Monday, September 28, 2015

Week 10

...I have noticed how blessed I am and everyone in the United States as well...we have so much to be thankful for...


Monday, September 28th, 2015




Hello everyone!

Last week we had a pretty awesome P-Day. Photos attached haha. We went to the beach and played volleyball. My hair is long but I get it cut today so next week you'll be able to compare photos. 

Anyway, what can I say about this past week. Quickly, for clarification, Elder Keck is my only trainer but I live with Elder Mortimer and Elder Chase this transfer. Also Elder Chase slept on the bunk below me in the MTC! Elder Mochaki and Harmaans left to Angola this week so they are officially in the mission they were called to. The area we are in is usually pretty difficult to get contacts in because most people we talk to are just in the city for work. However, we are getting great results and somehow we're reaching our goals.

The people here are great and I am learning so much. Spiritually, I am learning a lot. I am just finishing up the book of Alma and almost done with 1 Nephi in Portuguese. The language is also progressing. I am able to understand the people here a lot better than a couple weeks ago. Also, I am learning dialect already. I know how to say good morning, afternoon and night which is actually six words depending on if it is one person or more than one. I also know thank you, I love you, I'm good, and other words I can't remember at the moment haha. 

Also I have taken almost every transport so far in Mozambique, just need to take a bike taxi when I go up north. Unfortunately, I may not be here next transfer. I really love this area and would love to stay longer but there is a good chance I may go to Quelimane next transfer. I know I will go where I am supposed to go.

I hope everyone in the states are doing well. In this email I want to talk about what I have been working on recently. I've been trying to develop charity and love. So far I am learning to love the people each day and I try to find ways to serve them. But while I have done this I have noticed how blessed I am and everyone in the United States as well. We have so much to be thankful for and many times I think we over look them because we take them for granted. The people here take everything with such gratitude and love. A hello is like a special gift, a short conversation can make their day. I think of Christ and am blessed to know he loves each of us perfectly and never looks inward but always turns outward. I hope everyone can look for the blessings they have been given this coming week. I wish you all well!


Elder Nimmo






Pardon the sisters in the photo as they were blocking the shot of the city of Maputo.








My trainer Elder Keck and me at the beach.


Still at the beach.




The building where the woman is standing in the background is where we send/receive emails from our friends and family every p-day. L to R: Elder Mortimer, Elder Keck and Elder Chase resting on some tires in the playground. (shown below)





Monday, September 21, 2015

Week 9


One goal: to love everyone and look for ways to serve the people here.


Monday, September 21st, 2015



Hello Everyone,

So yesterday was my third Sunday in Mozambique and tomorrow is my two month mark. I'm not counting the days haha I just realized that and thought it was cool how fast the past couple months have gone by. I almost gave my first talk in church in Mozambique/ Portuguese. I am glad I didn't just because I'm not as good as I would like to be in the language. However the language is coming along very well. Right now Elder Keck and I have six families we are teaching in which we are not 100% familiar with. We feel so blessed to have found these families. All of them seem to be prepared in one way or another. 

This past week both me and Elder Keck felt everything begin to click in our brain in regards to how to get where we want to go. I guess that is one of the perks of walking all day. I love being able to teach lessons. So far I am able to teach the entire restoration in Portuguese. Not quickly but I can do it. Also I'm looking for more ways to serve the people of Mozambique. I'm trying to work on my charity and love and one goal I made was to love everyone and to look for ways to serve the people here. So far I have only helped a man move his car out of the way by pushing it but I am open to seeing more ways to help. Besides the regular missionary work, as you can imagine, nothing crazy has happened. 

I quickly want to thank everyone who has been writing me and who are reading these emails. It is nice to know more then just my family read these haha. I think one of the ways we are lifted up during the week, not including Sundays, are emails. It lets you feel like you aren't dead to the people back home. It actually makes me feel loved and blessed to have so much support. 

I am thankful for this Gospel and for its truth. I know that you can be happier than at any other point in your life if you put your life in the hands of our Savior. I know that families can be together forever and through the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be saved if we follow Him. I love all of you and pray for all of you everyday. If you ever want someone to talk to I am here for two years and not going anywhere haha. Wishing you all well.


Elder Nimmo




My apartment which I share with four other missionaries.




We sleep under mosquito netting and take a malaria pill daily, mission rules.


Saturday, September 19, 2015

Week 8

"I am the happiest that I have ever been."



Taking a photo with President and Sister Koch. They are from Brazil and will be serving as the Mozambique Mission President for three years. 


Monday, September 14th, 2015



Hello everyone!

So I am in Africa and boy do I have a lot to say about my first full week here. I will quickly tell you about some things that happen here.

First off we walk a lot and the people are great. One thing I have noticed is that someone will look super mad or upset then we will say "Bom Dia" or something like that and they will smile and be super happy. These people are very happy! For not having a lot at all they are able to find joy in just living their lives. Which I think is something alot of people struggle with. 

The mission President, President Koch, is good and seems to have a good direction from where the old one left off. I have had no bad food yet so I am very happy. They eat a lot of rice and corn here, everyday you will see a woman cooking corn on a grill or people selling you bread fruit. They sell alot of stuff. There are a bunch of random stands selling things from shoes to traffic cones or those yield signs you put on your car. The good news for my family, I have never felt unsafe since I've been here.

My area is very nice, nicer than most. My official trainer is Elder Keck! He is great. His Portuguese is probably one of the best I have heard out of everyone here and he is able to explain complex concepts and make them super simple. We get along very well and we have fun when we are doing the work as well as when we have small breaks. 

A few stories about the people here. There are things here called Chapas and they are like van-sized taxis. People just pile in to these things and they run a route to help people get to different places. When it's too far to walk we take a chapa. One of the chapas I was in I counted 28 people. haha! It was pretty crazy. People were standing up hunched over to fit. It is quite an experience. So as you may already know the currency here is the Metical. 40 Metcais are worth about 1 US dollar. There is a 10 met coin, 5 met, 2 met, and 1 met coin as well as 50 centavos which is 1/2 of 1 met. I was told there was a 50 met coin. I was misinformed. We have this tradition here that once a night we'll get a drink from one of the barakas which sells sodas, rice, and a bunch of stuff. This is usually when we are done contacting or teaching, or when we really need a drink. Anyway, I found a fifty centavo thinking it was 50 met and the drinks here are about 12 met so after having a great lesson with a new family I offered to get the drinks. "Drinks are on me boys!" I offered up and when we got our drinks it was a centavo and the man working there looked at it and luckily my companion said it was a joke. Then Elder Mortimer who was my trainer had to buy the drinks because Elder Keck and I didn't have enough money. 

Anyways down to the good stuff. So that family I talked about teaching in the story above. That was a tender mercy if I have ever seen one. We stopped at a fork in the road and the two Elders asked me to lead the way. I looked down this darkish alley and said lets go this way. They said sure, and we left the main road to go down this alley. We contacted a man named Zeca who we actually taught a lesson to on Saturday and we are very excited to teach him again. However that isn't the cool part. We kept going for a while occasionally making a turn and then we took a left and came to a dead end with one house right next to us. Elder Mortimer turned and started heading back but Elder Keck and I looked at each other and we both knew we had to go and teach the people or at least talk to the people in this small home. We said, "Com licenca", which means excuse me, and a man came to the door. His name is Joao. Which is John in English. We told him who we were and if we could share a message with him. He invited us in. Something crazy that we discovered was that he was legally married! That does not happen often here. Also, he had 5 beautiful children and an older daughter who has a husband who wants to be legally married. We taught them the restoration and they seemed very prepared to hear the message. We are so excited to go and teach them again. I am hoping this will be the first family I will help bring to the gospel, from day 1 until I'm finished with my mission. I have had a few more since then but that tender mercy was enough to fill my heart and give me the knowledge that I am doing what I should be and that I am here to help these people. And in order to help the people I am supposed to I have a lot of work cut out for me. But I know I can do all things through Him because He strengthens me every day. 

I am doing great here and I am taking things in big strides. I want to let everyone know who is reading this to know that I love you and more importantly that God loves you and is always watching after you. He is here for all of us, all we need to do is come to Him. My testimony of this Church, and of this Gospel grows each day. I think of the Grinch and how his heart grew 3 times that day. That is how I feel. Each day I feel my heart grow. Not only my capacity to love but my capacity to be loved. I receive so much love from my Savior and my God that if my heart didn't grow it would burst and overflow more than it already does. I have a testimony and a knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. He loves us enough to do what no other person could ever do. And He continues to love us infinitely and eternally. I pray that you all might be able to feel the same love that I have just described. I am the happiest I have ever been. I thank each and every one of you for the impact you have had in my life. I love you all. Talk soon!


Elder Nimmo



Zone conference a couple of days after I arrived. Area Presidency Elder Hamilton presided and gave great instruction. 



In case you can't see me in the group shot, I'm in the back. 



A bunch of Elders on our 1st P-day, (personal day) We played soccer with a bunch of kids and afterward went to eat at KFC!



Friday, September 18, 2015

Week 7


Four planes, nine time zones, 35+ hours of travel...

HELLO AFRICA!


Monday, September 7th, 2015


Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing great! So I have been here since last Wednesday and I am still in Maputo. I was supposed to be going to Quelimane up past Beira for my first area and my trainer was supposed to be Elder Couch but since someone named Elder Prince didn't arrive I am now going to be trained by Elder Mortimer and my first area is called Sommerschield. It is an area in the Maputo Zone so I will not be flying like I was originally supposed to be but the mission office is actually right outside / on the line of my area. I am staying in the Mission office if that clears stuff up. 

Haven't seen any wild animals yet! At first I was super excited to be going to Quelimane but if the Lord needs me here then that is where I'll go. Today is the first P-day in the mission so I am pretty excited. We get to do laundry, go play soccer. Pretty eventful! Anyways I don't have much time left but I am excited to help the people here in Mozambique and bring them happiness and peace through the gospel and through the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior. A lot of people believe in Jesus here but I don't think they understand what He really did and why what He did was so important for every person on earth. I love this gospel and I love being a missionary. 

Thank you for all the love and support. Hope everyone is well!


Elder Nimmo

Me and Elder Brown are ready for the long journey.


Salt Lake to Los Angeles, then L.A. to -



London calling...



Sunrise on the way to Africa. 



Me and Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa



And finally we arrive in Mozambique. President and Sister Koch (center) along with the two assistants to the President (far right) greeted us at the Maputo International Airport.