Email rule changes and winter hike to the Volcano Osorno

Well, another crazy week from Los Muermos Chile.  Surprisingly it has been a very warm week (compared to the past weeks, although it is still freezing at night time).

We had two baptismal interviews this past week, which was kind of weird but crazy powerful. We went to the house to do their interviews because they had some problems and couldn't leave. We show up and the zone leader I was with came and started talking to the couple and the woman said that she has been thinking about it and just doesn't feel ready to be baptized but that she didn't have a doubt about what we share but maybe just a bit longer. So then the zone leader went and was interviewing her husband and I was talking with her while they were doing the interview. I was able to help her clear up alot of doubts that were kind of crazy, stuff she would have never said in front of her husband, and to help her resolve them. She started crying, and then I suggested to her to still talk to the interviewer and she said yes, and when she came out and she passed the interview. She told the interviewer that she wanted me to baptize and to confirm her, so I will have that opportunity and the husband is going to have his brother baptize him.

 Elder McDonald - Volcan Osorno in background

 Our winter hike to the top of Volcan Osorno

 White out up on top of the volcano

This week, we had the oppurtunity to go hike to the top of Volcan Osorno again, but this time was a lot different as it was freezing and the windiest I have ever been in my life. The snow felt like it was cutting my face, but it was fun, just really cold and we were basically in the clouds.

Those are the big hightlights of this past week. This next week will be baptisms, which I am excited  about and asking for all your prayers so that everything goes well.

I love you all and love the support, and just so you all know, we got new rules about our emails now. I can now send and recieve emails to  and from this email from everyone. We now have more time and can send as many emails as we want to anybody outside of the mission. 

I love you all,

 

Love Elder Nelson

Cold July 4th

Feliz cuatro de Julio to everyone!
I hope that everyone had a great 4th of July and enjoyed the celebration and heat.

This weekend started out rough. On Monday, at around 4:00 in the afternoon, it was raining and windy and cold and the power went out in all of Los Muermos. We usually start working on Mondays at 6pm but it was already dark, so we ended up not going out at all that day. Around 9:00pm the power came back on but we usually end work at 9:30 so there wouldn't be much purpose to go out since we live a little out of the town and have to walk. I thought that that was how the entire week was going to be, and I was super sad thinking of the 4th of July and being here in the rain and cold but we had a little miracle as later in the week we had a lot of sunshine although still cold. There was no rain from Thursday to Sunday which was like a miracle to us. However, it looks like that streak of days without rain is coming to an end.  

This week I also had a new experience, I had to ingress the tithing with the secretary of the branch, its fun to have this role, I get to see a lot better  how the church works with everything.

Also, my annual winter cough has returned for a little, but I am taking a lot of stuff to try get rid of it now. I'm thankful that at least it hasn't been keeping me or my companion up at night, its just kind of obnoxious, and very mucusy.

Well, this cambio is rapping up, next week I will be finding out my new companion or sector or what happens, so I will let you all know. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, its great here but I am also excited to spend the next 4th of July with all of you. I´ll just pass a great 18th of September here instead.

Take Care All, Love,

Elder Nelson

The longest sentence ever

So we enjoyed Jentry's letter so much this week and noticed he had a really, really long sentence without a period.  He told us that currently the mail is on strike in Chile and we decided that maybe periods are on strike there too. I left the sentence "as is".  See if you can spot it...and don't run out of breath while reading it.

Hello!

This week has been a very rainy and a very cold August for us here in Los Muermos.

Almost everyday has been rainy other than Saturday. The rain is so cold rain. I am so ready for spring time. Only a month left of winter here so that will be nice to start warming up.

This was a busy but very good week.  We have been having a tithing audit for the branch with the mission, so some people from the mission came, but the secretary didn't have any of the papers so they left, and I have been kind of in charge of getting everything organized, or in better terms, if Elder McDOnald and I don't get it done, it won't get done, so I have been getting familiarized with MLS, and have been finding all of the papers that we need, and getting everything squared away so this week we will be able to have a tithing audit and I think that it will actually go well this time, just a lot of work here in the office in the church, but it will be worth it in the end, so that there aren't financial problems here in Los Muermos, I am turning into a good 1st counselor, secretary, missionary. It sure is keeping me busy, which is always good.  It makes time go by really fast.

This week, we had a good activity where we watched 17 Miracles, it was awesome for several reasons:1. We had 4 investigators that came and they had good fellowshipping there, 2. There was a good amount of food, 3. The Movie was in english and subtitled into Spanish, 4. I saw my companion cry (I didnt cry but it was so hot in the church that my eyes started to sweat).

It was a great movie about sacrifice, and it was a treat for us to really enjoyed it in English. The little family who is setting to get baptized come out to the movie so that was very good. We are encouraging them to have the interview this week so be praying that it all goes well, i am pretty excited and really praying for that.

 

Here is a couple of funny pictures of a couple of sheep and a tied up dog. We were walking up  to work from our house which is at a bottom of a little hill, and off to the side was a sheep and a dog fighting.  The sheep was just messing with the poor dog that was tied up.  He would back up and run and head butt the dog, sometimes really hard, and sometimes he would run up to the dog and not go all the was, just pulling up outside of the reach of the dog, it was really hilarious to watch.

Well, I will be praying for a good recovery from Grandpa Nelson, and I ask for God to bless him. Tell HELLO to everyone from me, and enjoy the hot arizona sun.

I love you all, Que el Señor les bendiga

Elder Jentry Nelson

Fire & a Funeral

Zone Conference Aug 2013
I am standing right next to the Mission President (far left) sorry you can't see me very good.

Hello!
This has been a good week, we are really helping a family to arrive at the doors of baptism, looking at the 31st of August, so pray that they can get there. This week we went to Puerto Montt twice; once for a district meeting and the other for a zone conference and with a ton of missionaries right now, nobody extra special came, but it was still a good conference.  Our mission has been focusing on helping alot of people come back to activity in the church. Over 1000 so far in our mission! Those in positions of leadership should give little asignments to less active members and they will start to come back, then just ensure their good reception, if it works in Chile, it can work in the states.

This week, we were in the house, teaching a less active sister and we start to  hear something from the wood burning stove and then the house starts to fill up with smoke, and we went outside and there was a bunch of smoke leaving the chimney. A whole bunch of people were there but me and my companion couldn't do that much to help so we went outside, and then the fire fighters came (great response by the Los Muermos fire dept), and the house was saved!. She thanked us for saving the house because God was with us. I tried to say we didn't do too much, because the firefighters and other poeple pushed us out of the way, but she wouldn't accept that and so we are kind of like heroes to her now. The fire started because the chimney was clogged, so make sure to clean out your chimnee, or it is dangerous.

Yesterday at church, only 18 people came. It was an all time low in any ward or branch I've been in in my mission. An active family of 6 had a death in the family so they didn't come, which made it so that we didn't have priesthood or RS, so we all went to the funeral.  It was in a catholic setting with a bunch of mormons giving talks and singing and stuff. It was kind of strange but I got my first chilean funeral.

Its been going well with Elder McDonald. He is progressing alot, especially in Spanish. But he is doing really good and will just keep getting better. It reminds me when I started and couldn't really speak too well, it is a frustrating time, but its all good.

Well, I hope that everybody is still keeping warm, and enjoying the sun. I am trying to enjoy the cold.

Take Care,

Love Elder Nelson

Mean Geese

Another month spinning past...where did July go?  August is already here bringing with it alot of very cold temperatures and rain and it has been raining nonstop all week.  Despite the rain and cold, this week was a really good week and we got some awesome blessings.

Here's a picture of some geese that live close to us.  They always start going crazy and try to attack us.  They also hiss at us which I didn't realize that geese hiss.  This night we were on our way to see an investigator and they were their usual "unfriendly" and mean selves.

Also Sunday night at around 7pm, the rain and wind was really bad and the power went out again. That makes our 4th power outage in Los Muermos. It was out for about 2 hours and so we went home because it is dangerous in Los Muermos without light.  It gets dark here at around 6pm. We also had a funny thing happen, we were teaching a young familiy, who had a son of about 2 years, and we are teaching them, and preparing to invite them to be baptized, and i turn it over to my companion to invite them (the new missionaries are supposed to be inviting the people) and its right as the woman decides that her son is hungry, so this is the first time that new Elder McDonald has seen that chileans don't cover up to breastfeed, luckily I'd warned him before but it was still awkward for him, so trying not to look at her and the boy and trying to focus on me and her husband, he invited was trying to invite them to be baptized but got so flustered that he left out the part about being baptized! I don't blame him, it was super awkward, and in the end we asked them again and they said yes, so it was still cool.

We also found an amazing family. About a month ago, our mamita told us that her brother and sister in law that live about 30 minutes away in another town had a baby boy who was born premature, and this baby boy passed away at 7 days old. It was really hard for them, especially since they are catholic and he wasn't baptized. The Catholic priests told them that their baby was basically condemned. So, I suggested that they give them a Book of Mormon and to tell them to read in Moroni 8, which tallks about how infant baptism is an abomination and how children are alive in Christ.  That following Sunday they were visiting but still live in another city but far away from the missionaries, and they came to our church. Then lately, we went to teach with the mamita and papito and she told us that they had recently moved to los muermos, at least a little in the country, so we went to visit them, and bless the house, and we taught them the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they were liking it and we talked to them about the book of Mormon, and they said that they had already read a little, and they talked about the peace that they felt as the read it, and how much that knowledge had helped them with the grieving process.  After that they accepted a baptismal invitation, and said that it is something that they want to do.  Yesterday they came to church and said that the Book of Mormon was a blessing to them.  So true.  Many people are looking for these things but don't know where to find them.

This week, we have a zone conference and we're anxious to see if a general authority will come. It would be pretty sick if there is.

So this past week my cough which was almost gone came back and was really bad, including one day i lost my voice for a couple hours, so I went to the doctor and he prescribed me some medicine, but it was super expensive, like the 40 bucks. I payed it with  my card but the money that I used will be reimbursed by the mission. It didn't end up being anything worse than a bad cold, but i am finally over it.

Mom & Dad it's good to hear that you guys are going to be staying busy now in your ward, when I get back I will teach you spanish mom to help you in your new calling with the young women.

Dad, yesterday we were in the church from 8-2 and then again from 4-6 with tithing and other things so I understand how it is to be busy the whole day on Sundays, but it is good for you, just make sure when I get back you give me a calling it will be as a primary teacher or to work with the scouts or young men, somehting fun haha.

I love you and am thankful for all that you do for me. Keep working hard, and being the example to everyone in the ward, I know of the power of a good example, and I know that you guys are leaders now in that ward. Be HOSTS, not guests, as our mission president always tells us. Think of the different attributes of a guest and a host.

Love you lots,

Jentry

August 1, 2013

Happy August!
It has been a very cold week but not quite so rainy. Today is a gorgeous day with a lot of sun and a lot of dogs basking in the sun, I think we all are enjoying a break from the rain) Dogs laying in the sun make me think of Tanner and Oscar laying on the porch sunning and how Oscars tummy would get really tan!

This has been a good week with alot of growth and we have been finding people to teach.  We had to go to Puerto Montt a couple of times in the past week which always cuts into our time out because it is an hour away. I'm starting to get tired of buses but at the same time its fun because you see alot of interesting people on the bus.

 

Last night we had a way cool experience. We were passing by people and we had the feeling to knock a certain door and out came an inactive woman who was super nice,that we could reactivate. We have a lot bigger focus on less active members than  on anything else right now in the mission, because there are so many of them. We are giving them little assignments like bringing the bread for the sacrament and then seeing which of them are willing to come to church and we try to ensure that there will be a good reception by the other members for them. It is working well, about 60-70% of the poeple that we give these assignments to will come to church which is a great thing. Then with time they can have a calling, recieve the priesthood and other things.

The training has been going well with Elder McDonald.  He had the oppurtunity to invite some people to be baptized and of the two, 1 said yes the other no.  He also had the oppurtunity to anoint for the first time in spanish, so it was a very good week.

Well thanks for all the love and support, I hope that everything is going well for you.

Love Elder Nelson