's classes that day.  She has Ms. Powers.

 

Sunday was busy with meetings and Young women new beginnings.  Then we had family home evenings and I gave all the kids fathers blessings.  I will be glad if I can get caught up on some things around here.  GBC started their classes today, so last week was my busiest week of the year trying to get all the students paid.

 

We had good meetings on Sunday and it was nice to have mom back at the home front.  Addelaide was going around trying to get someone to let her play with their belly so she could relax and go to sleep.  She could not find any volunteers.

 

Well we hope you love your new area.  We love you and pray for you daily.  Have a super week and work as hard as you can.  You are almost at the hump of your mission.

 Love DAD

Cameron Dunn got Married!

HOLA,
 
Como esta?  Well we had a good week.  First of all, I think you were very inspired to write that about Whitney in your last email.  She is still struggling and I think that caused her to think a bit.  Although she missed church again.  3 weeks in a row she has not attended.  When she read your email last week she texted Cody, "Did you read Erin's email?  Holy Smokes."  She is really struggling with her old friends.
 
Mom wanted me to tell you about Adelaide before I forget.  We went to SLC on Friday thru Sunday morning.  Saturday night about 11:45 pm, we were all asleep and addie went into Charlene's room with her and she was talking up a storm.  She had found a flashlight and asked Charlene if she wanted to tell some ghost stories?  Charlene said she did not know any and Addie asked her if she knew some witch stories.  She did not know any of those, so she said you can tell me some nice stories.  But she was talking and I kept yelling Adelaide, go to bed.  One time I said, Adelaide, and she said, I know, you want a hug and a kiss.  So she came out and gave me a hug and a kiss.   Mom stayed in Utah Sunday morning so she could go to education week and me and the kids came home to attend our ward's meetings.  Last night Addie was missing mom and she ask me, "Do you miss your wife?"  I said I do, and ask her, do you miss your mother? And she said, I do, I want her to come home right now.  And she could not find any one willing to let her play with their bellies.  She was having a rough time last night.
 
Were you able to meet up with the Espinels?  I hope so, they sure wanted to see you.
 
Last week, I had Diana Gomez and another girl come in to see me about financial aid.  Diana said she knew you and had graduated with you.  She has a child now.  I told them you were on a mission in Peru and we started talking about the church, they had some questions.  I asked them would you like to come over to our house to listen to the missionaries and they can teach you more about our church.  They said they had talked to some elders and they invited them to the YSA activities at the church.  But they said, maybe we should learn more about the church before we go the the activities.  They said we need to get closer to God and quit partying.  So they are suppose to get back with me about a day and time, when they can come over and be taught a discussion.
 
Also, when we were at temple square, we were talking to 2 sister missionaries, one from Tonga and one from China, and 3 ladies from Mexico came up to them and started asking them questions in spanish, so I took over and acted as the visitor center missionary.  I answered their questions (all in spanish) and asked them how much they knew about our religion.  I asked them if they would like a copy of the Book of Mormon to read, one said yes, the other 2 said no.  So we went inside the building with the Christus statue and I explained more and took them up to the Christus and had them play it in spanish for them.  I was in heaven doing missionary work.  They gave mom and amber big hugs and some mexican pesos for a gift.  They really liked us, so hopefully they will read and pray.  I bore my testimony to them that if they read it and prayed and ask Heavenly father if it was true, they would receive an answer to their prayers, and I said and when you do, I hope you would want to be part of this religion.  It was very neat.  When they went to shake amber's hand, she went in and gave them a hug.  She said, I'm a hugger not a hand shaker.
 
Cody, did not go over with us, as he had 2 a days in football.  They have their 1st scrimmage game this weekend.
 
Cameron's wedding was nice.  The sealer was named Tateoka and he was cousins to my missionary companion Elder Tateoka.  But it was a great sealing and learned some new and interesting things.
 
Well we love you and hope you have a great week.  Keep working hard.  The time goes by too fast.
 
Love DAD
 

Rainy Days and Mondays never get me down

Hola,

Como esta?  The espinels are still trying to get ahold of you.  They even went to Villa del Salvador and found one of our churches and left you a note there.  They would really like to see you.  Did you talk to your President yet?  I gave them the phone numbers to the mission office and they are going to call them to see if they can get your address and phone number.

 

I am including the messages that Marlene left me:

Hola Scott, Hoy estuvimos en Villa el Salvador, y pudimos encontrar la iglesia , dejamos una nota para Erin y esperamos que llegue a manos de ella. El lugar donde ella está es muy pobre, hay mucha tierra , la gente es bastante humilde. Ojalá logres hablar con ella para que me des su dirección y así nosotros la podemos visitar. Es hermosa la misión que ella está haciendo , Y hay mucha humildad en ella para poder vivir con tanta pobreza.   

 

Hola Scott, Mi familia y yo estamos ansiosos de visitar a Erin , parece que la nota que dejamos no la recibió. Nos encantaría visitarla antes de viajar a Santo Domingo, ojalà tu nos puedas ayudar con la direcciòn de Erin.

 

So I am hoping they can get ahold of you.  They are outside of Lima until miercoles, and then they will get in touch with you.

 

This week was a blur.  I went to Pahrump to visit with the students there all week. My heart goes out to many of the students that live down there.  I met with 3-5 students who really have no family life.  The mom has 5 kids with different fathers, and the longest they have stayed in a home or apartment is 6 months.  Most of them dropped out of high school and have been living with friends and their family life gives them no stabbility. It is kind of sad.  I felt like adopting many of these students just to give them a stable home life.  We received a lot of rain last week.  On my way down to Pahrump, they had flash flooding in the dessert.  On the way down, one side of the road looked like a raging river with rapids and about 3 fleet deep and 300 yards wide.  The water was just running like crazy, sometimes over the highway.  I have heard about flash floods in the dessert, but never have seen it until this week.  I came home on Thursday night for mutual.  It was combined activity and we played badmitton.  It was really fun.  Cody and I played a few games after it was over and that was fun.  I beat him 11-7 the 1st game and was up 4-2 in the 2nd.  We were playing in the gym and we were both running around like crazy and sweating a ton.  Any way it was all good.

 

On Tuesday night 7 youth were driving back on north 5th street going too fast and rolled their vehicle.  6 of them were LDS.  Zack Daniels was driving and Sabrina Welch was in the passenger seat and they both had their seat belts on and did not get hurt too much.  But none of the rest of the kids had seat belts on.  Reagan Goulding crushed a couple vertibraes (broke her back) and will be in a body cast for 3 months and will not be able to dance her senior year.  Emily Anderson was not hurt too badly, and Ian Neisbit was cut up on his back, but nothing serious.  But Trevor Stone and Nick Palasio were in the very back where no seats are and they were ejected  Trevor Stone had a colasped or punchered lung and he was suppose to be released from the hospital yesterday.  Trevor and Nick were life flighted to SLC and Reagan they took over to SLC in an ambulance. Nick had bleeding on the brain and a crushed vertebrae as well, but he was released and was on a cruise the last I heard.  Reagan got out of the hospital on Thursday.  So mom was watching the Goulding kids for a few days.  Mom also took the Gouldings dinner on Friday.  Then on Friday night we all went over to the Gouldings to help them with the finders and then went out and delivered them.  It was fun.  We finished in a little over an hour.

 

Last week in church Nancy Jordan came up to me and asked me what the deal was with Whitney.  I did not know what she was talking about, but Whit told her she was not going to BYUI and wanted to go to UNR or Boise State.  So Whitney has been on our minds all week.  Cody talked to her and she has dropped all her classes and has decided to work until Dec. to save money and go to a school that "she wanted to go to".  I texted her, but she is very slow to answer my texts and said she is going through some changes and wanted to be with her family.  She has not been to church the last 2 weeks.  So we are very worried.  She told cody that she stopped reading her scriptures and saying her prayers.  I think these past 2 months she has gotten back with her old friends and the pressure of her family and she is giving in to their influences.  All I can think of is Lehi's dream of the people who taste of the fruit and then fall away due to the mocking of the great and spacious building.  Hopefully Amber can talk to her.  But she is acting like her dad now and very short and abrupt with us.

 

Amber got home from EFY on Sat night.  So it is great to have her back home with us.  Ossie went to church with Jacob Conklin yesterday, so we invited them to eat dinner with us.  Then cody and Jacob took him to missionary prep and to the late sacratmenting.  He had about 8 hours of church yesterday.  Nothing like breaking him in easily...

 

We hope you have a great week.  We love you and pray for you daily.  Keep working hard, the time passes too quickly.

 

I am now friends with someone in your area from Peru,  I will attach the message they left me on facebook.

Kelly Ayllon del Carmen Hermano somos la familia Lopez Ayllon y conocemos a la misionera Nielsen es una persona muy bella y la queremos mucho , aquí le mandamos unas fotos , se q usted habla muy bien el español así q podrá entender lo q escribí jajaja saludos a su esposa e hijos . con mucho cariño la familia Lopez.

 

I am assuming you know these people, you are in their pictures. I am also friends with this person now from Lima, do you know her?  Sonia Rafael Lorenzo

 

Have a super week, and work hard.

 

Love

 

DAD

Summer is now a Young Woman

Hola Hermana Nielsen,

I hope you are able to give us your address and phone number so Marlene can get in contact with you and meet up with you.  That might change her life to see you with the missionary mantle.  This past week has flown by again.  You have been out almost 8 months now.  Next month is your over the hump month.  We are still subbing the 3 routes on southside plus doing yours and Cody's routes, so our mornings are very busy with papers.  Cody has to help mom on Tuesdays and Thursdays as I go to bball in the mornings.  They are having the senior olympics here in Elko now, and I qualify.  Anyone over 50.  But it cost $20 to enter and $2 per event, so I decided that I did not need to prove anything competing against those old folks.  I thought it sounded fun at first.  

Cody went out to Vivian's ranch to work on their ranch for a few days on thursday.  He will come home Tuesday.  They have a 14 mile cattle drive tomorrow Monday that he wants to do.  I guess he killed a rattle snake and they cooked it for dinner.  Not much meat on it he said.  I have been trying to finish all my tax returns so I can concentrate on Codys elk hunt which is coming up in a few weeks.  We are getting excited for that.

On Wednesday, I had the sisters from temple square call me and wanted to know if I could join them in a discussion on the phone with a guy from Arequipa, Peru.  I told them heck yes, that would be great.  I have a daughter serving her mission in Peru right now.  But when we called him he was not home.  That is the 3rd time that I was going to be involved with discussions on the phone with spanish people, but none have been able to pan out yet.  I was bummed.

Well things are going well here.  Cameron Dunn gets married in 2 weeks, so that will be fun to see all the family.  We have not been to Utah in several months.  Without grandma and grandpa there, there is not a lot of pull to get over there.

Amber is back in Utah now.  She is loving the EFY, but it is a lot of work.  It will be good to get her home for a few weeks before she goes to BYUI. We hope you have a super week.  We love you and pray for you daily.

Have a super week.

Love DAD