Los Niños De Oro

Dear All,

How blessed we are to live in such a wonderful time! The Gospel has been restored, and we are all partakers of the truth and of the blessings that come from living the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It really is amazing, isn't it?

It was a week that I'll never forget. After a two week drought, Elder Gasik and I were able to set THREE baptismal dates. We put one with a man named Eugenio and his two kids José and Yesenía. It was awesome! We set the baptismal date with Eugenio first (the kids weren't there),and as we walked out of their house, Elder Gasik and I were so excited and pumped! It was awesome. Eugenio is a great guy. He's really humble, and he really wants to follow Christ's example by being baptized. He actually even admitted to us that he declined work that was offered to him Friday night because he remembered that we were coming! That made us happy. :)

José and Yesenía are golden! We went back the next day and taught them and set a baptismal date with them as well. They are excited,and they want to be baptized with their Dad. But wow! Yesterday we went by again, and we were amazed when they both brought out their Book of Mormons. They read 3 Nephi 11! But not only that, but they marked the "important" verses! We're talking about a nine-year-old and an eleven-year-old! Wow! They actually understood it, and they love it when we come by. They like to call us "tio" (uncle). Haha. They are an awesome family. :)

I went on an intercambio with Elder Anderson (a zone leader) a few days ago. It was one of those intercambios that changes a missionary and his mission. We were really struggling finding new people, but my time with Elder Anderson taught me a TON: He's a great missionary. When we were out walking/working, he talked to EVERYONE in his path. And he worked with such urgency and determination. And it was impresive! And afterwards, we applied all that I learned from him. And now look! We have three investigators with baptismal dates. And we are going to get two more this week with two investigators that attended yesterday! :) We're really excited.

We had a conference last Thursday, and it was one of the funnest conferences that I've ever been to. Haha. At the end, we had a "scripture mastery" game. We played scripture chase: And the best FOUR missionaries went up against each other at the end .We were surprised when President Gillespie came out of nowhere, and I said, "Hold up!" as he took off his tie. HAHA. I thought he was going to get up there and compete as well. But he actually removed the tie and said, "The tie is for whoever wins!" Haha. It was really cool. Elder Birchall (my trainer) won. It was great. :)

We're excited for Easter weekend. We're going to have an Open House in our building this Friday, and I am so excited. The ward is really excited, too, and we really think that it's going to help our ward built a lot of unity and what not.

It's interesting. In the mission, I've learned the difference between "saved" and "redeemed." We've all been saved because Jesus Christ Atoned for ALL of our sins, and we will ALL be resurrected and saved from the physical death. But whether or not we are REDEEMED and saved from the SPIRITUAL death all depends on us and our willingness to follow Christ and His commandments and His ordinances. I know that if we do so, we will be redeemed, and we WILL live with God and our families forever. It's not a fairytale or a myth. It's real! I know it is. Because the Spirit has testified of the truthfulness of these things in my heart. 

I love you all. I hope everyone has a good week!! :) 

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Nelson IV

0238: This is the ocean!

0240: Me and Cow in front of our apartment. Wild cows are ALWAYS roaming around.

0246: Me and my empanadas in our empanada party. Haha.

0250: Me and Elder Machado

0253: Brushing teeth!

0256: Sometimes we finish lunch really early and we have a few extra minutes to relax. When we relax in the church, I ALWAYS lay down in this spot. Haha.

0260: José with his marked-up BOM!

0261: Yesenía with her marked-up BOM!