Missionary Monday: Elder Nalen Serving in Colorado Springs

Elder Nalen has a wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord in an unusual circumstance. His dedication to serving is an inspiration for all of us. Thank you to the Nalen family for sharing his beautiful story:

Elder Nalen is the oldest child of four in the Nalen family in the Highlands Ranch ward and the first missionary on both sides of the family as both of his parents are converts. Bill and Christina joined the church before his first birthday in Westlake Ohio. The Nalen’s moved from Massachusetts 8 1/2 years ago to be closer to a temple and more members when James was 11. He went to BYUI for one semester, and having all recent return missionaries for roommates, he said he was trained very well by them for his mission before even being called.

Elder Nalen was set apart for 24 months and left September 8th to serve full-time in the Colorado Springs mission for a two-transfer mission. This is a great opportunity for him to continue to prove his dedication to the Lord, and with His help, can show his ability to manage his Aspergers as he has in many other areas in his life. In the past, most applicants with any degree of autism would not get this chance. He loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and is excited to be sharing the Plan of Happiness with service in an honorable full-time mission in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado Springs and wherever else it may take him.

Here is a snippet of his latest letter which I post on his Facebook page "James R Nalen” each week …

Our lesson on Friday was probably the best day we had last week. We are teaching a member that wants to come back to church and have the lessons. We just taught the restoration and there was an awesome spirit there! Elder Jordan and I flowed back and forth so well, and Brother Christensen had some great things to add. He had served a mission in Brazil so when we related the first vision he said he heard it in Portuguese! Totally crazy!

I did have my interview with the mission president on Friday and it went really well. We talked about how I am doing. I feel like I am doing well, as does he, as did Elder Guy, and Elder Jordan feels I am doing well too. My last day here is December 2nd or 3rd. I told him that I am willing and able to serve for an additional 21 months. He said that's awesome and he doesn't think there would be anything stopping me from doing that.

A few days ago, I felt prompted to start writing a talk that I'm calling spiritual body building. We hear the comparison between the gospel and working out all the time but I'm taking it a little further than that. It addresses three parts of body building that have a spiritual twin. The diet, the workout, and the supplements. It's coming along super well

I got a copy of my patriarchal blessing and I'm keeping it in my quad. I try to read it everyday because it inspires me to be worthy of it like nothing else I've read! And, after teaching with the Spirit, I want it all the time!!

Click HERE for  an article from Lds Living about an elder who served a two transfer mission due to Aspergers.

 

 

Elder Nalen is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. 

UPDATE FROM ELDER NALEN:

 

We got permission to drive down to Co Springs to be with Elder Nalen this week amongst a whole room full of enthusiastic missionaries to hear him read his new mission call to the Cleveland, OH mission. This is a special place indeed as James was born in that area and both Bill and I were baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that mission about 18 years ago. We were also sealed to each other for time and all eternity and sealed as a family to James, then two years old, and Eliza, then 6 months old, in the Toronto temple, the closest temple there at the time. We lived in the Cleveland, OH area for four years.  Elder Nalen will come home Dec 2 as that is his last day in the Colorado Springs mission and he will be home for two weeks due to Christmas timing.  He will report to the MTC December 17th.  Elder Nalen is just elated.  We are feeling so blessed and grateful!

 

Missionary Monday: Elder Mueller Serving in New York, New York



 Here are some pictures from Elder Mueller serving in New York, New York:

Elder Mueller is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. Much of his proselyting is done via social media. If you would like more information from his mission, you can click HERE.

Missionary Monday: Elder Skalla Serving In Tampico, Mexico

Here is a recent blogpost from Elder Skalla:

Crazy is the new normal...

Crazy is starting to be the new normal here haha. On Wednesday we had divisions with the Zone Leaders because Elder Flores is District Leader.  I stayed in our area with Elder Stoor. He is from Colorado too! Well right now his family lives in Utah and he has lived all over the place but he says he likes Colorado the best haha. It was weird having an American comp and we actually spoke English which was really weird. I didn't think I would have a problem with it but it was honestly really hard to do at first. I didn't realize how infrequently I was using English and how much I was accustomed to Spanish haha. The Spanish is always getting better. It's not too much of a barrier but I just have to keep growing the vocabulary to be able to understand what people are saying haha. The hardest part I think is having a personality. It sounds weird but its true. When you cant speak your own language you lose your personality! Which stinks because I feel like a robot and I can't express myself and I can't make people laugh and it's really hard, but little by little it's coming. 

My shoes are holding up awesome. I have only worn the dressy ones once because the others are just way more comfortable. With the others you feel everything under your feet which is awful here and with the giant ones you feel nothing :) We do take a taxi when we go to the other side most of the time. There is a highway that goes from the center of Pueblo Viejo to a place called el paso del humo where the boats cross the river to Tampico. There is a taxi route down this highway that we use and its just six pesos one way and they drop you wherever you want on the highway so that's how we get between the two areas. We think that this transfer they're going to put missionaries back in the other area because we are still paying rent on their house.The next transfer is the 29th of September. Every 6 weeks on Mondays we have transfers. 

On Saturday we did divisions and I went to Anuahac with Elder Mendez, from Puebla, which is a town that's almost an island close to Pueblo Viejo. Its just a little fishing town and the streets are pretty much covered in oyster shells. It was an interesting experience haha. They just have a little branch and not many investigators or members. We went to an investigators house and she asked if I had tried oysters and I said no and then a few seconds later she was opening one and gave it to me to eat. They put lemon and salt and a bit of salsa on them and you just slurp um straight from the shell. It's just salty and gooey and gross haha, but not too bad. 

I'm excited to come back and be able to eat Kneaders haha. Logan emailed me to tell me that Qdoba is opening in Dixie!  haha He said he wants me to go there with him when I come back haha. I told him he should come to BYU or USU with me. 

I only have two weeks left of being a greenie and then who knows what happens. Elder Flores most likely is leaving this change. We have lots of investigators who are way potential and we are hoping to have a baptism the last Saturday of this transfer for Norma. Keep referring the missionaries to all your friends and sharing the gospel with everyone! 

Elder Flores Says "Saludos a su familia y que tienen un hijo excelente"

I don't think I have anything else to say... Love you!

Elder Skalla

P.S. It rains a ton here haha but mostly in the night. Friday there was a huge storm in the morning that was awesome but also a pain because all the streets flood and everything is wet and the roads get terrible (Because the Mexican solution to pot holes is filling them with dirt) Its raining right now actually haha. But its all fun. Rain is better in Colorado when it doesn't make everything dirty and terrible haha. But I love it! It's all part of the adventure!

P.S.S.  just heard about the changes to Seminary and qualifications for graduation! Glad I made it out before lol I never would have graduated! Its all for the better though, I wish seminary wouldn't have been so early so I could've taken advantage of it. 

 

Elder Skalla is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. For more information from him, you can visit his blog by clicking HERE.

Missionary Monday: Sister Annie Craig Serving In Brazil

Family!!! Friends!!! People!

This week was....great!! Well, not for my companion. This week started out a bit rough. She was super sick for the first couple of days. So we really didn't have the opportunity to work. My poor companions body is just falling apart. Just kidding...she is doing a lot better now! Those American drugs work wonders, ya hear? 

 

 

But our first normal day, we had this plan to go and visit every single investigator. We planned sooooooo good for that day, everything detailed, and ready. Because we had missed so much, that we wanted to work and visit a lot. So lunch finishes, and we got dropped off back at our apartment. We were picking up things, when our District Leader calls. The assistants have given a challenge for our zone. Go out and invite, and then later confirm 25 people for church. My companion hangs up the phone, and we sat there. We aren't teaching 25 people, we have no new investigators this week due to lack of work.....what?!?!! All 4 sisters sat there, like...how are we going to do this. When finally it hit us. Every sister take 15 pamphlets and lets just station ourselves in an area and talk with everyone. So we start writing number and addresses on the back of the pamphlets and getting ready to do this. As we are doing this..it just starts pouring, thunder, lightening. It was horrible. And my companion says, to be funny, "Its like we need to fast or something!!!" As soon as she said that, the rain stops. We all just looked at each other, stood up, went to our separate corners/rooms and started fasting. We walk out and its completely sunshine!!! Haha, so we finished with the pamphlets. But we still haven't decided where we should this? Where is it gonna be busy? We prayed, and at the end, we all said somewhere completely different. We prayed again, and after my companion and I said Metro...but the others thought no. So we prayed again. This time, Sister Melo asked not where should we go...but if the Metro was where we needed to be. And right after she asked that in the prayer, it was just silent....and it was made clear that Metro was where we needed to be. We finished that prayer and just stared at each other...like "Did you all feel that?????" The spirit was incredibly moving then. 

We headed for the metro, with the goal that we cant leave until each and every pamphlet is out of our Hands. Which meant for me, that I was going to have to talk to people ALONE. Without S. Tanaka helping!! Haha, I mean what? I kind of freaked out....but as I started talking, and the people responded, and I understood...I calmed down. I realized that the Lord's hand is in everything. He is going to guide me, because I am helping his Children take one step closer to him. And that is exactly what happened. With every person I talked to, whether they were open and receptive or not, I felt growth, I felt his love...I felt comforted. And I knew that it was because the Lord was there. I may have physically been alone, without my companion, but I had a companion on my side. Standing next to me, it was my Savior. I know it. I felt it. 

Sister Craig is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. For more information, you can visit her blog by clicking HERE.

Missionary Monday: Elder Chipman Serving In Buenos Aires, Argentina

Hola Todos                                                                                         Feb 9, 2014

It’s been another great week in San Francisco with a few changes. I have a new companion named Elder ____, from North Carolina. I think we will get along really well! He plays the harmonica too. He knows how to play Piano Man on the Piano and harmonica at the same time! He has been about a year on the mission, but came the same day I did to Argentina because of Visa Problems. I’ve only known him for about 4 hours, but I know its going to be a good transfer.

We went to the temple just because the President said that we could go. The mission assigned our district a day and time and we went and enjoyed a session. I hope we can do that quite often. It was so nice to go just to feel the spirit. I Just got to sit and reflect on my life at the moment and feel peace. It was really nice.

I´m actually really happy. Sure it’s hard, but nobody said that I couldn't be happy and have a trial at the same time. Missions are hard things because I miss being comfortable and at home, but then again, I´m learning so much. The days are going by me as if they are hours, and the weeks go by like days. It’s really weird.

That being said, the rain hasn’t really stopped, but we are navigating through the mud and puddles fairly well. We received a referencía from a member on Thursday. Her name is Ramona and she is super prepared. We taught her about prayer and the member that is her friend bore her testimony about prayer, by the end of the testimony both the member and Ramona were crying. Always a good sign.

We also plan on having a baptism on Saturday. Pablo came to church on Sunday, so he is finally ready to make that covenant with our Father in Heaven.

We had an interesting experience on Friday. We were just straightening things up in the pench before we headed out for the day and out of no where, the shelves where we kept our food collapsed. There was soy sauce and corn flakes everywhere. Talk about a mess. Then about 5 minutes later, our desk broke sending our books to the floor. Talk about remodeling. Anyway after a morning of cleaning, we got it all figured out.

Funny story: I was talking to a member on Sunday at church and he just pointed behind me. When I looked, I saw President Thurgood. I guess he decided to have a surprise visit in San Francisco. It was cool! He´s a really nice and loving man. We had an investigator there with us so it was all good!

Hope all is well at home, stay warm. I know God lives and Jesus is the Savior of the world. Never forget that. He is always by our sides. And he will never leave. No matter what we do and say, he will always be there, inviting us back that we, through his sacrifice, can return to live with him again. I love you and hope all is well at home. I still pray for you, so don´t worry, you´ve got blessings coming your way. It just might be delayed because I´m in Argentina, but they will come =)

Elder Chipman

Elder Chipman is serving from the Highlands Ranch Ward. For more information about him and his mission, you can visit his blog at: http://elderstephenchipman.blogspot.com/