Dear All,
It's Summer, and I am once again reminded of just how hot it is here in Chile. A whole year ago this week, I was getting off the plane in Santiago, and it was burning HOT--especially after freezing in the MTC for two months. The fall and winter came shortly after I arrived, though, and I really forgot how hot it gets here! But...it's actually not all that bad compared to Las Vegas. It's a little less hot.
And a few days ago we had a scary moment when we kept hearing a bunch of fire trucks and what not while we were at the church. There was SO much smoke that it blocked the sun, and it was actually nice and cool that day, thanks to all the smoke. (See pictures.) We later learned that there was a forest fire that burned a hill COMPLETELY and that it took a TON of fire trucks to take it out. I can't remember the exact number, but it was something like 50 trucks. Yikes. My companion was scared and he kept asking me, "Is that normal? Is the moon supposed to be red like that?" I tried to explain to him that it was the sun, and it only looked like that because the smoke was blocking it's light. It took him the LONGEST time to realize that it was the sun and not the moon! Haha. It gave me a good laugh. :)
We had a good week. Valeska will be baptized this Saturday, and we are excited. She was at church with her whole family yesterday. Her daughters are more receptive now, and we are hoping to invite them to be baptized sometime this week! :)
Speaking of this week...It's going to be fun. We have a Leadership Training this Thursday and Friday. Normally, it's for all Zone Leaders, Trainers, and District Leaders. But this time President Gillespie is inviting all the Senior Companions because a lot of Zone Leaders and District Leaders are going home, and a lot of Senior Companions will be filling their spots. So I will be spending two days in Villa Alemana (my old zone) with Elder Hunsaker (one of the Elders that lives with me; he's a District Leader, and he has the same amount of time as I do in the mission.) We're excited. :)
We had an interesting, cool experience a few days ago when we went to go teach Valeska. Our appointment was at 7 PM as always, but we actually showed up a little bit earlier. To our surprise, Valeska's friend was there with two "missionaries" from her church. We greeted each other, and they said, "Oh, we're just teaching Valeska a little bit about the Bible!" I told them, "Great! I love to learn." We sat down, and we began to listen. They started off by saying, "Let's agree right away that we won't contend." Haha. We agreed, and we continued to listen to their message.
As they talked, Valeska asked me out of nowhere, "Elder, where is that scripture that talks about how there will be more scripture? In Ezikel, right?" I told her yes, and I opened it up to tell her exactly where it was at. Well...to make a long story short, that was when these two gentlemen decided to break their promise, and they started to contend with us. They went off on ALL this stuff, and they were trying to prove to us (using the Bible) that the Book of Mormon isn't the word of God.
They read a scripture to John about how there wouldn't be any more "Gospels." To them, that meant there would be no more books. I said to them, "Actually...The Gospel is Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving The Gift of The Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. And it's not that the Book of Mormon is a NEW Gospel. The Gospel is the Gospel, and it's taught in both the Book of Mormon and in the Bible." Haha. They had nothing to say to that, and so they tried to destroy me with another scripture.
To make a long story short...We didn't Bible Bash with them, but they were really immature about it. When I told them that I received a witness from the Spirit that The Book of Mormon was true, they told me that the answer I received was from my imagination! And it was great because Valeska even told them, "But we do read the Bible every week in Church! And I've read the Book of Mormon, and I know it's the word of God." Haha. After that...they just left. And one of them was rude enough to even say, "A pleasure, Elder Nelson....READ THE BIBLE!" I didn't let it bother me too much, though. And Valeska was great because she kept saying stuff to us like, "Wow. Elders! Thanks for behaving yourselves. You two handled that a WHOLE lot better than they did."
The truth: We can't contend or Bible Bash with anyone. Because when we do that, the Spirit isn't present. And without the Spirit, there is no conversion. But the cool thing about the experience is that it really helped Valeska and her daughters with their testimonies. It actually REALLY helped us out! And it helped me build upon my own personal testimony! It was awesome.
I know the Gospel is true. I know that The Book of Mormon and the Bible together contain the word of God. They compliment one another. And by studying them both, yes, we can learn and be inspired. But what is really important is LIVING the Gospel and SHOWING to God that you are really willing to follow Him. I know that by doing so, we will be blessed. I have no doubts. The Gospel has changed my life, and it continues to change my life every day here in the mission.
My challenge: Read the Book of Mormon and prayer and ask if it is true, even if you have before. You WILL feel the Spirit! :) I promise.
I am sorry this e-mail is all over the place, but I hope you enjoyed it. I love you all, and I will talk to you next week.
Con Amor,
Elder Nelson IV
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