Lost Treasure #4: Christmas And Brent's Birthday.

The following pictures shall be revealed to celebrate Christmas (it's a little late) and to wish my brother EBN a happy 30th birthday today. Merry late Christmas everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROTHER!!

Lost Treasure #3: My Little Brothers

Does this need a description?

Lost Treasure #2: "Summer Games--The Line Up"

I couldn't help it. Here's another classic. When I was in 7th grade, I would make lists of video games that I wanted to play instead of studying during study hall. And this happens to be one of those lists. Enjoy!

Lost Treasures #1: Benjamin David Nelson:A History

The Lost Treasures is a series of old files found on my computer; these files are especially precious because I went two years without seeing them, which added to the level of hilariousness. Stay tuned for more of The Lost Treasures!

Today's Lost Treasure is the introduction to an "autobiography" that I began to write in the summer of 2006. An instant knee-slapper is found in the second paragraph when I talk about how "I lived in California for what seemed like hours" as if I actually remember that! And oh, just for the record: I lived in California until I was three WEEKS old; not three months.

Enjoy!

Benjamin David Nelson: A History

An Introduction

My name is Benjamin David Nelson. I was born in California. Mount Clair to be exact. That was on October 6, 1990, though. Almost been sixteen years ago, actually. I don’t know where all the time has gone, but I’ve never really kept a good journal. The best I’ve done is find a notebook, write a page or two in it about that day, and then lose the journal. So I thought I would write a little autobiography to cover all of the events that I missed because of not keeping a journal. Better to start now when I remember most of my childhood than to start later, right? But before I actually start the actual autobiography deal, I thought I would give this little intro.

I lived in California for what seemed like hours. Well, in other words, I was a baby, and I lived there for three months. But I cant really remember that. Actually, I don’t remember California at all. But I do remember this other place. That place being the small city of Las Vegas, Nevada.

I lived in Las Vegas for a good ten years of my life. Those ten years were definitely great moments now that I look back on them. But before I knew it, my Dad got a job transfer to Memphis, Tennessee. My family moved to Southaven, Mississippi (a close town or suburb to Memphis), and I ended up living there for five years.

The climax of my life (so far) definitely took place in Mississippi. I will not go into too many details because I need to save the rest for the actual autobiography. But lets just say that life was rough there. But before I knew it, due to certain circumstances, I was back in Las Vegas, Nevada. And that puts me where I am now. In my room, in Vegas, writing this little book. So I hope you read the rest, for this is just an intro. THE GREATEST!

Home

I loved my mission, and I will never forget it. These last few days at home have been difficult\different, but great. We celebrated Thanksgiving today with Mom and Darin. We are now catching up a little bit with Matthew Nelson.

Yesterday I was picked up by my Dad, JoAnn, my little brothers, Levi, and Skyler. Although I was only at home for a little while and I was so overwhelmed by the things that I needed to do, we managed to enjoy it.

It's really late. I just got done talking to a Sister from Renaca Alto via Windows Live Messenger. Yesterday I took a few minutes to call others from Chile. It was great. I plan on continuing with such activities; I don't want to lose the Spanish.

We still have tomorrow and then Saturday we are back off to Vegas so that I can attend church at Mission Hills. I'm looking forward to the struggles, the changes, and the adventures that will come these next few months and years that are ahead of me. As always...I will be keeping you posted.

0: We Did It

Dear All,

Yesterday was an adventure. I said farewell to Quillota and Achupallas. It was great to reunite with the people there; I love them all so much, and they will be missed.

My final interview went well. Really powerful. I'm not so worried anymore; the advice from President Gillespie helped me out a lot. I'll never forget the things that my mission president has taught me. He truly is a special witness of Christ. At the end of the interview, he gave me a blessing, and it was amazing how in tune he is with the Spirit! Everything he said was for me!

Just here with Elder Hawkes in Viña waiting for the "Last Supper" at 6 PM. We're off to the Temple tomorrow at 3 AM. And then I'll be there all day until they pick me up at 9 PM to head to the airport.

I love you all. These truly have been unforgettable days.

Con Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

1: I Have No Regrets; I Did My Best.

Dear All,

I believe this'll be my last e-mail as a full-time missionary. I may or may
not write next Monday. I don't think I will because I'm going to be with
Elder Hunsaker (the Elder that lived with me in Quillota), and we are going
to be visiting converts and what not. But if I do write my chance, don't be
too surprised.

Wow. Two years has come and gone. I've thought a lot about my days as a
missionary. I'll never forget all of these people that have made such a
huge impact on my life. I have no regrets. I can't say that I was the
greatest missionary at all times; I made a lot of mistakes. But I have no
regrets, because I did my best.

We had a great mission conference last week. We heard from Elder Cook,
Bishop McMullin, AND Elder Zaballos. It was great to be in Viña again, and
it was great to hear from these special witnesses of Jesus Christ. During
the conference I was reminded again by the Spirit that these men truly are
the Lord's servants in these latter days. I got a good laugh because we
also attended a fireside the night before, and Elder Cook and Elder
Zaballos spoke there, too. So I heard them both speak twice!

And the fireside was interesting because they talked a lot to the young
single adults about how they shouldn't hold off being married. They talked
about how we need to be more faithful, and how we need to put our trust in
the Lord--despite not having a ton of money or a lot of Education. And then
in the conference the next day, they talked a little more about marriage.
(And when they did, my zone--knowing that I am going home next week--all
looked at me and smiled/laughed. It's a missionary thing, I guess.) And
then yesterday at church we were visited by a Brother Goodman and his wife
Jodi. They are from Arizona. Brother Goodman served here about five years
ago. We ate lunch with them and a family in the ward, and he was telling us
his whole story and how he got married about a year after getting home,
etc. So what I'm trying to say is: I heard a lot about marriage this week.
Haha.

Well...I'm going to try especially hard this week to stay focused and to
end strong. On Sunday morning at about 6 AM, I'm getting on a bus to
Quillota. I'm planning on attending church there, and then I'm planning on
eating lunch at Valeska's (my convert) house. From there, Elder Hunsaker
and I will make our way to the mission home for our final interviews. I
have mine at 6:30 PM.

* 6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand.

7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith:* (2 Timothy 4:6-7)

This is it. I loved my mission. I love all of you, and I am grateful for
everything you've done for me--especially these last two years. See you
next week.

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

2: Twenty-Four Months--No More, No Less

Dear All,

I got my travel plans and other information about my farewell last week. Wowzers. It looks like I will be flying home with an Elder named Elder Filoteo. I never knew he was from Las Vegas. But that'll be fun to have someone to talk to on the plane and what not. I also had interviews with President Gillespie. He gave me a small bell, and he explained to me that in track meets they ring the bell on the final lap to let the runners know that they are near the end, and they need to end strong to win the race. And so when the distractions come, I have to ring the small bell (see picture) to remind myself that I am expected to run my best. I am on the final lap.

The Temple was amazing. I had a powerful experience with Elder MacIver and with the second counselor of the Branch. We were doing confirmations in the Temple, and as I confirmed the Youth in behalf of the deceased people, I was overwhelmed by the Spirit. For the first time in my life, I truly felt the Spirit of Elijah. I felt it again when we took part in an Endowment session. I was overwhelmed by the Spirit that I felt. It felt SO good to be within the walls of the Temple. I felt so much more powerful and strengthened by being there. I look forward to going back in two weeks before getting on the plane. :)

We were looking forward to a Zone Conference this week in La Sarena. I had it all arranged to meet up with the Famila Araya (my first baptism) and everything! But...It was cancelled. :( And postponed to Friday; but it'll be a mission conference, and it'll take place in Viña del Mar. We'll be visited by a General Authority. We aren't sure yet, but it'll either be Elder Cook from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of the members of the Presiding Bishopric, or another Seventy. And whoever comes will be accompanied by either Elder Corbrige, Elder Zaballos, or Elder Richards. So I am excited about that! And it'll also be good to see all my companions and friends before leaving. It'll be my best mission conference that I've had; we've never met up as a mission before. I'm a little sad about not being about to see the Familia Araya, but...Maybe we can talk via Skype when I get home or something. :)

We had a powerful experience yesterday in our Gospel Principles class. It was my turn to teach the class, and I knew Cristian (Investigator) and his wife Andrea (less-active that is getting reactivated) would be there. It was perfect because the topic was Eternal Marriage. As I prepared for the class, I thought to myself, "How in the world am I going to be able to teach this class in a way that they feel the Spirit? I don't know what it's like to be married yet." After much pondering, the Spirit guided me, and I felt strongly that we had to listen to Elder Scott's talk from April earlier this year. We did so, and it was an experience that I'll never forget. They felt the Spirit SO strong, and Andrea shared with us her thoughts and feelings about the talk and about how her only desire was to be sealed to her husband and her kids. I was so touched by her words that I could barely even speak up and talk to finish the class.

I was thinking about that experience this morning, and I scripture from D&C came to mind. It teaches us about how a teacher who teaches by the Spirit can help not only the students, but also themselves. In is found in D&C 50:21-22:

21 Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?
22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

I have felt that a lot here in the mission. I've been so touched by the many people that I've taught, and I can honestly feel that the majority of the time I feel like I am learning more from the people than they are from me. But I have come to learn now that we are both learning from the Spirit Himself. We are both being edified, and we both have a reason to rejoice together. I know that each and everyone of us can experience this. As we fulfill our sacred callings as parents, as children, as brothers, as sisters, as teachers, as leaders, etc. If we truly teach by the Spirit, EVERYONE--including ourselves--will be benefited and powered by It.

I love you all. One more e-mail next week. Yikes.

Con Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

3: Halloween And November

Dear All,

I'm writing these last few e-mails with a lot of mixed emotions. I have a
lot of life's dreams, and my full-time missionary service is one of them.
And now here it is drawing to a close. But I am grateful for everything
that I have experienced these two years, and I will never forget them. I
love my mission. But I am also excited to begin my new life and progress
even more.

It was a tough week, but we're confident that this week will be better. We
received permission to go to the Temple with the District this Saturday. I
am excited for that. :) It'll be my first Temple trip here in Chilé. I am
REALLY excited. I haven't been to the Temple since the MTC. That seems like
an eternity ago. It'll be great to go there and feel that special Spirit
again. We're looking forward to it.

Yesterday in Gospel Principles, Elder MacIver taught a lesson on Eternal
Families. As he taught and as the members and investigators participated, I
felt extremely happy to know that we will have the opportunity to live with
our families forever as long as if we do our part and follow the Savior's
example. I know that's true. The Spirit has born testimony of it to me, and
it brings a lot of peace and hope to my heart when I am reminded of this
great knowledge that I have.

But I also know that it's certain that Satan is out to destroy the family.
Every day he is doing everything he can do get to us and to destroy us.
Like Elder Holland said in this last General Conference: Satan knows that
he will lose in the end, but he will not go down without a fight. This
week, I found a great example of a Prophet who fought Satan and came out
victorious. Moses teaches us what we must do to come out victorious in
Moses 1:17-22

*17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the
burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and
worship me.*
*
*
*18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other
things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can
judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.*
*
*
*19 And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud
voice, and ranted upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only
Begotten, worship me.*
*
*
*20 And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he
began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon
God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan,
for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.*
*
*
*21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received
strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten,
depart hence, Satan.*
*
*
*22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping,
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the
presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.*

Let us call upon the Lord unceasingly! I know that if we do so--like
Moses---we will come out of the battle victorious. As we rely upon the Lord
unceasingly as families, he WILL NOT defeat us, and we will come out
victorious. I know these things are true, and I am grateful for examples
like Moses who teach us that it's not an impossible battle. We can come out
victorious.

I love you all. Until next week!

Con Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

4: The Slow Hand Quickens

Dear All,

Here I am again. That number gets lower and lower, and it seems like the time is passing quicker and quicker. I must take advantage of these last four weeks.

All is well here. We're progressing here in Los Vilos. We had a great week. We taught a lot of people, and we continue to do our part to fortify and strengthen the members and the converts here. We are still on a hunt for God's elect, though. We have a good pool of investigators, but a lot of them have to take care of a few things before they can be baptized. We have lost contact with other investigators, and like I said last week...That makes me a little sad. But I know we just have to keep working hard, and we just have to seek the Lord's help. And we have to accept His will. So we'll continue to do our part here, and I am confident that it'll all work out.

Like I said a few months ago: Los Vilos has been my toughest challenge yet. It continues to be so. But this week my testimony of the power of prayer was strengthened. With all the trials and difficulties that we face here in this area, I was about to "explode"--for lack of a better term--last week. But I found great comfort through my prayers to my Heavenly Father. And the tough times have become bearable! And at church yesterday, I pondered about that. I asked myself--like Enos of the Book of Mormon--"How is it done?" The answer is found in Enos and many other parts of the scriptures. But I found a scripture in James that I really liked. In James 5:15-16, we are taught:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent eprayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I am a witness that these verses teach us the truth. We CAN be healed through our prayers of faith. Each and every one of us has dificulties and problems in this life, but God loves us, and He desires to hear us. So it's obvious that if we talk to Him through prayer, He will heal and comfort us.

Yesterday I was also taught again the importance and the sacredness of the Sacrament. I blessed the Sacrament with our ex-branch president, and when he was blessing the water, he said the prayer with so much reverence and humility that the Spirit hit me harder than it ever has before during that Sacred Ordinance. It made me want to be even better, and I remembered the words of Christ to the Nephites when he introduced the sacrament to them in 3 Nephi 18:10-11:

10 And when the disciples had [partaken of the sacrament], Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.

11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.

I felt that my imperfections and my mistakes that were weighing heavily on my mind during the week were washed away. How grateful we are to have the authority to administer the Sacrament! It is the only way that we can renew our covenants with God and to maintain the Spirit completely in our lives.

I love you all. Enjoy the pictures. You can also visit the following link to see pictures that were taken at last week's celebration. :)

Until next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

6: TOTAL SURRENDER: Moriré En Los Vilos

Dear All,

No time today. The negocio closes at 2PM. It's 1:54 PM. :)

I'm ending my mission in Los Vilos! This is it. My companion is out of here. He's training in El Belloto. My heart is full because the Lord has called me to serve with a great friend of mine. :) Elder MacIver! I was there when he started the mission, and we always told each other, "One day, we will be companions." I love him, and I've always felt that we would be working together. I cannot think of a better companion to end my mission with. :) He's SO humble, and he's always happy. He's from Arizona, and he will complete a year in Chilé with me.

All is well here.

I want to end my mission with the attitude of "TOTAL SURRENDER." The Fourth Missionary explains it better than I can. It says:

Unlike the Third Missionary, the way of the Fourth Missionary is what I call “unconditional surrender”. In addition to giving his time, talents and energy to the Lord, the Fourth Missionary gives himself. He gives his will to the Lord. He surrenders all of his desires, his dreams, his ambitions, his wishes to the Lord. In his heart and in his head he lets go of what he wants to do. His wants to do the Lords will.

Paraphrasing C.S. Lewis, the Lord says to us: “Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work: I want You. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and another there; rather, I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.” (Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis, p.167)

Let me be clear that I am not talking just about giving up evil desires, but rather all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams, whether good or evil. All of it together. For example, I desire to provide for my family; I want to be with my sons when they get married; I would like to be with my parents in their last years; I like snow skiing and water skiing. I enjoy rock climbing, ice climbing and mountaineering; I enjoy being with my family; I like being the teacher’s quorum advisor; but I am called to serve a mission. These are all good desires. You have other desires equally good or better. The Third Missionary gives up doing those things. The Fourth Missionary gives them up in his head and in his heart as well. It isn’t that he stops caring about those things; he just doesn’t dwell on them. His mind and heart are focused on other things. His wants, his wishes, his dreams are overcome and swallowed up by his predominant desire to fulfill the wants, the wishes and dreams of the Lord for him.

I'm going to give it my all these last six weeks so that I can say: "Lord, I gave Thee my all. I have no regrets."

I love you all. Until next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

5: ¡Fuimos A Pichidangui! Y A Santiago, Tambien.

Dear All,

It was a fun week. It's been great with Elder MacIver. I love it. We love being together. It's been fun catching up with him and what not. We didn't have the greatest first week, though, as far as the work goes. All of our investigators that I thought were gold have suddenly gone cold, and they seem to have lost a lot of interest. It makes me sad because I love them a lot. But I have to follow Preach My Gospel's counsel and not get discouraged; because discouragement weakens our faith.

But alas. It was a fun week. A few days ago we went out to a small town called Pichidangui with our investigator Johanna and her family. They have a house there. It's part of our area, and it's a good 30-45 minutes away in bus. We got there, and they showed us around and fed us lunch. It's really beautiful! We tried going to work there, though, but we didn't have any luck because it turns out it's mostly a summer vacation place. :/ So we had a lot of fun, but we were there for way too long because the bus schedule is complicated and buses don't pass by very often. But the good news is that we know our way around the town just in case we ever need to go there for something. :)

On Saturday we had the great oportunity to go to Santiago for the Cultural Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Misión Chilena. It was my first time in Santiago, and it was great! It was a long trip; we were the only Elders that got permission to go from the North, and we took my two converts with us. I'll be honest, though, that I didn't pay much attention to the celebration because I was too busy catching up with old friends from the mission. And I paid even less attention when I saw my childhood friend Brian Walker walk into the stadium! I called for him, and he came up and sat next to me for the whole celebration, and we just talked and caught up with each other. It was great being able to see him. We talked about some childhood memories, and we also talked about the differences between his mission in Santiago and our mission here in Viña. It's interesting how different the missions are! But it's a sign that each mission president receives revelation according to the needs of the mission. :)

So all is well here. I'd like to share two scriptures that spoke to my soul this week. One comes from the great example of the Prophet Samuel the Lamanite; the other comes from a Latter-Day Apostle ELder Dallin H. Oaks. Samuel the Lamanite taught me how to be a good returned missionary. In Helaman 16:7, it says:

[A]nd [he] did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy aamong his own people.

Samuel The Lamanite's mission to the Nephites was over. He did what he was called to do. And what does he do? He returns to his country and he continues to work and preach the Gospel in his own land. A simple example, but a powerful one.

Dallin H. Oaks taught me this week that sometimes the Lord just wants us to make our own decisions based on our own judgment. It's not necessary that we receive revelation in all things. He teaches:

[A person may have] a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but who unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.

We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment. Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation.

I know we can receive personal revelation by studying the scriptures--both from the ancient records such as the Bible and the Book of Mormon as well as we can from the Latter-Day prophets that we have today. I testify--with all of my heart--that these men were called of God. The Bible and Book of Mormon were written for our day. We have Prophets that lead and guide us in these latter-days. And I know that if we feast upon their words, we will be blessed with a broader understanding of God's plan for each and every one of us. The words of the prophets can calm any troubled soul; I know that is true because I have been calmed and comforted by reading their words.

I love you all. Until next week.

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

7: A Lot Happens In Seven Weeks

Dear All,

I am sorry about the ending of last week's e-mail. I hope you all understood what I was trying to say; I was in a rush. But all is well here! Last Tuesday I was on an intercambio with Elder Naylor (also from Las Vegas), and that was really great because he was in my branch, and we were celebrating his birthday together. I surprised him at a lot of the members' houses with little celebrations, and it was a great time. Except I was really worried because I got a small stomach flu, and I didn't feel well at all. My biggest worry was that I would be sick for General Conference. But I made a quick recovery, and I feel great. :) But geez. I think I've been sick more here in my mission than I ever was before.

What a Conference!! We are extremely blessed to live in today's world. We live in a time when the Church of Jesus Christ is on the earth! Thomas S. Monson IS a prophet of God, and the Apostles have also been called of Him. I loved this conference. When the conference started I had a lot of questions about my life and my future, and I can say with a certainty that I received personal revelation regarding each and every one of these questions. I absolutely loved the Priesthood session as always. Elder Holland and Elder Waddell's talks were inspiring, and I hope that every young man in the world hears those two messages. :) I loved seeing Elder Hales again after his absence in April; he gave an amazing talk. And as always, I loved hearing from the First Presidency--especially President Eyring. President Eyring always touches me because he is so sincere and humble. I am already really excited for the next conference in April. :)

We have a lot to look forward to these next few weeks. We have my birthday this week (thank you all for the birthday wishes, by the way), and then we are going to have a Special Conference (via satellite) this Saturday to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of having a mission in Chile. Wow. For fifty years the Lord has been calling missionaries to this magnificent country and people! Next Saturday, October 15, we will then have the opportunity to watch a special cultural celebration (also via satellite). I am excited. It's going to be great. I will keep you posted as always.

All is well here. We were sad to learn that Fernanda moved to Illapel! I was saddened by that news, but I know it's the Lord's will. We sent the reference to the missionaries over there, and I just pray that she is baptized there. :) Alejandro is doing great; he is progressing, but still hasn't accepted a baptismal date. We found a new investigator named Artemio and his wife Maria Eugenia. They are great! Artemio attended the Priesthood session and the Snday morning session. I am happy because we have seen a lot of progression here in Los Vilos! It is good to have good, strong investigators that are actually completing with their commitments.

I cried myself to sleep last night as I pondered these last few months that I have spent as a full-time missionary. You might laugh about that, but the way I feel now is an interesting feeling. The way I feel now is the same way that I felt a few weeks before leaving my home and entering the MTC. Yes, you may not believe it, but the feelings are identical. I didn't want to leave the world behind, but I knew I had to because the Lord was calling me. Now, as I approach the end of my mission, I don't want to take off this nametag, but I know I have to because the Lord's call was a call of only 24 months. As I prepared to enter the MTC, yes, it was hard, but I KNEW that I was going to one day return to my home. And now here I am drawing nearer and nearer to the end of my missionary service, and I am struggling to accept the fact that it is very probable that I may never return again to this great place. That is the only difference. It's going to be harder to leave my mission than it was to start because I have no idea if I will ever return to these people who I love so much. They have become part of my life.

*Sigh* But a lot happens in seven weeks, and I am grateful for that. I'm going to continue to give the Lord everything I've got. I didn't come on my mission to only serve 22 or 23 months; I came to serve all 24. And the only smart way to serve is to do it with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. So that's what I am going to do.

We have changes this week. Anything could happen. I hope to finish my mission here in Los Vilos, but I am used to accepting the Lord's will already, and I will do whatever is asked of me. I will keep you all posted. I love you all. Thank you for everything you've done for me. Until next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV