12: The Fifteenth Change

Dear All,

And another change/transfer ends. My fifteenth change begins today, and it's a little strange to realize that I am now part of the second-oldest group of the mission.

Elder Monzón left for Viña del Mar yesterday, and will be flying home in the next few days. Since he left, I have been spending time with an Elder named Elder Naylor; he's my temporary replacement until my new companion (Elder Larsen) gets here tomorrow. Elder Naylor's also from Las Vegas, and we've been enjoying our time together these last 24 hours or so. We had a funny moment in the morning on the way to Illapel for the Zone meeting. We bought our tickets at the terminal for the 9:30 bus. At 9:30, a bus arrived and it said, "Los Vilos-Illapel-Coquimbo." And so we thought, "This is it!" And we hopped on. We were on our way when I noticed that the bus didn't take the normal turn. I thought perhaps he was just taking a different route. But we got a good laugh when the bus attendant came up to check our ticket, and he told us, "Um, sorry, but this bus isn't going to Illapel!" Long story short: We got kicked off the bus, and another bus took us all the way back to Los Vilos where we had to buy another ticket to come here to Illapel. We lost $6, but we just laughed and enjoyed the mistake that we had made. :)

It was a great week. It was tough because my companion was in his last week, and he wasn't all that focused; he was really nervous to go home. But the good news is that we had our two baptisms!

It was a miracle. The day before the baptism, Francisco and Cristofer's mom and step-dad had a big arguement, and we were really worried that it was going to affect their baptism. But we visited them and read Mosiah 24 with them; it is a great chapter that talks about how the people of Alma were comforted by the Lord in their afflictions. We promised them blessings, and in the end, all was well, and they were baptized! :)

What made the baptism more special was that the church ran out of gas, and so we had to baptize in ice-cold water. And I'll never forget it. Because as soon as we ended the ordinance, the coldness went away, and the Spirit warmed each and every one of us. I lie not; I don't think I've ever been in water so cold! But I will never forget the warmth that felt as I got out of the font with Francisco.

Being admist Francisco and Cristofer has really helped me out; they're great. A few days ago, I was thinking about the trials they were going through as a family, and it made me think of my own life. I thought about my own conversion story, and by thinking about it, I realized just how grateful I am for trials and challenges.

I am grateful for them because I can honestly say that I have been converted to the Gospel thanks to every single trial and challenge that I have had in my life. I look back on my life's challenges, and I--like everyone--have had moments where I have two choices: be angry with God or draw myself closer to Him.

Today I can say that I am grateful that I chose to draw myself closer to Him. By doing so, I have felt His love, and I have seen His blessings. I know He loves us, His children. I know these things are true because I chose to follow Jesus Christ every single time that I was faced with a new challenge or trial.

My heart is full, and I am grateful for the examples in my life that taught me to do so--my parents, my siblings, my friends, my leaders. To each and every one of you: Thank you for teaching me to trust in God and to follow Christ. I promise each of you that I am going to keep on preaching His Gospel, and I am going to keep on teaching the people here to trust in God, too, so that they can experience the joy that I have felt as a converted diciple of Christ.

I love you all.

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson IV