SEPTEMBER 9th:
The Chief Minister Ready, died in a helicopter crash and the state of Andra Pradesh was up in arms. People in India have a tough time with death and there were big riots in the streets and all the shops in Andhra had to close for three days. While this was happening we had the opportunity to go among the people in the riots and teach the plan of salvation. I AM JUST JOKING, we were on lock down and we were not allowed to leave our home.
Things are back to normal and better then ever. Elder Ludlow was transferred to Chenni and my new companion is ... Elder Schmidt!! I was so excited about that and I am so happy to be companions with him. (Elder Schmidt is the grandson of Coach Schmidt who was the coach for Billy’s dad when he played for Skyline High School) We have a lot in common and it is great to be with him during football season here in India. Elder Schmidt has already taught me so much, he is a great teacher and truly loves the people. He is very funny in his lessons and I can barely stop laughing every time he talks.
I have been waking up early so that I can work out before I get the day started. It has been hard and the motivation is not there. I know looking back I will be happy that I did it. I wake up and do 50 push ups and 25 pull ups and then depending on how I feel, I will either do some band exercises or skip rope. The hardest part is finding enough protein to eat. In India, they eat very little meat or protein. I eat about 24 egg whites a day and I have really felt a great difference. I am working hard on avoiding rice. It is very hard not to eat rice in India.
Yesterday we helped Karhik clean his house. It was a service project for the week. I was happy when it was done, it took us about three hours. I feel like the thing to bring him back to church will be love and charity. I believe that someday he will be a leader here and it all starts with him just getting his life back to normal and coming to church.
SEPTEMBER 16th:
Elder Schmidt and I are getting along great. He is a lot more relaxed then I am and he knows how to have fun, make me laugh and still get work done. It was a little hard because football season is here, but we have put that in the back of our minds and we are focused on the work. I’m sure that there were times that dad thought about football on his mission. Today, Elder Schmidt and I spent 4 hours talking to everyone at the beach on Sunday. We passed out about 50 pass-a-long cards and bore our testimony.
This is a letter that I wrote to the Ward members, please pass it along:
Dear Friends and Family of the Kingstown Ward,
My experience on my mission has been wonderful and I have loved everyday. The hardest part of my mission is the thought of going home and leaving the people I love. There are no wards, stakes or temples, only faithful saints who are working diligently to lay a foundation for a special place in the Lord’s vineyard. It is not about me, this is about them, the children of our Heavenly Father. These are out brothers and sisters, those we loved before the foundation of this world, those we stood next to in the grand beginning, and those we look forward to seeing in the kingdom of our Father in Heaven. I wish I would have learned this sooner, but I am grateful that I know it now.
There is no greater desire in my heart then to return with my brothers and sisters again. I know this gospel is true and the atonement is real and through the atonement all can be healed. There is no greater work to be done and I have never been more happy in my life. Thank you for all of your prayers and the many letters I have received. For those who haven’t written me yet, I still have 10 months. Just kidding!
Love,
Elder Nixon
SEPTEMBER 23rd:
This week we have found a family who is prepared to hear the Gospel. On Thursday morning, Elder Schmidt and I were walking down the street and we stopped at a house and asked if we could take a picture from their roof top. The brother followed us up to the roof. As we began to take pictures, the brother asked us about what book I was holding in my hand. I normally carry the books in my bag and it was unusual that I would be carrying it in my hand, but this day I felt like I wanted to carry it in my hands as we were trying to find people to teach, the first time on my mission. The man asked if he could have it... another first on mission.
I am embarrassed to say that up until that point, I did not think that this Hindu brother would take and interest to our message. But when someone asks for a Book of Mormon, the sirens go off! We went downstairs upon his request and began to teach him. We taught him the message of the restoration and spoke the majority of the time about apostasy and the restoration. He has a wonderful understanding and the lesson went great. In the end we asked him to pray and he accepted the invitation. He said a silent prayer and then when he concluded he looked up at us with tears in his eyes, “I have never in my life felt this way and I want you to come back as much as possible.”
As we were leaving he explained that he was undergoing surgery the following day and after his surgery he wanted to meet with us again. We surprised him the following day at the hospital and it was more of a surprise to us. He said, “at the conclusion of the operation I had a desire to speak with you, and wanted to call you, but I did not because I feared that I might disturb you.” It was the best welcome greeting I have received on my mission. We sat down and spoke to him and just talked about his family and his life. He then picked up the pamphlet we gave him the day before and told us that he read it right before the surgery and he wanted to hold on to it while he was in the hospital.
We taught his wife, and his 12 year old son in the hospital and gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon in Telegue. As we handed it to her, he said, “don’t just give it to her. Make her promise you that she will read a chapter a day!” Elder Schmidt and I were dumbfounded. We are visiting them tonight and we are more than excited. They have faith in Jesus Christ and they desire to follow him, but they told us they don’t know how. He even told us that a few weeks earlier he had seen us walking down the street and he told his son to run and catch us, but he was too late. I know the Lord sent us to him and that this is the family who was prepared and who we had prayed to find. I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and that this is His Church and His work.
Elder Schmidt is a wonderful companion and I hope our friendship lasts a life time. We have such a wide variety of common interests and he keeps me laughing constantly.
I got a call Tuesday night, I am no longer going to be Elder Schmidts companion. I am getting transferred to another companionship in the same Branch. I am going to be Elder Bartletts companion starting on Friday. I have been called to be a ZONE LEADER, to replace the Zone Leader who went home yesterday. I know that it will be challenging, but I am grateful for the experience and I know that it will help me grow.
SEPTEMBER 30th:
This week I met with President Nichols and we had zone conference in which I was asked to give a talk pertaining to “my purpose for coming on a mission, and my purpose now.” These are my thoughts. My purpose is becoming like my Savior, I am here on a mission to invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. I have come to know the blessings they have been promised.
My purpose is to help assist others in fulfilling their purpose. I have realized that this purpose is not just for a missionary, but this purpose is for all those who belong to this kingdom. My purpose goes far beyond that of teaching and baptizing, my purpose is more than inviting people to live a better life and join a better church. My purpose is to assist in opening the doors to the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughters of God, and no one else can do this! I do not just want to baptize, I want to assist and encourage members to go to the temple, to live obediently, to help others that stand in need, and lift as many as I can lift.
That purpose is universal, to invite men to come unto Christ, to take part of His atonement. When we are baptized we are not just joining a church, the membership in the church wont help us return to Heavenly Father anymore then membership in Catholic church will. It is having faith, repenting, and accepting the Saviors atoning sacrifice through the sacred ordinances of baptism which in return wash our sins away and allow us to return to Heavenly Father. This is not my talk, just my thoughts.
This week was wonderful because we painted the stairway going up to the church. Many people spit tobacco on the walls leading to the church and I felt it was time to get that picked up. We scrubbed the walls and white washed them. Following that we used 3 bottles of acid to scrub the floors which were stained by the spit. It looks a lot better and my testimony of Emma Smith’s council to Joseph, grew tremendously. I now understand how she felt. It took 12 of us 4 or 5 hours to get the dirty deed done.
My new companion is great. Take the exact opposite of me and that is the best way to describe him. I am amazed at how much I am learning from him.
OCTOBER 14th:
This week has been very busy. We ended preparation day early last week in order to give a blessing to Shyam’s Uncle. His uncle underwent brain surgery and was not looking so good. We went to the hospital and made out way into the ICU. It was the worst situation I have ever been in, as I saw this man's head bandaged up and using machines to live. Right away my heart beat faster and faster.
There was only one little spot on his head to drop the oil and we had to beg the officials to allow us to place our hands on his head. The next day we found out that he had expired. I was at peace when I heard the news and I knew that it was the will of the Lord.
Transfer calls came in and I am still in Visak with Elder Barlett for another six weeks. However, there will be a new elder named Elder Sarapu.
OCTOBER 21st
We are beginning to think of goals for next year and it is really starting to hit me pretty hard that I only have 9 months left. I am starting to get overwhelmed with the thought of going home, I still have so much to do. President gave us training on delegation, setting people with baptismal dates and influence of leaders. Right now we are on track for having 550 baptisms for the year and we are leading the Asia Area in the work. The Lord has really had his hand in this great work.
We have 9 people set for baptism and we baptized two people in the last couple of weeks.
I LOVE YOU ALL
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