Dear All,
Greetings from Valparaiso Oeste! I am still here in Cerro Alegre. :) I was happy and sad to stay. Haha. Happy because staying in your ward is always great--we don´t have to pack or move! Sad because Elder Mann and Elder Yost both left! But Elder McManamom stayed with me, and our new companions are sweet! On Tuesday, we dropped our companions off at the Zone Leader´s pension. We had an hour or two until our new companions arrived, and so Elder McManamom and I looked around Valpo for a while. That was fun until it started pouring outside. And--you know--pouring rain is facinating, but wow! It was also VERY windy. This last week, I´ve felt some of the strongest winds that I´ve ever felt before. I almost literally got blown off my feet! The best part was: Elder McManamom and I were WAY close to the ocean, and we saw some killer waves, and we got super wet! (Haha. Imagine two missionaries just getting destroyed by waves WHILE it´s pouring rain. It was something like that.)
Well, we eventually got our companions, and it was a sweet week. :) But before I go off and tell you EVERYTHING about our companions, I want to talk a little bit about the interview that I had with President Gillespie last Thursday. Haha. It was funny. He always ends the interviews off with, "Do you have any questions for me?" Haha. And so it was my turn, and he called me in. His first question was, "How is your family?" I told him that my family is great, that my brothers enjoyed the Back East Trip, and how I´ve really seen how the Gospel has blessed my family since starting my mission. He was happy to hear that! But what really surprised me was when he said, "Elder, do you have any questions for me?" Haha. I thought for sure that the interview was already over! I told him I didn´t, and so I thought we were going to end with a prayer.
But I was really surprised when he said, "One more thing, Elder. How is the language coming?" I told him that the language is great and that I am getting a little better every day. The next part surprised me anymore! He said, "The mission is going to be changing quite a bit. In the next few months, we will have sixty missionaries going home, and they will be replaced by new elders. We may need you to help us out and train one of them. Do you think you´d be able to do that--train a new Elder to be a good missionary?" Haha. I, of course, was surprised and told him that I would do it if he needed me to. :) Haha. And it was pretty cool! Anything could happen, really, but wow! Sixty missionaries coming and going the next two tranfers. I am really excited to see what happens. :)
But the thing is: This change just started, and I need to stay focused on NOW. Haha. And with that, I am going to tell you a little bit about my new companion Elder Lopez. He is great! He is my first Latin companion, and so you can only imagine how much Spanish I am going to learn this tranfer/change. Haha. I´ve already learned a ton! Obviously because I am now speaking Spanish ALL day, opposed to only during the lessons like it was with my first three companions. :) And it´s funny because things are already starting to come out in Spanish instead of English (when I want to say something to Elder McManamom, for example. Haha.)
Elder Lopez is great. He is from Ecuador and France. He grew up in France because that is where his Mom lives. It´s way sweet. He is a convert of four years, and his conversion story is facinating. When he teaches and shares his conversion story with others, the Spirit is always really strong. It´s awesome. :) He´s a great missionary! The coolest part, though, is that he received his call the END of September and left two weeks later in October. Wow! I can´t imagine! Haha. I received mine a year ago in July and left in November. When he told me that, it really surprised me. Haha. But he´s the greatest! We basically have the same amount of time in the field, and it´s his first time as a senior companion. We´ve had a lot of fun together so far. :)
Elder Sylvanstoke (Elder McManamom´s) companion is way sweet, too! He´s from Orem, and he´s a big BYU fan. He and I have gotten along great so far. ;) It´s cool because both his parents are actually from Brazil, but they moved to Utah about 25 years ago. He´s a great Elder! He and Elder McManamom had a baptism on Saturday, and it was the greatest! Their investigator is a little slow mentally, because he was abused when he was younger. After his baptism, I asked him, "Abel, how do you feel?" And he said, "Mejor....Algo Espiritual...." (Better...Something Spiritual....) It was a special moment to me. He was so happy to be baptized, and to hear him say that...wow. The Spirit was really strong!
We played soccer a few days ago with the young men, and it was awesome. We played king of the field (I guess that´s what you´d call it), and our team was the worst! In order to win, you had to score two goals. Our team could never win and become the king of the field. Haha! But then I finally told Elder Sylvanstoke, "This is it. We are going to win this time." To make a long story short, I (the worst soccer player there) had two goals and won it for our team. HAHA. The young men LOVED it. It was really funny. :) But it felt good to actually score for once. It was just really funny to think that I scored both goals. Haha.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We are loving the warm winter here. Although, when it DOES get cold, I get really confused and think we are in the middle of the Christmas holidays. ;) Haha.
I love you all! As always, I want to bear my testimony of the mission of our Savior. None of this would be possible without our Savior and Redeemer. We are blessed to have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation--The plan of HAPPINESS-- in our lives. NEVER take this knowledge for granted! I testify that if we hold to the rod and endure to the end, we will live eternally with Him who gave us life and with our families. I am a witness that the Savior loves us and protects us. I am forever grateful for His love and His Gospel.
Have a great week!
Yours Truly,
Elder Nelson IV
--
D&C 122:7
No comments:
Post a Comment