Tuesday, August 31, 2010

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
--
D&C 122:7

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