Dear All,
First, I want to thank everyone who e-mailed me this week. I opened up my inbox and found a ton of e-mails, and it was good to get updates from everyone. Thanks a ton! :)
Yesterday...wow. It was a special day for me. It´s up there with May 9, 2009. Just like with Tara's baptism, the Spirit was very strong. You could just feel how proud Heavenly Father was for the Araya family. It was amazing! I am so happy to be here to work with people like them. It was just a great first baptism here in Chilè, and I feel very blessed to be here.
Our activity on Saturday was also a powerful, spiritual activity. The Mission President was in town for our conference earlier that day, and he surprised us by attending! It was definitely a surprise, too, because he told us he probably wouldn't be able to make it. Haha. But yeah--it was really good! Elder Birchall played some beautiful music, and I shared a scripture and bore testimony of our Savior and His Atonement. President Gillespie even shared a few thoughts! It was awesome. However, we we bummed by the lack of investigators. :/ But the work goes on!
I am amazed by how fast time goes here in the mission. It feels like one week here is one day back home. It feels just like yesterday that I was here writing last week´s e-mail. Wow. I was talking to my good friend Elder Briones, and I was telling him how much I liked Chilè, and how I wished time could even slow down a little bit. I can`t believe this is the last week of our change/transfer. I hope Birchall and I stay together, but he thinks one of the APs hinted that he was heading down south. :/ If anything, I hope to stay here. I love La Sarena. It´s way sweet!
Well, I have some good news: We have another baptism this week with Duban, and we are looking forward to that. Also, I was fed five completos on Thursday and three on Friday. :) I love those things...
Bad news: Elder Boyd's backpack got stolen, along with his camera and scriptures and what not. So...I will probably give him his scriptures back. Leaving me with...no scriptures! Haha. I'll have to figure that one out soon. It's hard to be a missionary without scriptures. :)
We had a scary/funny moment on Thursday. Haha. Elder Birchall and I were walking up this pretty steep road, and when we got to the top. This drunk guy (riding a bike) slams on his breaks, and tries to shake Elder Birchall's hand; Elder Birchall just kept walking. HAHA. I decided to give him a handshake, and it was probably the worst mistake I've made since arriving in Chilè. The guy wouldn`t let go! And he was trying to pull me toward him, while I was trying to pull away. HAHA. He said something to me, but I was to scared to even realize what he had said. And by this time, Elder Birchall was already like...ten feet away, thinking I was just right behind him. But when he noticed that I wasn`t behind him, he turned around, and you should have seen the look on his face! I was able to get away, but Elder Birchall looked so worried, and later told me that he was ready to go over and drop kick the guy. Haha. He also explained to me that the guy wanted me to talk to him about God and Jesus. But yeah--the lesson: Don`t shake drunk guys hands.
Well, I believe this is all I have to say for now. Again, I miss you all, but it´s been great here in Chilè. I still have a lot to work on, but I know that the Lord will help me as long as if I am diligent, obedient, and faithful. I'm not too worried. :) I`ve already changed so much in only three months. I know Heavenly Father is molding me into the missionary he needs me to be. The mission benefits me, but it`s not why I am here. I am here to benefit others by sharing with them something that has changed my life.
I love you all, and I look forward to hearing from y'all soon.
Yours Truly,
Elder Nelson IV
P.S.
Let me explain these pics. The baptism ones are obvious. :) The others are from this morning. I needed a last minute haircut before leaving our apartment, so Elder Birchall gave me one. HAHA. And it looks pretty good. He's a pro.
There is one of me in the back of a truck, too. That was our ride home from church yesterday. HAHA. It was fun.
The other pictures are from lunch a few hours ago. Elder Birchall tricked Elder Boyd into getting pig stomach. HAHA!! And he hated it. Hahaha. Enjoy!
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