How many apples in a seed?

Hola family!

Great to hear that everyone had a great weekend in Idaho with lots of fun. We had a really good week here, we had Zone conference and had the oppurtunity for Elder Jorge Zaballos of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy came and talked with us. It was awesome! He is a very good speaker. He talked to the Latins alot about the importance of taking advantage of American companions to learn English, to be able to read the scriptures in English, because that it the original language that they were written in. It was very powerful and a great zone conference, but his wife also spoke, she spoke about not judging people from the outside, and not worrying about only little success in the mission. She took an apple and cut it in half and said, how many seeds can you count, and she said, 8, 9ish. Then she said how we can count the seeds in an apple but we cant count the apples in the seeds. How we´ll never know the effect we can have on people, And then her husband talked about how he was a convert, at 12, the only one in his family to be baptized, when he was 29 he was a stake president and he had the oppurtunity to go to general conference and he found the missionaries who baptized him, he eventually became a mission president, a general authority but they never imagined that when they baptized a 12 year old kid. That is awesome about all the missions that have been created, it is amazing to see the hand of the lord. OR a stone cut out of the mountains without hands will keep rolling until it fills all the earth. My Companion thinks its cool how there is a new mission in the city that he's from in San Pedro Sula West, Honduras. This group that is coming in of missionaries is one of the biggest yet here , with 15 elders and 15 sisters, its amazing to see this and to be such a part of it in the middle. 

So the other day, we went to visit a part member family, where we have been teaching the fiance, and she just barely gave birth to a little girl, it was so precious, it made me think about Jeni in a couple months, the girl was only 2 weeks old.

This week Elder Mendoza was having some problems with his arm, so we went to Osorno, it was nice but we lost a day of work, but we bought our bis tickets and still had an hour until the bus leaves, so we went to a store called Jumbo which gets alot of products from the states and they had Dr Pepper! It was the best haha, i also bought a rubiks cube which i can now solve in about 2 minutes, i will get to under a minute by the time i get home.

Well, Thanks for all the love and support that you give me.




All of the doorways in my new apartment are too short...I keep hitting my head!

Love Elder Nelson

Making Empenadas

Hola Todos!
Well, since it is starting to warm up for you guys, that can only mean one thing for those that are on the other side of the world, because it sure is cooling down. It's very cold in the morning, and it was a rainy week which never is very fun. I am sure going to miss the warmness, and now I feel bad that I complained about it. I think there is still a little bit of warmth left but it is almost back into the rainy season.
     It's great that you all had a great Valentines day.  It exists here in Chile but nobody celebrates it.  It's more just another day.  I think I saw one sign, and nobody talks about it. Really there are only three holidays in Chile: Christmas, New Years and 18th of September.
     This week, I really saw a great example of how satan tries to tempt and hurt people, we taught a guy last week and then we went back yesterday (Sunday). When we taught him last week, he was really good, opened up and we had a good lesson. This sunday, the first thing he asks was what did I do before the mission.  I told him worked, played, studied and from then on, he starting attacking me and trying to tell me how I studied for the mission to deal with people psychologically, and how he understands me and thinks that I am wasting my time.  The entire time he was only attacking me, but it was weird, because, I didn't think anything he said was true. I saw that satan was trying to hurt me in a way. We ended the lesson and told him that we can only invite you to know, we can't force you, and then did a prayer and left. I was thinking alot about the things that he said, and I really thought, if this bothers me, that is exactly what satan wants.  He wants me to be sad and to affect my work. I thought about it, while we were walking (because it was in the country part of our sector so a little bit of a walk). Is this man happy? No. But I am and that's all I need to know. What a blessing in our lives the gospel, truely a gospel of Happiness if we can live the principles that the gospel teaches.
Well, it is week 2 of only speaking Spanish all the time.  It's sometimes difficult but it really helps with my spanish  and to see the progress. I can understand alot better and I think that I can speak better as well.
    This week, some investigators named Raquel and Jovito invited us to make empenadas de Horno (Baked Empenadas). I'm writing in a ciber while they are baking, it was really fun. I'm excited to make them when I get home.
     Well I love all of you, and I am glad that everyone had a good Valentines day.
Love, Elder Nelson

First Transfer

Hello Family

Well, I am finally leaving Frutillar after 4 cambios and 5 1/2 months. I have been called to go to Valdivia, in the zone called "Calle Calle", sector Holzafelt. So I am going north, but Valdivia is very pretty as well, and it is a very big city. I will be with my first Latin companion there named Elder Mendoza from Honduras, who doesn't speak a word of English, so my Spanish will start to get really good I hope. I leave on Wednesday, and it is a couple hours away from Puerto Montt. I'm excited and know I can't stay in the same place forever.

I had a cool experience, Last night, Marcos (The convert) had the day off from work which never happens, so we asked him to go out to some lessons with us, and he did. It was so cool, after teaching him so many times it was awesome to have him help us, and it is great to have seen his faith grow, where he got to the point where he was helping. Then after that I said my good byes to Marcos and Monica which was sad. They sure mean a lot to me. They wrote a note to me, and in it Monica wrote some crazy stuff, talking about how before the missionaries came, her and marcos were very close to ending it, but when we started coming, and had them get married and the idea of the temple, they are stronger than they have ever been.

Yesterday, I  ate so much food, when you leave, chileans say good bye by giving food. I had cake, kuchen, completos and tres leches cake. I was so stuffed last night. I sure am going to miss this area but it will be good to keep going.

I hope that everyone is doing great, Im so thankful for all of the love and support that you have given me. Glad you enjoyed the superbowl. 

Elder Nelson

 

Lisardi Family, they are a good family and the little girl was adorable and my friend, her name is Josefa, she´d always talk to me.

 

My gospel principles class (one drunk came that day haha) and Monica is their teacher