34 Ties: Some fun in Manila! Cheeseburgers and milkshakes and donuts! Oh my!!

I am glad it is warming up for you guys out there. I kinda wish it would stop warming up on us out here! The rain has also pretty much stopped. I have a pretty wicked farmer's tan that I hope to just get darker from now till the end of my mission. When I get home you better be prepared with lots of lotion and lip chap for me so I don't just turn into a little cracked raisin ha ha!

I would love to do more service out here for one reason - I would get to wear shorts while doing it and I feel really good while serving other people. (Isn't that two reasons??) But the people out here have this small little problem where they don't ever want any help with anything unless they literally can't do it on their own.

You will never guess what I got to do this last weekend! Our mission literally was forced to give all the foreigner missionaries a short little vacation ha-ha! Ok, it wasn't really a vacation but it was crazy fun. So anyways, I had MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) this past Friday. Because I was out here in the Island, I had to leave on Thursday to get to San Pablo. While on the boat the assistants called us and said, " I hope you guys brought extra clothes because you will be heading out to Manila after the MLC on Friday." We were so shocked. Stuff like that never happens on the mission. I guess it really wasn't planned at all because the MTC in Manila gave no notice to us. I bet President Mangum was just sick to his stomach. Just getting there was a lot of uncontrollable chaos and no one was there to even try to control it. :) Five missions ended up going out to Manila so I got to see a lot of the elders and sisters who I was with in the MTC back in Provo. HOW COOL IS THAT? Manila is incredible, everything is so cool there. We got to Manila at about 9:30 pm and then went out to go and get some food. I ate at a restaurant called Johnny Rockets. I had a double bacon cheddar cheese burger and a huge milk shake. I just about died. The next place I went to was Krispy Kreme Donuts, after that I did die... I some how picked up a really big appetite for expensive food after that trip. Manila is pretty much just like a really big city in America. I couldn't believe what it was like out there. Johnny Rockets is a super famous restaurant back in the US. They had other things there like TGIFridays, I also saw a Porche and Bentley dealership. That trip definitely made my week. The only down side to the trip was we didn't have time to hit the Manila Temple or go to the Mall of Asia, both of which were on my things to do list.

Hope you have a great birthday Dad. Man your getting old :). 17 years and you can retire ha-ha think about that!

Well everything is going great out here. Elder Wooden and I are getting along just fine and yes I am now 7 kilos heavier then when I entered the MTC. A couple months ago I was actually below what my weight was in the MTC! Well good luck with basketball and choir.

Well, we have several progressing investigators now that should be baptized within the next 4 weeks. I will keep you filled up on all of that.

That is really too bad about Kenzie's knee though. Wrecked it right before Zones and Provincials! That sucks! Send her my love!!

Love you lots!

Elder Nielson

(I apologize to anyone reading this blog and recognizing their pictures in it! :) I have a tendency to copy and paste if Erik is in the picture or was a part of things! Sorry and Thank you for sharing your pictures!!)