November 30, 2009

Dearest family,

Sounds like Thanksgiving was a blast! I had quite an uplifting one myself! It's so weird, I would have made fun of myself if I were where I was a year ago(if that makes sense), but it is amazing at all the opportunities we have in this life to grow and actually (some what) grasp what really matters in life. It's incredible! I have some pictures of that magnificent feast sent via mail! haha the turkey cooking in the oven, potatoes on the stove and the pie... in a pan (i think) but I'll get that memory card sent to you as soon as i get my other one, Deal? ;) hehe

Wow, I cannot wait for Thursday. We have our district meeting and this is when I get to interview with president and talk with him. The last one was soo incredible and so inspiring. I was amazed at how individual the advice president gave to me. He is always very in tune with the spirit. Someday, I want to be like him! so first I guess I will answer all these questions asked! :) (I really like that you sent pictures through the Email, thank you!)


How is your new companion doing? So good, He is a champion it's been tough though for us to speak with people... But the language will come, we just have to do our part!
Where's he from? he is from indiana and half his family is in japan right now with his father (who is a Green burey, pretty cool huh! not sure I spelled burey right) [Green Beret is what we think he's referring to :)]
I'm sure it will be good to get a bit more organized with a military man guiding you :) HAHA OH YA!
Have you been able to wear your under armour yet? yes ma'am and it is toasty in the under armour, don't even worry about me getting cold. For some reason we have been having really warm weather here in pori, sounds like it is warmer here than there (in utah)! Mom must be praying with A LOT faith! haha I'll be fine! the coat I bought is huge/warm and was on a really good sale, don't worry :)
How's the ward/branch in Pori? This ward is incredible! thats funny I even wrote down in my little outline to talk about how amazing the ward is here, fromage you must be inspired! but, so there is actually a story about the dilligence and determination of this ward, I will tell it now. So yesterday, We had this thing called YstäväIltä (friend evening) The ward and Us (missionaries) Slaved away for the last month getting this all prepped. We decided that we were going to teach a little bit about our church to people that don't really know much about it. We (missionaries/ward members) have been inviting people and telling everyone about this. I think elder quinn/elder Hamner/ and I handed out a million flyers and testified about how this will help people! We had It all set! last night only 1 person showed up... I felt like crying a little... I started getting down, and saying to myself "what did I do wrong" I had all these thoughts racing through my head of what I could have done better "maybe if I knew the language better" maybe this maybe that..... Then I looked at the ward, It didn't even phase them. Here I was soo concerned about myself and what I had done the last month, I didn't even think about the ward. They were still smiling, they were still happy, They realized something I didn't. They realized that they had done their best and that the Lord doesn't look at our numbers. He looks at how much effort we put into something, He understands us so perfectly that he can see our growth that we attained from a certain opportunity or trial (as we sometimes say). The Lord really only cares about our growth as individuals (every single individual on the planet) I think that was a little life lesson that I needed to learn, Hopefully I can remember that the rest of my life! because if you think about trials and hardships under that light, they really are just an opportunity to grow and it takes A LOT of growing to reach perfection! I hope I said everything I felt clearly and understandably... if not, once again I am sorry. But yes this ward is incredible, every single person!

Have you been pretty good at guiding Elder Hamner in Pori? Oh man It has been intense! Growing, Growing, Growing, that's what its all about! haha I'm loving it though :)! haha it
Do you have a nice apartment...what's it like? Does it stay warm? yes it's warm.. I promise I'm fine! haha maybe I will give you guys a little virtual tour with my camera! :)
I can't wait till after this life when I can talk freely with her and not have a language barrier, because she is a philosopher... and she says a lot of big words! (I always have a dictionary nearby when talking with her)

haha ok now I only have 10 minutes haha sorry to dwell on the questions so long, but mom asked some good ones!

Wow, So yesterday elder Hamner and I had to talk in sacrament meeting for 10 minutes each. haha it was intense. It was on the word of wisdom I actually was surprised, because people understood what I said! (i think) haha I shared something that you said dad, in my recipe book you talked about how people feel more than the hear, so don't be nervous about the language. What wisdom :) I'll send my talk home to you guys! the english outline doesn't really follow the way I actually gave the talk... but you get the idea!

Oh yes, I will hopefully start sending your guys christmas packages home today,(i'm trying to send them one at a time so that the Postal service place doesn't get mad) haha so hopefully they will get there before christmas! good to hear that the priests are getting those, I was going to ask about those. good good good.

Can I get annie/ katie's address?

fromage your broccoli soup is now famous among the missionaries here in finland, I got a text from the helsinki zone leaders asking for the recipe! :)

Random question time, Does jake (cousin) have a Girlfriend right now? just wondering... hhaha :)

Can you guys mail me a page of my blog so I can see what it looks like? (physical mail, not email please)

Can I get a picture of baby ian with matt and alisha? I wanna see him :)

Kyle looks like a schmuck in that picture you sent! is he growing a beard!?!? haha jk I love you kyle! Oh man, I'm so grateful for that 45 minutes in the MTC I really can honestly say that was probably one of the most inspiring times in the MTC. Oh man I hope Brad is excited! Tell him that the MTC is the 2nd best place in the world next to finland for learning! (argentina is 3rd, finland 1st, home is 0th (the best i guess) )

thank you for all you guys do! You guys are incredible I love you all so much! Fromage, I like that Missionary attitude, Keep it up :) You guys are such powerful examples to me, every single one of you. I love you, thank you! Talk to you next week! Pray for Pori (not just the weather, mom ;)) and keep Päivi and Janne in your prayers if you could!

Rakkaudella, (with love)

Vanhin Thomas NEAL Nielsen

p.s Natalie, is Rocky getting fat? ;) lol
p.p.s little girls I saw a dog just like Oaky (same breed and attitude) last wednesday.. But he was HUGE! It was a tender little mercy to remind me of you guys! love ya!