March 2, 2020

I Went Sicko Mode

Well I didn't think I'd do it, but here I am. I'm proud of how far I've come! I'm gonna keep it short and sweet. 

I hit 7 months so that's pretty dang exciting! This whole mission thing is flying by! 

The other day we were knocking and we knocked on this one door and this dude opens and I start doing my thing. He cuts me off by yelling what I thought was German in my face. I had a feeling he knew what I was saying so I just kept going. He kept yelling what I now know was Danish in my face. I just sighed and said some church words like Jesus Christ and Book of Mormon and then in a last ditch effort I said "can you understand me" to which he responded he couldn't in German. So clearly I knew he could understand so I called him out naturally. I asked how he understood me and he knew I had him beat. He sighed and then finally said "no hablo ingles" Now I am by no means fluent in Spanish but I can get along so I just was like, “oh esta bien amigo! Hablo español y somos misioneros de la iglesia de jesucristo y tenemos un mensaje. Now he really knew I'd pinned him. So accepting defeat he says in perfect English. I'm not interested man. Uh ya no duh. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out lol. But he did say he respected me for not giving up and for what we are doing. 

Then on the way home we were walking back to our apartment and on the walks in the past we've seen this one dude who always ignores us when we say hi, but this time I decided I'd talk to him. Well we were getting close and I said hi to which he muttered hi back. I stopped and asked if he had a minute for us to talk. His response was unlike anything I've ever seen. From about a foot away from my face he turns and yells at the top of his lungs some jibberish. From what I heard it sounded like KEESTER EGG HAMILTON I DON'T EVEN HAVE A COAT!!! To which I gave a simple alrighty then and we hurried on our way laughing our heads off! 

The last story is also a little funny but also has some spiritual aspects. So we've been going to what is called an Oxford house with the Sisters. An Oxford house is a place where a bunch of guys live who are all trying to get over alcohol and drug addiction. All of them have spent time in jail and/or prison where they get to know the bible REALLY well. So the first time we went we had about 7 or 8 guys there and we were just talking and sharing stories and scriptures and experiences and it was really amazing! The second time we introduced the Book of Mormon and taught from it. Unfortunately we only had about 3 or 4 guys who showed up there. They seemed to be into the Book of Mormon which was exciting! Then the other night we went back and one guy had lots of concerns with the Book of Mormon. He kept saying the Bible was the only word of God. It was interesting he kept saying the Book of Mormon backs up the Bible but not vice versa so... he kept talking about Matthew 23 or 24 or something where it says to beware of false prophets. Anyway he kept saying he only needed the Bible so naturally my mind went to 2 Nephi 29 and before I knew it I had asked him if we could read it. The sisters and my comp just stared at me in horror but it was too late. So we read it. Not sure how he took it, but we're going back tomorrow so I guess it could've been worse! He's super solid though and has a real desire to learn! Good times

Well missions are fun. They are hard. Most days feel exactly like the one before it which is wildly unfortunate but that's how it be sometimes. I wouldn't trade the experiences I've had for anything though! Love you all! 

Warmest regards,

Elder Nixon

February 24, 2020

Our Church Caught on Fire?!?!

What a week! Thankfully some exciting stuff happened this week so I hope this is a good email!

Where to start? First think I've noticed when I introduce myself to members here. Whenever I say I am from American Fork, if they know where it is, or are from the Utah valley, they will ALWAYS without fail go, "Oh American Fark?" I don't know why but for some reason they always say Fark and it is the weirdest thing. Then the next question is always if I'm related to the President and one of these times I think I'm gonna claim him as and uncle or grandpa or something! Maybe great grandpa I'm not sure which. I did hear a new one tho the other day. A member asked me if I was related to Dalton Nixon on BYU basketball so that was a nice change for me! 

Thursday we got a call from the other Elders here in Hutch reminding us about exchanges which I had totally forgot about! I had made a comment a few weeks back about how when we go on exchanges I want to bike... Well I got my wish and I biked all day Thursday! Not so lucky for me, it was SUPER windy, and had just snowed the night before so that was not too fun. I'm not sure if I'm just out of shape or the conditions were bad, but it wrecked me. Still a good time though! 

Friday we met this super cool dude whilst knocking doors. He opened the door and told us his name is Josh. He didn't have a shirt on and he was covered in tats and piercings, but that didn't stop me. I told him we were sharing a message about Jesus Christ and the hope that comes from it and he told us he was always down for a message about Jesus so he let us in. He got talking and sharing his life story with us. Boy this man has seen some stuff. He had gotten out of jail like a week earlier and he told us he really wanted to change his life. He told us he had attempted to take his own life about 30 times up to that point and was contemplating attempting it again when we showed up! It was a pretty crazy experience. He broke down to us and just expressed how grateful he was that we showed up and I told him we really wanted to help him change his life if he would let us and he said that he would like that so I'm pretty satisfied with that! It is awesome how the Lord puts us where he needs us to be and any moment! Just a reminder to me how important it is to always have the Spirit with you! 

Sunday was a day! During church we had just finished the sacrament hymn and the Priest was about to start the prayer when the fire alarm went off! I've noticed that we as a society don't really know what to do when a fire alarm goes off (except in public school). I feel like most of the time we all just sit around wondering if it's actually real... well our Bishop quickly stood up and told us all to head outside into the rain so we did! Thankfully we didn't have to be outside very long before we were permitted to go back inside. Once we all got settled in it was a little rowdy, so we started singing another sacrament hymn. We were also waiting for our Bishop and building coordinator to get back in. Well about halfway through the song our Bishop walks in and stops our singing to tell us there was a piece of equipment in the equipment room that was VERY hot and he didn’t feel comfortable having us all there when he didn't know what could happen so he just canceled the rest of church... We were all super bummed that it was right before the sacrament, but hey we made some funny memes I'll share!  We were chilling in out car waiting to go when a fire truck pulled up! That was pretty exciting! I REALLY wanted to get out and take a picture by it, but the other Elders said that wasn't the best idea so I only got a picture of the fire truck which isn't nearly as cool.... 

Anyway that's all I've got for the week! Kansas is pretty dope! I love it here and I'm doing really good! 

OH also I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this... but we put someone on date... Well technically I didn't, but my comp did on exchanges and then forgot to tell me about it...lol But ya his name is Anthony and he has been taught by the missionaries for about 2 years and he really wants to get baptized and do the temple work for his family! So ya that's pretty neat! 

Warmest regards,

Elder Nixon

February 10, 2020

Lots going on...Not really though!

What is up everyone! I've got some good stuff for the week! Or past two weeks... so I hit 6 months and that was cool! Time is flying by! We had transfers last week and unfortunately I got yoinked out of Great Bend and thrown into the great town of Hutchinson! My new comp is Elder Newman from Lehi UT! Hutch is a little bigger than Great Bend and I like it so far! We've got a chick fil a and two little ceasers so that's pretty dope! Other than that I don't have a whole lot! I'll tell y'all a dope story tho! The other day we were walking around and I had no idea what to do but I'm Senior comp so my comp leaves everything up to me. I decided to try visiting some members in the area so we did! There was a name neither of us knew so we just stopped by! The member let us right in and told us she had been meaning to call us to ask for a blessing but I don’t think she had our number but then we just showed up! It was pretty awesome! 

I don't have much else honestly! I'm doing really good for all those wondering! 

January 27, 2020

What is going on everyone! I thought I'd get this out of the way so it wasn't looming over my head all day... Anyway not a whole lot happened this week to be honest, but I shall still tell all that did! 

So not a whole lot happened like I said, but we did teach a super cool lesson. A few weeks back we got a referral for a Bible request to a lady named Cameri so we went and dropped it off and set up a return appointment. We met her husband Chad while we were there too. Well this week we went back and met a new person living there named Tim. Well we were teaching the Plan of Salvation since they just had their first kid a few weeks back and Tim knew an odd amount concerning the topic. At one point he even started talking about baptism for the dead and I was just like Tim, how do you know so much about all this? Turns out Tim is a member of the church, has been his whole life. He hasn't been in quite a while, and I'm not too sure if he wants to, but he was still a great help in our lesson! 

Thursday started out rough. We had all these plans to go into a town we cover and then all at once, every single plan we had fell through and we were like well I guess that isn't what the Lord wanted us to do today... So we ended up spending most of the day just knocking doors. We met like 5 new people and gave a Book of Mormon to all of them so that was freaking legit. I had a pretty funny conversation with this dude we met that led to us getting a return appointment and then a return appointment with their neighbor. A little background, it was about 5:30 and I was very hungry. 

Me: *Knocks on door and waits

Man:*Opens door and a strong scent of food hits me.

Me: Hello! How are you doing today! 

Man: Probably cause we're in the middle of dinner...

Me: Oh well it smells really good! Kind of like tacos...

Man: Nope we aren't having tacos, we're having-

Me: It's gotta be soup then! 

Man: No not soup it's lasagna.

Me: Oh that is some very good smelling lasagna.

And from there somehow I managed to work in that we are missionaries and he totally said we could come back! The man’s name is Russell fyi.

Next house. 

The story starts the same. A little background tho. It's about 5:35 and I am still very hungry. I'll skip the part where we knock and wait and where she opens the door...

Me: Hello how are you today! 

Woman: Doing really well. How bout yourself?

Me: Good thanks. Super random but it smells very good in your house... Like bacon!

Woman: We had potato soup! 

Me: Oh cool, *then without thinking* Your neighbor is having lasagna! 

Woman: *Clearly getting excited! Ooh I love lasagna, which neighbor is it, let’s go over! 

Me: Oh we love lasagna too! 

And from there i managed to work my way into a gospel conversation. No idea how, but it totally worked! 

Friday we were in close to the same situation, and again we just found 3 interested people to go back and talk to and hopefully teach! The Lord is definitely aware of us and our needs out here! 

Lastly, I've been thinking about getting fake glasses to change things up so I'll attach a pic of me in my comps glasses and let me know what all y'all think! 

I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ! I love the gospel and am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity to share it with EVERYONE!!! Also Sorry for the call out last week Scott. I definitely miss you. Love you all!

Warmest Regards, 

Elder Nixon 

January 20, 2020

This is Becoming Quite a Hassle...

What is up everyone! Sorry I didn't email last week. Actually, I'm not technically sorry because to be truly sorry would mean I'm not going to do it again, but I'm not gonna lie, I am not a fan of weekly emails! But I do it for the fans! I do it for all y'all! 

First things first (rest in peace uncle phil, for real) shoutout to anyone who gets my reference there. Let’s see where to start. We found a cool dude named Mark who we can teach. We just found him knocking doors. He told us he believes the Book of Mormon could be scripture from God so that's exciting! We have an appointment with him on Thursday so hopefully it goes well! 

I went on exchanges with the Hays Elders which is always a good time. I love being able to just go with the flow and not being in charge of everything! 

Unfortunately, we had to drop a few people this week, but I don't think I've ever mentioned them in any emails so it's alright.

We have had the hardest time getting an appointment with Sage since she came to church. Satan is working hard, but we are working harder!

Haven't had much luck with Audrianna. She is just so flippin busy! One of these days we'll definitely work something out! 

Ya that's about it! Lastly, HOW BOUT THEM CHIEFS! I know technically they're in Missouri, but I still like them now, and they're going to the superbowl! The last time they were there was superbowl 4 so everyone here is pretty psyched! If you aren't rooting for the chiefs let me know so I can remove you from my email list... Just kidding! I love and miss all of you! Except my friend Scott. I don't miss you Scott. I have a new best friend now :)

Respectfully, 

Elder Nixon 

Pics: Birthday dinner
Tree
Grass
Big egg in Wilson
The tree and the grass are a result of what we call freezing rain. If you've never experienced it you're missing out. Essentially what it is is its freezing outside and then it starts raining. Why it isn't snow, I have no idea. But the rain hits your windshield and just turns to ice and it makes it very hard to drive and see and makes EVERYTHING covered in a dummy thick layer of ice. Good thing I'm a good driver :)

January 6, 2020

What is up everyone! 

I don't have a lot of time, or content today, so I guess it works out right? 

Well unfortunately we did not get to meet with Audrianna because she had to make an emergency trip to Wichita with her sick father. Stay tuned tho because we will meet again. 

Not sure if I've ever mentioned Sage in any of my emails, but she came to church with us yesterday which was a huge boost to us. Real quick, Sage is a young lady who graduated in May. She is good friends with a missionary serving from our ward, and before he left, he gave her a Book of Mormon and since then she has read it twice and is excited to use the Come Follow Me book to study!  She knows it is scripture from God. She told us after church she would see us next Sunday, so we are assuming she meant at church which would be awesome! 

I was on exchanges with the Zone Leaders, and they had an airsoft gun in their apartment, so naturally we all started shooting each other with it. It didn't hurt too bad, but definitely still left welts... 

Sunday I had a VERY stressful experience. As I was pulling into the church I saw a car I didn't recognize and I pointed it out to Elder Robinson. He said it looked like Presidents car, but I wasn't convinced. Well we walk into the church and low and behold there was President and Sister Ernst. Now if you're a missionary, or have been a missionary, you know how stressful it is to have your mission president drive two hours to surprise you at your sacrament meeting. Well we talked and he really enlightened my mind in regards to Alma 32. I always knew it was a good chapter, but holy it is incredible. Y'all should study it, and I mean study. Not just read it. Those last three verses are absolute bomb! 

Well that's all I've got for now, and unfortunately I don't have a ton of pics! I'll try my best to repent and do better next week! 

Warmest Regards, 

Elder Nixon

My one pic: I drove up to Hays on Saturday for the baptism of this young man in the middle. I got to know him really well from teaching him on exchanges, giving him the baptismal interview, and because he comes to our District Meetings. He wants to be a missionary which is awesome!  

December 31, 2019

I Leaked a Private Video?!?!

Hello faithful subscribers! Sorry I haven't put out any content recently. It's been a busy time. On the bright side, I should hopefully have some good content in this email! And a few pictures if that's what you're about

Where to start? I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but a few weeks ago we were going out to eat and our waitress told us she used to go to the Mormon church out in Hutch (about an hour south east from G.B.). Silly me forgot to get her name or number so we could talk to her in the future. Well through many miracles I found her on Facebook and was able to get in contact with her and we actually met with her yesterday which was SO bomb. She is what you call a golden investigator. Her mom was a member of the church, but she passed away when Audrianna (the golden investigator) was still young. We asked her to say our closing prayer and she kept thanking Heavenly Father that we found her here in Great Bend and for sending us to her. It was pretty awesome!  

So a few days before Christmas we went ice skating to go street contacting since there were tons of people there. Well come to find out, it wasn't actually ice. It was this weird plastic stuff and if you've ever tried skating on plastic, it doesn't work, but it was free, so no complaints here. 

Christmas Eve was awesome! We spent the night with some members out in a town called Larned which we cover. It was super fun to eat, visit, play games, and have a little talent show. My talent was juggling, which I'm really not too good at, but it was fun. I definitely missed going to my Aunts house for breakfast and hanging out with family, but this was also fun!

Christmas was good, but like every missionary says, it wasn't like being home. We got taken care of out here though! 

Ah now for a funny story. So a few weeks back my dad sent me a video from when I was about 8 years old just jamming out to The Middle by Jimmy Eat-World. Great song. Anyway I showed it to my comp, but never shared it with anyone. Well a few days later, I get a text from one of our AP's asking if I liked Jimmy Eat-World. By this time I had forgot about this video. I said yes, but then commented on how random that question was. He then sent me a screenshot from the video my dad had sent me. I was blown away. I had NO idea how he could've got the video. After lots of questions he told me I had accidently uploaded it to our missions google drive for the entire mission to see! I had to do a lot of searching to find it, but it was eventually found and taken off of the drive. I don't think it did too much damage. Boy did we get a kick out of that though! 

Well that wasn't as much content as I thought, but hey, it's content! One thing I want to challenge everyone to do is watch the video "The Savior Understands Me" By Elder Holland. It's a bomb video. 

My last words of wisdom is that missions are HARD. Once you leave the MTC you realize how little you actually know, and you wonder if it is all worth it. At times you wonder if what you're teaching is actually true, or if this is all just a big lie. Well in the wise words of my good friend Scott, "Even if the gospel isn't true, the one thing I do know is true is that it changes the lives of the people for the better. Even if everything is a lie, the only thing we aren't lying about is that it will make their lives better." Now that is something I know is true. I may not have had a crazy burning in the bosom, Moroni 10 promise yet, but I do know that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives for the better. 

Warmest Regards,

Elder Nixon