13: ¡El Perseverar Hasta El Fin!

Dear All,

I'm grateful for my mission. I've seen and experienced a lot of things that I will never forget. I've met a lot of people that have made a great impact on my life. But more than anything, I've learned to forgive, I've learned to love, I've learned to understand, etc. For example, I look back on my three changes/transfers with Elder Gasik. And despite never having a baptism with him, I learned so much about diligence, obedience, charity, and unity. I miss those days of my mission! But I know the Lord wants me to learn from my experiences here in Los Vilos, too.

We were happy to see Fernanda get married last week! It was interesting attending the ceremonies and what not. There was a lot of good food, and it was fun. However, when we were eating lunch, Fernanda asked us if we could post-pone her baptism. Her husband had his interview with the branch president (so he could baptize her), but he doesn't feel ready to do so yet. And naturally, she really wants her husband to baptize her. :) So we have to be patient and give her a few more weeks so that her husband can baptize her. The good news: They're married now, and they are progressing!

We're really excited for this Saturday because Francisco and Cristofer will be baptized! I'm really excited because they have been waiting for SO long to be baptized. They're funny because yesterday they gave us a list of people to invite to their baptism. I laughed when I saw names such as "branch president and wife" and "lady who directs music." The one that made me laugh the most, though, was "Elders." :) It gave me a good laugh that they wanted us to invite ourselves to their baptism. They're great kids. They'll go down in history as two of the greatest people that I have met and taught here in my mission. I love them both.

I've always liked the hymn "Master The Tempest Is Raging." As a young lad, I enjoyed it for it's cool music more than anything. Like a lot of hymns, I never really paid attention to the words of the hymn before my mission. And a few days ago, I was reading in Jesus The Christ, and I learned--after all this time--what the words from "Master The Tempest Is Raging" mean and where they come from. In Mark 4:36-41, it says:

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Why are we so fearful? How is it that we have no faith? We live in a time full of fierce storms and tempests; we are faced with them every day! But Christ teaches us that we must not fear; rather, we must have faith in Him. And if we do so, He will calm the storms. I know He will because I've seen and experienced many calms of such storms and tempests. So let's put our trust in Him by keeping His commandments, and He will save us! We'll never be perfect in this life; we can't control that. But we can be happy; and we can control that. And the path to happiness is His path and His example.

I love you all. Until next week!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

14: "The Kingdom of God Or Nothing"

Dear All,

President John Taylor said it best: "The Kingdom of God Or Nothing!" It really is the only real, worthwhile choice, isn't it?

I want to explain something that I should have probably explained a long time ago. I want to explain to everyone the purpose of my e-mails home. My purpose in writing these e-mails isn't only to update everyone on how I'm doing and what I'm doing. But rather, my purpose in writing these e-mails is to also do missionary work through my e-mails. My hope is that by reading my e-mails you will feel the Spirit and learn a Gospel principle or two. And so that's why I sometimes go off on random topics.

Last week I received an e-mail from my brother Brent Nelson. He updated me on what is going on in his life by forwarding me blog entries. And one entry that really touched me was an entry when Brent was helping his son Seth pray, and they prayed for "Uncle Ben." It was in that moment that it hit me that I have a big handful of family and friends on the other side of the world that I have been praying for me by name every single day, various times a day since I began my mission 21 months ago. And I'll be honest; I think--over time--I actually forgot that! And it was a great reminder for me that I have a family that loves me. And so to each and every one of you, I say: "Wow. THANK YOU for your prayers."

We had a conference up north in Coquimbo last week. It was a great conference, and it was awesome to learn from President Gillespie and our leaders as always. The exciting news is that the church is giving portable DVD players and Preach My Gospel DVD's to EVERY companionship in the world. We received ours at the conference, and I'm pretty excited because the training videos are really going to help the missionaries all over the world teach better. :)

The highlight for me at the conference was the "dying testimony" of an Elder that will be going home here in a few weeks. He's an Elder that was in my zone when I got to the mission. He was in his 3rd transfer; I was in my first. And now he's going home. And he said something in his testimony that really touched me. He talked about how when he first got to the mission, he honestly didn't like the mission all that much. But he said, "However, every thing changed for me when I taught my first lesson and--in my weak Spanish--testified that I knew Joseph Smith saw God and Christ and was called be a Prophet in these latter days."

As I heard this Elder's testimony, it helped me realize that it was the the same for me. As a new missionary in a foreign country, there's not much you can do except testify. And I remember my first lesson with Elder Birchall when my only words were "Amo el Libro de Mormon. Yo sé que es verdadero." (Translation: I love The Book of Mormon. I know it's true.) And I remember walking out of that lesson feeling SO good for having shared that short testimony. As I shared it, I felt God's love supporting me. And I have felt His love every time that I've opened my mouth to testify of His Gospel. So like that Elder who bore his testimony...I, too, have loved my mission ever since the first day I opened my mouth to share my testimony in my weak, broken Spanish.

We're well here. We're really excited for our baptism this week! And for two more baptisms the week after! I'll keep you posted!

To end, I want to share the inspiring lyrics of the last verse of "The Time Is Far Spent":

Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
The weight of your calling he perfectly knows.
Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you;
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.

I love you all!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

15: And The Toughest Challenge Yet

Dear All,

Another week has flown by, and here I am again writing an e-mail home. I'll be honest...It's been a tough three weeks. I might even go as far as to say that these last three weeks have been the hardest times of my mission by far. I'll save all the details for a future date; perhaps when we can talk to each other face to face, and I can explain it all more thoroughly. However, I will say this: the Lord has me here in Los Vilos for a reason. I felt that very strongly this week. And so tough times or not...I'm here to do the Lord's will, and I must obey. I won't accept any other choice.

With that said...I was talking to my companion Elder Monzón a few days ago, and he told me something interesting. He said he heard a few rumors that the zone leaders might be moving to Los Vilos soon. If that's the case...Maybe I WON'T end my mission here like I thought. But I guess the only choice is to wait and see what happens, right? :) But it's interesting. I remember opening my call in July of 2009, and thinking, "WHY do I have to wait until November to leave? I want to go NOW." I remember my Dad explained to me that it was that way because that's the way the Lord needed it to be. And so it's interesting because I'll learn in the next few months WHY the Lord called me in November instead of September or October.

I am excited for the next few weeks. We have an investigator named Fernanda that will be baptized on August 20. It's super weird because a few days ago, I figured out that she's younger than me; she's 19. But she is awesome! She's like a mix between KT and Cynthia. Haha. It makes me laugh every time that we teach her because she's really smart (she basically has the pamphlet's memorized), and she has the same kind of personality that KT and Cynthia have. She has such a powerful testimony, and every time I hear it mine grows, too. She's getting married to a man named Eric (a less active that is reactivating) on August 19, and then he's going to baptize her the next day. :)

And then there's Cristofer and Francisco. Cristofer is 14 and Francisco is 12. They'll be baptized on August 27. I love being around them because they REALLY remind me of my little brothers. They are so funny. They both want to be baptized NOW. Their desires to follow Christ's example is amazing. I mean...They showed up to church yesterday before us! Without their parents! They'lll be a great addition to the branch because we don't have any youth. The branch is SUPER excited to have two youth to pass the sacrament. I'm really looking forward to their baptisms.

A few days ago, we had a branch activity and we watched a seminary video clip from the Doctrine and Covenants called "The Man Without Eloquence." It was about a man who didn't have public speaking skills nor could he speak with powerful words. He was humble, and he bore his testimony sincerely. And thanks to this man (I can't remember his name), Brigham Young felt the Spirit SO strong and was eventually baptized by this man. As we watched this short video clip, I felt the Spirit really strong because I have been in that man's shoes before, and I've seen miracles come out of what I thought were weak, unconvincing words.

I have pondered and studied much this past week. I was pondering on how evil and corrupt the world in today; and it worried me! But as I was studying my scriptures during my personal study, I felt God's love sweep those worries away. And then I received personal revelation from the Spirit; I was taught that "we live in a world today where we cannot afford to not read the scriptures and pray daily." I felt that prompting strongly, and I know it's true. Because if we aren't reading and praying daily, the Holy Ghost cannot and will not be with us. And the companionship of the Holy Ghost is an absolute must in today's world filled with so much immoral decay and temptations. I promise each and every one of you that we are filled with peace and comfort as we study our scriptures daily, as we pray daily, and as we attend church weekly. If you're going through a hard time in your life right now...I know that if you do these things, the Lord will save you. I know these things are true because He saved me. The words of Alma The Younger to his son Helaman will be my second witness of this promise:

16And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the apains of a damned soul.

 17And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

 18Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

 19And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

 20And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

 21Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.

 22Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and bpraising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

 23But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.

 24Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

 25Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
I love you all. Until next week!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Nelson IV

¡Bienvenidos A Agosto!

Dear All,

All is well here. I literally have no time to write today. And I don't know what to say either. I have way too much on my mind, and I don't know what to tell you and what not to tell you.

But I will say this: Nothing has made me more happy than my mission. It's been the hardest thing that I have done in my life by far. But every tough task and every dificult time has included a reward and a blessing. And I want it absolutely clear that my decision to serve my mission will be a decision that I will never regret taking. If each and every one of you could only feel the way that I feel right now.

Again: All is well here, and we're looking forward to having a few baptisms in the coming weeks. (More on that next week.)

I love you all.

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Nelson IV