Villa Dulce

Dear All,

Here we are at the end of June. Again. We can't believe how quick time goes by.

It was another great week. I'll never forget these months that I've spent with Elder Gasik. A lot has happened since he arrived back in March! The greatest part about being with a missionary that you trained for so long is seeing him progress. Elder Gasik has always had a lot of guts. I remember when he first got here, we would stand outside of the church to try and do "tours" with the people that passed by. Elder Gasik showed no fear as he talked with the people that passed by--despite his limited Spanish skills. I really admired that because I definitely could NOT do that during my first six weeks in Chilé. But the other day Elder Gasik and I were trying to do "tours" again, and it really hit me how far he's come! The man said, "No. I don't have time." And Elder Gasik said (now speaking MUCH better), "That's okay." And he pulled out a Book of Mormon and he left the man with something to read in the Book of Mormon instead! I was loving that because it really showed me how far he's come.

I did an intercambio with an Elder named Elder García from Utah; but he was born in Mexico. At the beginning of the intercambio, I was talking to him in Spanish because I figured that he was more comfortable speaking in Spanish. But he made a phone call to ask his companion a question, and he asked his companion in perfect English! And when he was done, he started to talk to me in perfect English. And it really surprised me! But then he explained to me that he lived in Utah for 15 years, and everything clicked. :)

But we had a great intercambio! I went to their ward (Villa Dulce) to do an interview for a 23 year-old-man named Eduardo. It went well! It was a great interview. He has such a powerful testimony, and I looked into his eyes, and I could just tell that the Gospel has changed his life so much. I've loved being a District Leader for that reason. It's fun to interview people before their baptisms. I've had some really powerful experiences so far with baptismal interviews. This weekend I get to do another interview for the zone leaders' investigador named Alejandra. :) It'll be great.

I love the Book of Mormon. I have been reading it a lot. I read the Book of Mormon in Spanish during my personal study. I read it out loud in Spanish during language study. And I read it in English when I have any spare time. I've learned a lot! I've thought a lot about the missionary Amulek. I have a lot of Book of Mormon heroes such as Nephi. But I think Amulek might be one of my new favorites after this week. He's a great example to all of us. I was blown away as I read about his story in the Book of Mormon. He is first visited by an Angel and is told that he will attend to Alma. He obeys, and he and Alma preach the Gospel to many parts. They see a bunch of success, and they baptize a ton of people.

But the thing that I love most about Amulek is explained in Alma 15:16. It mentions that Amulek abandoned all his gold, silver, and precious things in his city (Ammonihah) so that he could serve the Lord. Not only that, but it mentions that he is rejected by all his friends and family. And I imagine that was tough for Amulek. But he served anyways! And what was even more surprising to me was in the next chapter--in Alma 16:3--where it mentions that the entire city of Ammonihah was destroyed by the Lamanites. That included the family, the friends, the gold, the silver, and the precious things of Amulek. And although I imagine Amulek suffered much after hearing this news, not once does it mention that Amulek complained or got discouraged. But rather it talks about how he KEPT preaching the Gospel!

What a powerful example. In my mission, I've met a lot of Amuleks. A lot of missionaries that have been rejected by family and friends for being here. A lot of missionaries who have lost family members and friends while they've been here in the mission. And it really has helped me realize how much the Lord blesses us for serving Him. I'm grateful for Amulek and for the Amuleks that I've met here in my mission. How inspiring!

I love you all. Hope everyone has a great week. And I hope to hear from you next week. ;)

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV