Rusty Nails: Not for Stepping On

Dear All,

It was an interesting week. :) I am not quite sure this e-mail will be able to do it justice. But I will do my best. ;)

Okay, so last Monday, after writing you all, we went to a member´s house and watched the movie Emma Smith. It was pretty good! She sure did go through a lot. And as I watched it, I felt the Spirit strongly. Joseph Smith WAS a prophet of God. My testimony always has room for a little bit more growth, and it grew a little bit more while watching that film.

We did intercambios on Wednesday. I was with one of our zone leaders, Elder Pitcher. While we were running down a hill, I kind of skipped and landed on a rust nail. It went through my shoe, and got my foot pretty good. I bled quite a bit, and it was way too painful for my liking. And so I spent the next few days working with a limp. :) But...it´s almost back to full health, which is great. Funny thing is: Elder Pitcher said, "Elder Nelson, it´s always you that hurts yourself!" Haha. Dog bites...Rusty Nails...I´ll take them all! :)

But I had a tender moment later that day with Elder Pitcher. We taught one of their investigators that will be baptized. His name is Enrique. He is 75 years old, and he is really excited to learn more and to be baptized. Before we ending our lesson with him, he looked at me and said, "I want to tell you something. I´ve had a lot of LDS friends in my life. But you know what? They never invited me to church! I always looked up to them and respected them, but they never invited me!" And the Spirit was really strong as he told me about how the missionaries were the first to invite him. The Spirit taught me something that day. I learned that we as members need to open our mouths and share the Gospel with others. They are waiting for us to open our mouths! We don´t need to be missionaries to do it. :)

Pedro dropped us. After watching the Thomas S. Monson biography, Elder Mann went by his house again (I wasn´t there; it was the same day we did intercambios so he was with the other Zone Leader), and he said, "After watching that video, I know that your prophet isn´t a prophet of God. And I don´t want to study with you guys anymore." When Elder Mann told me the news, I was heart-broken. But then I remembered a line from Preach My Gospel. It says something like, "You will be sad. But you should not be discouraged! Discouragement weakens your faith and your ability to feel the Spirit. And if you don´t have the Spirit, you can´t teach." And I remembered that line and realized that it is true. Even though Pedro dropped us, the Lord hasn´t. And we haven´t dropped the Lord! We are here to do a great work, a work that cannot be stopped.

I like the conversion story of Bill Carpenter. He used to be a Catholic. I also felt the Spirit really stong as we listened to his conversion story a few days ago. I recommend that every one listens to it. You will feel the Spirit; it truly is a remarkable story he has!

Yesterday, it was pouring rain. Elder Mann and I sought shelter for a few minutes in an Evangelica Church (kind of like the Baptist, I think), and it was interesting. It really is interesting how we all worship the same God in different ways. I was thinking, "We are not leaving this church until they mention the two Mormons sitting in the back." HAHA. Well, finally, the preacher said, "Remember the other day when I told you all that the Spirit whispered to me that more people would fill our chapel? Well, look! We have two Mormons here with us tonight. God bless them! Hopefully more follow." And then everyone shouted, AMEN!! HAHA. We got a great laugh out of it.

It was a good week. More exciting things happened, but I am out of time. I love you all, and I am grateful for your examples, your prayers, and your support. As always. Christ lives, and He is our Savior. He is the reason I am here--the reason I am still here, despite all the trials I have faced.

Con Mucho Amore,

Elder Nelson IV