Tender Sweet Moments Of The Mission

Dear All,

And we're live from Olmué, Chile! This place is beautiful, and I am excited to be here. I was thinking about it, and I've come a LONG way! Even until I was a good 18-years-old, I would always get really homesick on three-day camping trips. :) Three days! Here I am in a foreign country after being away from my family for a good nine months. Not saying that to recognize how much time I have or anything. Just noting that I really have matured here in the mission. :) The mission's sweet! Haha.

Okay, I have to correct something from last week's e-mail. The kid that knows Landan Morgan...his name is Jaime (pronounced HI-MAY)--not Hymer. It's funny because I have NO idea where I got Hymer from. That's not even a name! Haha. But Jaime is a really common name here in Chile. Not sure what happened there. But Jaime is a really cool guy! He helped us out a few days ago, and he joined us for four hours or so. The best part was: He has a car, and he drove us! I never fully understood WHY the missionaries were so grateful when I would give them rides. I now understand. :) It was really nice, and his presence in this lessons...it was just powerful! And a great help. :)

We as missionaries have those "sweet, tender" moments of the mission when the Spirit is really strong. My first experience like that was in the MTC when Brother Jensen was interviewing me. We were talking about Tara's conversion story, and the interview ended with both of us in tears, and the Spirit was really powerful!

This last week, we had a few of those sweet moments. It all started with this guy named Washington. He's an older guy, and he's a member of the church. He has 20 kids! (He had three wives, all of whom have passed away.) Some of them aren't members. Some are inactive. Actually, he only has one active daughter, who is actually the wife of one of the Seventy. (Can't remember which. Haha. But I saw their picture on his wall.) Anyways...we were visiting Washington, and he's a funny guy! When he told us that his Mom came from England and had the last name Boyd, we asked, "So is that why you have a name like Washington?" And he just puts this HUGE smile on his face and says, "No! That was because I was born on the fourth of July!" Haha. It gave me a good laugh. But the Spirit was strong during our visit. He told us that his goal now is to be sealed to his daughter. When he said that, it made me happy, and the Spirit was powerful. :)

Well, there is a lot more that I would like to say, but it will have to wait until next week. The Internet died on us, and so I lost a good ten minutes or so. :/ But I just want to let you all know that I'm giving the Lord all I got, and I am excited to be here in the mission. I am praying for you all always!

Oh! Also, I invite you all to listen to Elder Wirthlin's talk from October 2008. :) I listened to it this morning, and it gave me a good laugh. It really reminded me of Dad. Also, Elder Holland's talk right after is very good. A FHE activity, perhaps?

Enjoy the two pictures. I actually uploaded ten or so, but the computer just freaked out and removed them. Weird. Haha. :)

I love you all!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

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D&C 122:7

Echo A Menos El Mar, Pero Estoy Animado Por Estar Aqui En Olmué

Dear All,

Well, I will have to apologize right away and say that there will be no pictures this week because I am on a Linux operating system, and it's not letting me upload any. But next week! (Never mind; I figured it out.)

Greetings from Olmué, Chile! It's good to be here with my companion Elder Richardsen. He's humble, obedient, and patient. He's from Canada, and he has the same amount of time as Elder Birchall (my trainer). We've gotten along right off the bat, and we are going to have a fun transfer together.

It's good to be in a ward again; the members here are great, and the people are actually nice to us. They reject us with kindness, opposed to the people in Valparaiso. :) It's cool because it's basically in the middle of nowhere, and there are a lot of farmers and what not here. It's a little big down. What I mean by that is...it's small in that everyone knows each other, but it's a HUGE area. Some people live in little neighborhoods...others in the mountains...etc. :)

The ward is cool. It was weird going to an Elders Quorum filled with RM's yesterday. It brought back memories of the Elders Quorum back home. Haha. It was cool, though, because this kid named Hymer asked me where I was from. When I told him that I was from Vegas, he said, "Oh, I had a really good friend in my mission friend Vegas....Elder Morgan." Haha. I said, "You served in the South didn't you?...Elder Morgan is in my ward." Haha. So yes, I met another person that knows Landan Morgan. Pretty cool! We took a picture together and he wanted me to make sure that Landan saw it. Haha.

We did a cool service project a few days ago. We helped this family build a second story to their house (see pictures), and it was a lot of fun. I always loved service before the mission, but now I absolutely love going out there and serving/helping others. It feels good.

We have bikes here! It is one of the few wards in this mission that has bikes, and wow! It's been a lot of fun thus far. I really miss driving at home, and although they are nothing alike, riding the bike has really helped me quench a lot of that thirst for driving. Especially when we are going down the hills at 60 miles per hour. ;)

They've really struggled with baptisms here in Olmue. Elder Richardsen just had the first baptism of the year two weeks ago. But we are both ready to go out there and find the Lord's elect. We are teaching this guy named Ivan now; he has the desires to be baptized, but he has problems with drinking. But he came to church yesterday, and we've been able to help him out a lot. :) We look forward to working with him more this week.

Oh yeah! One more thing: I got attacked by dogs again, and it was not good. Haha. But no worries! This time I was ready, and I kicked the dogs while Elder Richardsen threw old bread (from his pocket; haha) at them. It was a funny moment.

We taught Janette the recent convert about temples and family history a few days ago, and the Spirit was really strong for me. I never really understood the importance of family history until now. We truly can do sacred ordinances for those that have gone before us! We sure our lucky for this great knowledge! We truly can feel the Spirit in the Temple; we can be sealed for our families for eternity. I love the temple, and I know that there is no greater place to be!

I am out of time. I love you all, and I will always be grateful for your love and support. Choose the right and remember that the Gospel is the ONLY path to Eternal Life.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

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D&C 122:7

Me Voy A Villa Alemana y Estoy Listo Por Otro Cambio. :)

Dear All,

As I explained a little bit last week, we are doing changes/transfers differently now. I received my call Saturday night saying that I was being transferred (but they didn't tell me where) so that I could say bye to all the members and investigators at church the next day. We just got back from our zone class, where we had a testimony meeting followed by the transfers. :) (It's better this way because now we can tell our families ASAP!) So here I am telling you my transfer. :) I am headed to a zone called Villa Alemana, and a ward/branch called Olmue. I am excited because it's in between the north and south, and it's as flat as a pancake! I am really going to enjoy that after hiking/climbing hills the last four months. :) My new companion is Elder Richardson from Canada, and I am excited to meet him tomorrow. :) He has the same amount of time in the mission as my trainer Elder Birchall, and from what I've heard--he's a great missionary. It'll be a good week! Especially since Elder McManamom will be going with me to Villa Alemana as a zone leader! I'm going to miss Cerro Alegre. I've had some great memories here, and I am grateful for the things that I've learned.

It was a weird last week here in Cerro Alegre, though. Last week, I went to buy some sheet covers. The lady told me that it was 920 pesos, and I gave her a bill of 2000 pesos. Haha. I was really surprised when she said, "It's a false!" Well, to make a long story short, she accused me of paying her with a conterfeit, but explained to her that I had received that bill from the post office. Haha. She didn't accept it, and that didn't bother me--as long as if the cops didn't get involved! ;) Turns out that my bill WAS real, but it was an other edition. I spent it somewhere else. :)

We also had fun when Elder Sylvanstoke received a big package from his family. Wow. This package had EVERYTHING (see pictures), and it was fun to open it with him. It brought back memories and made me miss a lot of stuff from the states, though! Especially the Reeses Puffs and the peanut butter M&Ms. ;)

We were walking home a few days ago from a lesson when we saw this HUGE fire. At first, I thought someone caught their tree on fire. As we got closer, we found out that someone's house caught on fire. :/ And it was actually a house that I had knocked on at least five or six times, so I knew the people that lived there. I felt terrible that night because there was so much I wanted to do for that family, but there wasn't really anything that I could do! We returned the next day to find out that THREE houses actually burnt down. We talked to one of the guys who lived there, and we offered our service to him. He said something that really surprised me. He said, "Thanks for the help, we'll let you know when we need it. We're all okay, thank goodness. We lost everything, but we are lucky that none of this stuff matters." Wow. He said that to us with his destroyed house right behind us! I really amired this man and his attitude about the whole thing. It was cool; the people here really are humble and what not.

Well, the truth is: I am ready for the next challenge and the next transfer, but at the same time, I am scared to death! But I found a lot of comfort in a talk that I read by Elder Erich K. Kopischke. He said, "You cannot tell the Lord how it should happen, but with faith and trust in Him, it often will work out well" (Liahona, July 2010). I know that advice really is true! I love how he says it OFTEN will work out well. We aren't promised that EVERYTHING will ALWAYS work out well if we trust in the Lord. Life would just be too easy that way. :) I have really come to love the challenges and the trials that God gives us, and I DO know that if we rely on the Lord and put our trust in Him, He WILL guide us and direct us through the Spirit.

I had a great seminary teacher my junior year, and I will always be grateful for three things that he taught me: 1. God is in charge, 2. Christ is our Savior, and 3. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth. God will put us in hard times because He's in charge! But we overcome these trials by applying the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ to our lives so that we can have the Spirit leading and guiding us through the trials. And that is the reason that we have missionaries all over the world--so that we can spread this happiness, this joy.

I know that Christ is our Savior, and I am grateful for all of your examples and testimonies. I love you all, and I hope everyone has a good week! Until next week. :)

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

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D&C 122:7

Ya Estamos En La Semana 6

Dear All,

A lady just asked me if she could borrow my pen, and I lent it to her. It's funny to think that I would have not understood a word she said seven months ago. Haha. Another random fact: I saw William Lovell in this month's edition of the Liahona. Pretty cool! The other Elders thought it was really cool that I actually knew someone in the Liahona. Haha.

Well, sorry about my e-mails the last few weeks; they have not been well-written. I hope that this one is a good one; we had a good week here in Cerro Alegre. It's crazy to think that we are already in the final week of the transfer; it has flown by. The weekend will be interesting because I heard that they are doing transfers/changes differently now. They are now calling us Saturday night if we are leaving our ward--but they won't tell us where. So that'll be nice for next week's e-mail; I'll be able to let you all know if I am staying here in Cerro Alegre or not--opposed to waiting a whole week later. :)

So I ended my last e-mail with the family that we found. They are doing well, and now they have baptism dates (which brings us to a total of six people with baptism dates; at the beginning of this transfer, we had zero!) for next month. We had a funny moment last Monday, though. I mentioned that we were going to have an FHE. Well, we had the FHE, and it was...a little interesting! The Dad of the family ended up inviting EVERYONE to the FHE, and it went from FHE to...family reunion! Haha. It was a lot of fun, but it was just a little weird. :) But like I said--they are doing well, and it'll be fun to teach them more this week.

I did intercambios with Elder Henriquez (he's one of the zone leaders) a few days ago, and we taught a lesson that really reminded me of home. Haha. One of the girls that we were teaching looked exactly like Tara. Haha. And during the lesson, we used the example of how prayer is like a sandwich--the first and last parts are always the same (the slices of bread), but the middle is alkways different (the stuff in the middle). Haha. And when we used this example, this kid walks in and starts arguing with us about what we should and shouldn't put on our sandwiches. HAHA. And he sounded, looked, and talked just like Luke Nelson himself. It was a great one. :)

Well, yesterday was interesting. We talked to a bunch of kids in the streets who were saying to us, "Hey, YOU HAVE TO GIVE US A PRESENT!" Apparently, they have something called "Dia De Niño" (Child's Day) here. Ridiculous, eh? It gave me a good laugh. I think the Daycare kids back home would love that day if we had it in the States. HAHA.

Well, I am out of time again, but I encourage you all to watch the YouTube video "Forgiveness: My Burden Made Light" for FHE tonight. Elder McManamon and I watched that video a few days ago, and the Spirit was strong. It was a great example of how our faith in Christ should be. Because the truth is: The trials and challenges are going to come! It's part of this life. But the best way to handle them is to build your foundation on Christ. It's a good video, and I am striving to develop that same testimony and faith in Christ. So that when the trials and challenges come, I can turn to the Lord for comfort and peace. It is the best way! I love my Savior, and my testimony of Him and His Gospel grows every day here in the mission. :)

I love you all, and I can't express my gratitud and appreciation for each and every one of you. You are all heroes in my eyes. Thank you!

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

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D&C 122:7

Estoy Trantando De Hacer Mi Mejor

Dear All,

Friday we took a little trip to Viña del Mar in the morning because my companion needed to go to the dentist. All went well there, and we actually had to go back early today. I really like Viña del Mar; it's pretty, and reminds me a little bit of home for some reason. Haha. We actually have to go back next Monday for another appointment and that'll be fun. I kind of know how Dad feels now--all the times he had to drag me to doctors appointments and what not; and he would just sit outside and wait for me while playing his Nintendo DS. :) It's basically the same thing with me and Elder Lopez, except I play games on my electriconic dictionary to help me learn Spanish. ;)

I kind of fell apart the beginning of this week. I was still feeling sick, and I kind of got a little unfocused on the Work. My companion said some things that kind of hurt my feelings (we love each other, just so you know), haha, and so I was kind of down on myself this week, and I started to just feel sorry for myself. I thought about Manuela and how she's my only convert since arriving here to Valparaiso, and how she's already inactive. I let that get to me a little bit, and I even asked myself, "Elder Nelson, what HAVE you done here in the mission?" I think feelings like that are normal, and so I decided to do three things: find comfort in the scriptures, pray, and apply something my mission president taught me when he said, "Elder Nelson, you be the best Elder Nelson that you can be. The Lord doesn't expect anything else."

Jacob said it best when he said that the word of God "healeth the wounded soul" (Jacob 2:8). I found a lot of comfort in the scriptures, and I prayed to Heavenly Father and asked, "Heavenly Father, I'm just trying to do my best. I just hope that I HAVE done some good." Haha. It was cool how fast my prayer was answered. As soon as I got off my knees, Elder McManamon handed me a letter. It was a letter from the Araya family (from La Sarena). After reading their letter, I felt a TON better because that family is proof that I am doing good work here in the mission. (I would like to share the letter with you all. And for that I reason, I translated it, and I sent it to my Dad in the mail today.)

To make a long story short, I forgot myself and went to work, and we ended up having the best week of the the change so far. :) We are seeing the Gospel change lives here. After reading the Araya's letter, I was just motivated to go out there and find more families that are ready to accept the Gospel in their lives. And that brings us to "The Story of Nicole." Elder Lopez and I were knocking doors on a street a few days ago, and we got to a house where a fifteen-year-old named Nicole came out. She told us her family wasn't home but that we could pass by another day. Well, EVERY teenager tells us that, and we always pass by again, and their parents want nothing to do with us. Haha. So we wrote down her name, but weren't planning on actually passing by when she told us to.

What happened next might end up being one of my greatest memories from the mission. We were running a little behind schedule, and we had a good ten minutes or so to be in Camila's house for our appointment. But BEFORE that, we had to teach this lady named Elisa. We passed by Elisa, but she wasn't able to talk with us. And so the normal thing to do would be to go straight to Camilia's house and arrive a little early. However, I turned to Elder Lopez and said, "Hey, we should pass by Nicole's house." I was almost positive that he would say, "Why?" or "No, we are going to be late." But I was surprised when he said, "The same thought just crossed my mind. Let's go."

We went, and to our surprise, the parents of Nicole let us in right away. They are a great family, and they are reading everything we are leaving with them, and they are really excited to learn more (especially the Mom.) I haven't even known them for a whole week, and I've already seen the Gospel change their lives. We are going to have a Family Home Evening with them tonight, and it should be great. :) I am just grateful that the Lord directed us to them through the Spirit. It was one of the coolest experiences of my mission, and I am really excited and grateful for this family.

We are beginning to see the fruits of our labors, and I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to be here in Valparaiso for at least another two weeks. :) I am just going to enjoy it while I can, and serve the Lord with everything I've got. The Gospel is true. Christ is our Savior. We CAN receive guidance from the Spirit, but only if we prepare ourselves for that direction by reading the word of God and for praying for that Spirit.

I love you all, and I am out of time. I will be sure to keep you all updated. Thank you for all your love and support. "If we fail, we fail with glory. God speed the right, God speed the right!"

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV