One more week of school

Hello Elder Nielsen,

How was you 1st week in the new area? I hope you are learning all the area and people so that you can make that area the promise land again. We are doing well here at home. I worked a ton of hours this past week. I worked most of the Saturday before Memorial day, all day on Memorial day, and 12 hour days through the week and most of the day yesterday. We had our stake conference, so I went to work before the leadership meeting and the adult session and then I went back and I was at my office until after 11 pm. We have to have a lot of information sent to them by Tuesday. At least we now have most of our policy and procedures done now, but still a lot to do this week.

Who is your new companion? Gringo or Filipino? I had a question on our credit cards and called and the girl I was talking to sounded like she was Filipino, and I asked her where is was from and she was from and living in the Philippines. So I obviously had to tell her that her arm pits stink and good afternoon, thank you, etc. All the words I know. And she asked me who taught me and I told her you were in Quezon City. Kind of fun.

On Thursday, I had to go give out the scholarships for Elko high school. Benton cleaned up for the boys and a couple of Hispanic girls, who I did not know cleaned up for the girls. But I did not get home until after 9 pm. The girls have one more week of school left, so they are really excited. Carly's teacher called me this past week and said that they are having an assembly tomorrow and that she was chosen as student of the semester and was going to be recognized. Then her teacher called back on Friday and talked to mom and said that Carly's illustrations in book she drew got chosen as the best illustrations in all the 5th grade. But they are both surprises, so she does not know yet. She will be recognized again on Wed. for that. I will be busy again this week, but then hopefully, I should have everything ready for the auditors. We will see.

Golden State is playing the  Cavaliers in the NBA finals. Same 2 teams as last year. Golden state won game 1 and they are playing game 2 tonight, but we will not watch as it is Sunday. 

For stake conference, we had Elder Brad Foster from the 1st quorum of the 70 and Elder Villareal from the area authority. They talked a lot about family counsels and counsels in general as that is the way the Lord runs his church.

Foster said and this applies to you as a district leader, father, bishop, stake president, that it is easier to run a ward than to inspire a ward ... or district, stake etc. But it is our job to inspire whoever we are over not run it.

In counsels, we are suppose to share our vision of our family, zone, district, ward, etc, and then ask them "will you counsel together with me on how we can make that happen?" Then we just sit back and listen and stop talking." If we tell someone what to do, we are telling them to be just like us. " They need to be their own individuals and when they counsel together, they will get the revelation of what they need to do or change and then we have that buy in from them and they will change for themselves and become converted.

Our progress in this life is    testimony--conversion---sanctification--exaltation.

Testimony is not enough, he said there are a lot of inactives out there with testimonies.

3 suggestions for couples

1- Be brutally honest with each other. Be politically incorrect. Tell your spouse every thing. As Satan works in the dark and secrets.

2- Don't love any thing that can't love you back.  ie... you job, car, money, sports, etc.

3- He is tired of hearing saints say how hard the gospel is to live or enduring to the end is hard. He said this life will be gone before we know it and we need to "enjoy it to the end, not endure it" The gospel is very enjoyable as is this life.

Any way, some good counsel that I think all of us can use in whatever calling or capacity we are serving in the church.

We love you and pray for your success. Keep working hard and be exactly obedient and the other trunky elders will follow your lead.

Have a super week!!! It is really hot here this weekend in the 90's. So we are feeling your pain a little bit, but not the humidity.

Love,

Dad

ps, I drew a area 10 buck deer tag and an area 10 cow elk tag. Summer drew area 7 buck deer tag.

That was all I applied for.

Dearest Elder Nielsen,

I am counting down the days... 5 more, until school is out.  Summer doesn't seem too eager, she likes school and the thought of going to the high school kind of scares her a little bit.  She decided not to run for a freshman student council position.  She thought she would be busy enough with sports and Choraliers and I don't think she thought she was enough of an extrovert to really pull that stuff off.  Carly is excited for the end of the school year, she will still be at Flagview again next year, so she will be a big school ruling 6th grader.  She has really been into doing some self-taught gymnastic moves.  She could hardly bend her back into the bridge when she first started doing stuff, now she can do a backbend and kick over.  She is trying to teach herself how to do a front walkover.  She is always in the backyard practicing and recording herself.  I think I even detect  little biceps developing on those skinny arms.

Adelaide had a walk-a-thon at her school on Friday and they had to walk around the whole outside of the playground/field at MV.   She did 21 laps around--in a dress with her tennis shoes on.  Hartman only did 10.  I think he just walked with his Mom and Scarlett, while Ads was running.  I think there is a prize for each class, so maybe she was going for that.  When I picked her up they had just finished and she was all red and sweaty.

Is it still in the dry season right now? When will it start to rain?  Do you think you have acclimated now?  It has been quite warm this past week--unseasonably warm, like a round 90.  It went from wet and cool to instaSummer like in one week.

We had stake conference today and the theme was on Families and the visiting General Authority wanted a family choir to sing during the meeting.  So, we and a bunch of other families in the stake were asked by Sis. Mierins to participate.  I think we did well.  It was a really good meeting, as was the adult session the night before.  One of the ranchers that Dad does the taxes for, lives out by Tuscarora and is the branch pres. of the Owyhee branch came into town for the night session and we watched their two little "cowboys".  They are so cute.  They are 5 and 2 years old and they show up with their hats and the older one even had spurs on his boots.  They had a lot of fun I guess.  Summer let them play with the little air rifle and they had fun going around the house shooting all the big animals.  They had a really good time and their parents told us today that they talked all morning about it, and the little boy, Cotton is his name, really liked the "bobcat". 

We just got word that cousin Brayden, opened his mission call tonight and he is going to Guatemala on Sept. 14  !!!!!

Dad and Summer spent about 3 hrs. today finding 2 more names for her to take to the temple at the conclusion of trek next week.  Dad felt like he had a bit of guidance from beyond the veil to find this one woman's info.  He told Summer to really pay attention when she gets baptized for her, because it could be really special.  We heard last night from Elder Foster that when people do baptisms for the dead they come out of the water smiling, but when they do their own families' names, especially ones that they have found themselves, they come out of the water in tears. 

You didn't tell us about who your new companion is.   I hope you have a super week.  You are pretty loved around here.  Love, Mom

PS Bruce Fischer gave Dad a graduation card to give to you.  He said it had been sitting around since last year.  He wrote:  "Cody,  It has been a privilege to watch and be apart of your four years at Elko High School.  Your hard work, both in athletics and in the classroom, has been an inspiration  to all of us. " Good luck with your future plans, Coach Fischer  (enclosed was $40.00 , I'll see that that is well taken care of for you )