Thursday, December 29, 2011

One week left in the MTC!

Christmas night we had a good fireside by the mission presidency. Only a week left and I'm out in the field! It's crazy! I hope that I get a really nice companion so I can learn a lot from her!
Monday we went proseliting and instead of going to the park and doing contacts we went to some streets and they turned us loose so we ended up knocking on doors but it was really hard to tell which was a house, garage, or business. We ended up with a Latino companion with us because she couldn't go with her group the next day so she ended up talking almost the whole time but it was alright. Hermana Walden and I are doing well on our teaching together and are really getting in tune with each other and the spirit. We've had some really good lessons. So far here we've got our investigators to be baptized but then we don't go any further and move on to a new investigator so I haven't really taught any lessons to do with the commandments like law of tithing or law of chastity but we have practiced them.
Things are going really good! I love you all!! :)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Speaking in Church - Again!

The weather is really nice today! Probably because it rained for the first time since we got here yesterday! I wanted to go out in it but it rained a lot and hard!
It's so nice being able to go to the temple here. It's really small but a huge blessing.

So Sunday I got to talk in church again haha! I've talked twice while being in the MTCs. Once in Provo and once in Guatemala. Out of six Sundays (not seven because of fast sunday) I've talked twice. Good thing I'm always prepared :) I also got to play the piano for the other North American district (Matteo) on Sunday and then just last night I played for the elders in my district (Marcos). It's so much fun!

Christmas is a little different here. Here they stay up all Christmas Eve night and at midnight they open presents and party into Chrismas. We're going to have a traditional Christmas dinner here with tomales and everything! I'm really excited! We have a really cool schedule for Saturday and Sunday too!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Goodbye and Hello

This last week was pretty good! It went by really fast!! Yesterday and this morning we said goodbye to all the Latinos and the old Northamericanos. I was really sad when my Latino companion, Hermana Garcia, left. She was awesome!

Hermana Walden and I got chosen to be the new coordinating sisters so we're going to be over all the sisters. Scary!! Luckily the last coordinating sisters gave us a paper from their speech that they gave the first day we were there. The other three sisters that are still here with us, as we are now the "old" Northamericanas, they're the music people so they get to set up all the special musicals. I’m super excited and I’m really looking forward to the new people.

Sunday we got to watch the Quetzltenango temple dedication which was awesome. They provided the white hankies for us and they're really cool. They sewed a picture of the temple and the name and date on it.

I can see the Guatemala City Temple from the window right now and it's way pretty! We're so lucky to have so many temples so close to us in Utah!!!

Today we got to go around to different parts of the city. This morning we went to a "relief map" of Guatemala. Apparently it took 16 years for them to make because they rode horses around the whole country to survey it and get everything exactly right. I guess they made it quite a while back though. One of the leaders gave us a big lecture on places that the Book of Mormon could have possibly taken place and we got to look at it on the map. Then we went to the mercado and got to go shopping and learn how to barter with the people. Some of them wouldn't really barter with me though. I did get a cool scarf though! Then we went to a museum that's hooked to a huge mall. The mall is like 3-4 stories tall and looks exactly like an American mall.  Except in Spanish. The museum was alright and had some cool artifacts but it wasn't very big.
I’m super excited for Christmas down here because we’re the mission president’s last full group so they’re going to do some really fun stuff with us.  And it’s Christmas so we get to do even more cool stuff!  I love you all!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Spanish, Parks, and the Temple

The language is coming slowly but it gets better every day. This next Monday and Tuesday the Latinos and the old North Americans are leaving the CCM so it's just going to be us newer Americans for a day or so. We get to go to the market and I'm way excited to go and shop and be with the people. Two days ago on Monday morning they took us to a park (we rode a bus, by the way the buses were super crowded with all of us in them and the other people who needed to ride it too, they all just crowd on, it was kind of fun!) and in the park we were teamed up with our Latino companiona and we went contacting for an hour and fifteen minutes.  It was so much fun even though I didn't understand the people. They all talk fast. I was able to mostly understand the conversations but I couldn't really contribute to them.  None of the North Amercians were able to do much on this trip but we'll be going again in a few weeks and then it will just be our regular companion.
My Latino companion is Hermana Garcia and she is so little and cute! I've gotten some pictures with her so if someday I can send them you can see what she looks like.
We've gotten to go to the temple the last two weeks. The first week we were in an English session and did the veil with English but this morning we went through a Spanish session. They gave us headsets for English translation but I chose not to use it. Then I did the veil with Spanish which was hard.
Our mission president's wife meets with us every Sunday for a meeting about out in the field. It's so much fun to meet with her because we get to speak complete English in her amazing apartment. Her name's Hermana Steimle. I love her so much! She's so nice and her mission ends just after we leave the CCM (MTC).
I just found out that it is faster to send letters to my mission instead of to the MTC so send any further letters to my mission address:

Rebecka Leona Nielsen
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
5° Avenida 5-55, edificio Euro Plaza
Torrel, Nivel 12 Oficina 1202B, Zona 14
Guatemala City
Guatemala
Telephone: 502 2385-3386

(Make sure you put the telephone # on it for packages.)

If you sent letters to the MTC, I’ll still get them, just a little later than if they get sent to my mission. Anyways I love you all!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Guatemala MTC - Fruit, Beans, and Volcanoes

The food here is amazing!!!! I'm still getting used to the beans but we eat a lot of bread and fruit and meat and potatoes and it's just good! I will not be able to eat fruit when I get back because it is so amazing here!! They also have juice and it really is from fruit! It is so, so, so good!!!!!!!!! I love it. My favorite fruit is the pineapple!
So far it hasn't been way warm here. It's still winter for them and it's cold right now. The elders turn on the air conditioning in our room so we freeze. At 6:45 in the morning we have gym and we have to go outside and it's kind of cold.  We don't get to go outside very often so we don't see the sun much.
Our teachers are really good. They're from Guatemala and they learned English either on their mission or from their American companions. It's really awesome! I've a harder time adjusting here than I did in Provo but it’s coming.
Guatemala from what we can see looks like California. There really are volcanoes here! I'm getting really excited to go to the field but I need the time here for the language.
I don't know what I want for Christmas. They did tell us if people send us stuff to send it by UPS, Fedex, or there was one other, not by regular mail, it won't get here for a really long time if you go by normal mail. Also send the stuff already open because if it comes ´´new´´ then we have to pay taxes on it. Dear Elder, send it to the Guatemala MTC. We only receive the letters once a week though.  The Dear Elder letters come through the pouch service, but you don’t have to pay any postage that way.  Love you!!!

Provo MTC Pictures

This is my district in the Provo MTC in front of the Provo Temple.

From left to right: Me, Hermana Cohill (front), Hermana Walden (back), Hermana Madsen, Elder Moore, Elder Verhagen, Elder Hogge, Elder Chappell.

My and my companion - Hermana Walden

Saturday, November 26, 2011

In Guatemala (new mtc address)

The flight was only about 4 and a half hours long from L. A. to Guatemala so of course I only got like maybe 2 hours of sleep. It was really easy getting through all the customs and everything. They all seemed really tired and bored to be there.  After we got here we ate breakfast and then they let us sleep til lunch so we got another 3 hours of sleep. Only one person´s luggage got mixed up. Mine got through fine.

Here´s the MTC address
Rebecka Leona Nielsen
Boulevard Vista Hermosa 23-71, Zona 15
Vista Hermosa 1. Guatemala, Guatemala C.A.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Busy, busy, busy

Things are going well. We've taught our investigator 5 times in about 6 days. Sometimes I think we're getting better and then he'll talk back and then I just kind of look at him. We did find out for sure that he isn't a real investigator which is a huge relief because I don't want to be responsible for his nonconvertion. The language is hard but it's kind of coming along. We're trying.

 My companion is from Colorado, Fort Laterdell I think (don't quote me on this). We have the best district ever. There are two other sister Hermanas Madsen and Cahill. They are super cool and they're going to the New York, New York South mission. We also have 4 elders in our district. Elders Hogge and Verhagen are also going to the same New York mision. Then we have elders Moore and Chapell who are going to the Dallas, Texas mission. I didn't know there were so many missionaries that went to the states with other languages. Everyone is so cool!



I'm glad grandma's knee went well! I don't really have a lot of time here at the MTC.  They only give us a half hour on the computer. Hopefully when I get into the field I'll have more time. Hopefully I'll be able to send you a picture of my district once it gets printed. I hope everything is going well and I love you all so much!!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

First Week in the MTC

So I've been in the MTC for roughly four days and we have done so much!! We've already taught an investigator in Spanish and we're doing it again tonight. It's good though. I hope things are going well for everyone. Congrats to Mary for her call!! That's awesome!! :) And happy birthday to Duane this week. Love you all! Becky

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Officially a Missionary

Becky's officially a missionary now, and ready to go.  Here is her mailing address for Guatemala.

Rebecka Leona Nielsen
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
5° Avenida 5-55, edificio Euro Plaza
Torrel, Nivel 12 Oficina 1202B, Zona 14
Guatemala City
Guatemala
Telephone: 502 2385-3386

Make sure you put the telephone # on it for packages.

The pouch service address is:

Rebecka Leona Nielsen
Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

It leaves the Church on Fridays.  Remember she will be in the MTC for three weeks in Provo and then in the Guatemala MTC for 6 weeks after that.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

MTC Address

So I just got my MTC address and this will only be good while I'm in Provo which is only about 3 weeks so I'm not really sure yet what happens when I go to the Guatemala MTC but here's this for now.
Sister Rebecka Leona Nielsen
MTC Mailbox # 237
GUA-GUAN 0103
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Thanks everyone for supporting me and I'll miss you all!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Guatemala

I'm getting ready to go on a mission and I'm really, really excited!!! I'm serving in the Guatemala, Guatemala City North Mission going into the MTC in Provo on November 2nd!! So 3 weeks from yesterday I will officially be there.  I'm doing split time in the MTC with approximately 3 weeks in the Provo MTC and then 6 weeks in the Guatemala MTC.  I'm really looking forward to the nice warm weather that I'll find down in Guatemala and losing the cold that is coming so rapidly here in Utah. Goodbye snow, hello sun!!!  One of the parts I'm really looking forward to is learning Spanish!  I've always wanted to learn this language so I'm way excited!  Now I just have to get my talk ready for Sunday at my "farewell" talk. Hope it goes well and that I see lots of people there!!