Dear All,
For those wondering: The countdown is a reminder that I only have nine more weeks to be a full-time missionary. It's not because I am unfocused or because I am desperate to end my mission. I must take advantage of these weeks and love and enjoy every second of it.
It was an interesting week. I don't really feel like we even worked this week. Because last Monday we had P-Day. Tuesday was our only full day of work. On Wednesday, we had to travel to Illapel for our zone class. On Thursday we had weekly planning and then lunch. After lunch, we had to get on a bus to travel up to Coquimbo for a special zone conference that we had with President Corbraige (the President of the Area of Chilé.) We were there in Coquimbo all day on Friday. Friday night, our bus left at 11 PM, and we got back to Los Vilos at 3 AM. We had our all-day ward activity on Saturday for the 18th of September. And then yesterday we had church, and it was the 18th of September.
The conference was awesome. Elder Corbraige gave a really good talk on the "Most Important Thing." We went through all the missionary lessons, and talked about what was the most important thing about each lesson. It was interesting because with all the lessons, the purpose was the same: to help people receive the Holy Ghost (the most important thing that God can give us in this life) and to help them prepare to receive Eternal Life (the greatest gift of God.) It was great. Elder Corbraige is a great man; he truly is a special witness of Jesus Christ. His wife is really nice. She is from Boulder City, NV, and she is in our stake. :)
The 18th of September was fun--especially the activity that we had on Saturday. We ate a lot of good food, and we played a lot of fun games. I love the 18th of September; it's awesome being able to see the people of Chilé celebrate their independence. It's a little sad to think that it was my last time to see it. We were sad, though, that our investigators didn't show up, but we were really happy to see our recent converts there. We're working really hard to help our converts stay strong. I've learned that retention is one of the most important things.
Despite all the actvities and the lack of time to work this last week, I--like always--learned a lot and thought a lot about the Gospel and about life. I thought a lot about my Mom and my Dad. I look back on a lot of decisions that they made as parents when they raised me, and I am truly grateful for each and every one of those decisions.
I remember one time when I was in Primary, and I had lost the tennis shoes that I always wore to church. I remember thinking, "Well, great! Because I don't have shoes, maybe I'll get to stay home." I was surprised when my Dad told me that I had to go to church anyways. I can't remember if I went barefoot or with socks; but I do remember I went without shoes. I look back on that small act that my Dad did, and I am grateful for it because I learned as a young boy just how important it was to attend church--with shoes or not. Another time--when we had just moved to Mississippi--I remember "throwing a fit", and I threw a knife at the floor. My sister Cynthia was near, and the knife bounced off the floor and cut Cynthia's shin. My Dad taught me one of my life's greatest lessons when he kicked me out of the house and into the backyard and said, "You NEVER treat your sister that way." He had me clean a little bit in the yard. I can't remember if I did much cleaning, but I do remember telling myself that I would never do anything to hurt my sister ever again. I'm grateful for that small act that my Dad did because I've always strived to respect women ever since--especially my big sisters.
Out of all the decisions that both my parents made, I think my Mom made the greatest decision when she bought me a small "Future Missionary" tag. As I wore that tag to church every Sunday, I felt so powerful. I could feel that serving a mission was important, and I always wanted to wear the real, full-time missionary name tag. I did every thing I could to prepare myself to serve. And now that I am here in Chié doing the Lord's work, I am more grateful now than I ever have been before for my Mom and her decision to buy me that small "Future Missionary" tag. Thank you, Mom, for your love and for always teaching me to serve a full-time mission. Thanks to you and Dad, I have been blessed beyond belief as I've served among God's children here in Chilé.
I love you all. Until next week!
Elder Nelson IV
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