Week 27

"Baptism is like a door. And behind that door lies a path. On that path we have joy, peace and comfort. We also have problems on that path. But because of the doorway in which we enter those obstacles are diminished by the overwhelming love that each and everyone of us possesses."

Monday, January 25th, 2016

Faque was baptized!

Hello Everyone!

This week has been extremely memorable. One thing that I will never forget is my 6 month mark on the 22nd of this past week. But also... Faque was baptized! He is a great friend and has a strong testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a good day! 

I had the privilege to enter into the waters with Faque and baptize him. It was very odd not being outside of the water observing someone being baptized but actually performing the sacred ordinance of baptism. 

We were able to play soccer with the youth of the church again. We tied 7-7. But also we found a chameleon! I picked it up. It didn't change color too much though. It tries to bite you but it can't do anything to hurt you. Everyone here thinks they are poisonous or dangerous. They are not, trust me. 

This week my spiritual thought will be about baptism. In 2 Nephi 31: 5 it reads:

 5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!

Every one of us needs to be baptized. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and He was the only person to ever live a completely perfect life. He showed that everyone, even a man who was perfect, needs to be baptized. We all are human. We all make mistakes. And we all want to be better. The only way we can do that is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. When we repent and are baptized we become clean. Every single bad feeling and thought we have that is hidden inside us vanishes. And we do not need to worry about it anymore. Baptism is like a door. And behind that door lies a path. On that path we have joy, peace and comfort. We also have problems on that path. But because of the doorway in which we enter those obstacles are diminished by the overwhelming love that each and everyone of us possesses. I know that God loves us. That we are His children and He is our Heavenly Father. I know He has provided a way for us to return, through His plan, we will live with Him again. I know these things are true. And if you do not know they are true I invite each and everyone of you to discover and know for yourselves. And I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a good week! I love you all!

Elder Nimmo

P.S. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much! I know you can feel my love all the way from Africa.

Get ready for baptism photos overload:

Faque was confirmed in church on Sunday.

Soccer again on P-day with the young men in the church, tied 7-7!

Look! Pasquel from Tangled!

Cute chameleon...

which everyone is afraid of...

but I'm not.

Week 26

"It has been such a blessing to know so many good people already in the mission."

Monday, January 18th, 2016

Just some of the many good people; Elder Combs, Elder Payne and Elder Evangelista.

Ola Irmaos! 

This week has been a good one! So first notable thing about this week was that we had Zone Conference on the 14th. It was great! I took a lot of pictures with a lot of Elders. And we had chocolate bars! So good! It has been such a blessing to know so many good people already in the mission! Also we found out an apostle will be coming here at the end of the transfer! I can't say who yet. 

Also we saw a truck on its back wheels almost tipping over. And we were able to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant today in the city. I will attach the photos. 

My 6 month mark is coming this week! And we have a very special day planned for that day! But we have to wait until next week before I can reveal what.

This will be a short email with a lot of pictures because I used a good portion of my time writing this loading the pictures. 

I want to bear my testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the one true church on the face if the Earth. I know Jesus Christ is the leader of His church and that He is our Savior and Redeemer. I love the gospel and I know of its truth. I hope one day, each one of you will know the truth of it as well. I love you all and I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Elder Nimmo

Get ready for an Elder overload:

Elder Holt and Elder Brown

Elder Openshaw

Elder Mortimer

Elder Payne

Elder Fuchs

Elder Ribeiro

Elder Silva

Elder Trindade

Me and Elder Watteyne in a choppa going into the city.

The roommates at a Chinese restaurant.

A truck tipping on its back wheels...

My zone conference chocolate bar...

                                                                                        

and a bug!

        

Week 25

"So many times in life we want to find a better life. But we are fooled in thinking that a better life is a life in which we are ruled by the things of the world. We aspire to have more material things, more money, but we can be blinded and lose our life."

Monday, January 11th, 2016

"Lose yourselves to find yourselves."

Greetings to the best of people! 

What time is it? TRANSFER TIME!!!!!!! 

Elder Nimmo is staying in T-3! I am beyond excited. I will write more next week!! But this week was great! We walked a lot and it was high 90s low 100s every day this week! It did rain one night though. We weren't awake for it. So I have written every day in my journal since the new year and I am super happy about it! I know that it will be such a blessing to have this journal in the future. Elder Walton came to the T-3 house from Beira and Elder Brown left. The house is the exact same except now we have a new District Leader (Elder Walton). 

Also we cleaned our house today. It looks so nice. One thing that was extremely fun that we did today was that we played the Jovens (Youth) at soccer and at basketball. We knew we were gonna destroy them at basketball but we thought we were gonna be crushed in soccer. We destroyed in basketball. It was the worst game of basketball I have ever seen. I had never played basketball here until today and now I know why, Mozambicans use all their time playing soccer so they are not the best at basketball. But a miracle happened. We played soccer and we won! We beat the Mozambicans! Five Americans and a Brazilian! We won 8-5! At first we won 6-5 but then they asked for 3 more minutes so they could win. The 3 minutes pass and we ended up getting two more goals! I felt so, patriotic I guess is the best word to describe it. Americans who just have never played soccer on a team beat people who had played their whole life. It was something special! All of the youth were great though! Just a huge win today! Maybe I'll be able to beat some of my friends at soccer when I get back. (Rob Chris Josh) Look out! Im coming for you in 2017!

Something that I was just thinking about was passage which I studied that rings true to me every time I think about it. It is a very special scripture in the New Testament in the gospel of Mathew. Chapter 10 verse 39 says:

 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

I love this scripture so much! So many times in life we want to find a better life. But we are fooled in to thinking that a better life is a life in which we are ruled by the things of the world. We aspire to have more material things, more money, but we can be blinded and lose our life. We can forget why we came here and where we are going. When we lose our life in service and follow the will of our Father in Heaven we see our potential. We see the things God wants for us. Not the things we want for ourselves. A good father will always know what is best for his children. We are God's children, He is our perfect Father and He knows what is best for us. I want to testify that I know when we lose our lives for the sake of others we will find our lives. We will find the things that bring us the most happiness and peace and we will be the people we want to be. I know that God loves each and everyone of His children. He knows us individually by name. He wants more for us than just the things of the world. I know these things are true. And I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

Have a wonderful week! Lose yourselves to find yourselves!

Elder Nimmo

P.S. Love you guys! 

{I FIND YOUR LACK OF STRENGTH DISTURBING}

Week 24

"I hope you all had a wonderful start to your New Year! ...Luckily I was able to sleep through the fireworks and noisemakers that they have here."

Monday, January 4th, 2016

Some things never change! hahaha!

Hey Everyone! 

I hope you all had a wonderful start to your New Year! Mine was spent working! We had to come in early at 17:00 (5:00 p.m.) and work in the morning because of the parties at night. Luckily I was able to sleep through all the fireworks and noisemakers that they have here. What a blessing! Also I need my sleep, more than ever. But I have just been overwhelmed this past month with love and support from friends and family, it has given me energy so thank you!

Surprisingly I am able to function and still work hard despite the amount of memories I had of home. 2016 is going to be a great year. I get to be a missionary serving Heavenly Father for a complete year. Yes I serve for two years but to serve a whole year without breaks! I know that I will have so many memories I won't be able to share them all. Such a blessing in my life is the ability to write in a journal. I would forget some amazing things if I didn't write in my journal. Anyways that was just a small invite to keep a journal this year for a nice resolution. 

These next few months will be getting very wet here in Mozambique and I am excited! It is so hot! Africa could use some rain! *Dun dun dah dun duh dun* *wind chimes*. That was that song by Toto about raining in Africa. You're welcome! haha!

Anyways I am so grateful for a new year! Many people say a new year a new slate. It's true! You can move on to set goals and better yourself. One thing that is very special is that you can have a clean slate every week. At church every Sunday we take the Sacrament and there is nothing I love more. You can feel perfectly clean every week, and because of that you are happy and change happens inside of you. You can feel the Love of the Savior and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I know that through this we can be blessed and truly have an eternal and everlasting change in our lives. I love you all and wish you well this New Year!

Sincerely,

Elder Nimmo

My first comp, Elder Keck, left today to the United States. His mission is already over!