Working at the Red Cross & my last interview

Dear Family and Friends,

This was a very hectic week with a lot of doing other things other than proselyting, but it is nice because we are going to be having a surprise baptism this week of a little girl who is family with some members.

We have been helping a lot with the Red Cross of Chile, because they have been having a lot of fires in the area of Valparaiso (a city in Jaren's mission). They asked for some missionaries to go over and help load up a semi of food and other materials. It was great and they were really appreciative.. One of the missionaries actually got on the cover of the local Osorno newspaper. It was really cool and a lot of people really looked at it so if you have time look up the Austral from Osorno, and it was the paper on Wednesday the 15th. The only downside is that there were a lot of young high school girls that kept coming and trying to flirt with all of the gringos haha. We just answer their questions and then walk away. On Wednesday, we went and helped again in front of the supermarket taking donations, but it was stupid because the managers of the supermarket wanted us to take off our name plaques because we were supposed to be there with Red Cross but we told them that the plaque isnt coming off so they got mad. oh well, we were still serving them.

On Thursday, we were having to go to a little town called Purranque to do some baptismal interviews for a women and her son.  The women is going to get married and baptized this week and they both passed the baptismal interview, but it ended up taking a good portion of our day. Afterwards we had choir practice as we were the bass section in the stake choir for the stake Easter concert, it turned out to be really nice and a lot of people came. There are some really talented people in our stake who did solos and duets. 

On Saturday, we had interviews with President Rappleye. It is the last interview before my going home interview. He just took the time to talk to me about finishing strong and sprinting to the finish which I am trying to do. He started my interview with the statement "Wow, you are about done huh?!", fun fun.

We also have been teaching a little girl who is family of some members and it looks like we will be having a baptism on Saturday. It should be a nice week, very busy but capped off with a baptism.

Well, I hope that everyone has a great week.

Love, Elder Nelson

 service project

 cow & calf statues in Osorno

 

Singing in the Stake Choir of Rahue

April 14, 2014

Happy Easter everyone, this was a really good week.

Well, I got drafted into the stake choir so this week we have been doing a lot of rehearsals because there is going to be a big stake choir concert on Friday. I am one of the basses and probably one of two that knows anything about singing.  Its funny because I thought  sang badly but the lady called me to be the bass part in a quartet, so that is a lot of fun, but its not easy, they actually have kicked a couple people out of the choir for not singing very good, its hard work being in the official Stake choir of Rahue.

Well, the time came for my companion to receive his carta Moroni which is a letter that asks us to give the name of the airport etc, basically the letter that says that the time in the mission is coming to an end so get ready. I worked with the secretary of the mission to get it laminated and put it in jello which is funny because he saw about everything but had no idea, we then brought the jello to a zone meeting that we had, it was one of the better ways to give a carta Moroni.

We are doing so good in the zone right now, we have been increasing alot in about every single number including baptisms which is awesome right now, we have been doing a lot of intercambios. I did one with an Elder Mendoza from Trujillo, Peru, and another one with Elder Perkins from Las Vegas. I have been in the mission about seven times as long as those two elders combined. One has a month and the other has about 3 months. I thought it was funny because Elder Mendoza ends his mission in March of 2016. I am hoping to be married by the time he comes home!

So a funny and gross story. Yesterday was the final of the Chilean national soccer championship and the local favorite Colo-Colo won, so everybody was in the street drinking and partying, we were going down a hill back to our sector on the side of a busy street. There was a guy about 20 feet in front of us who was semi drunk, and to make it known we are very used to people just peeing on the side of roads etc, that is very common, but this man went out to the side of the road about 20 feet in front of us and drops his pants and starts having diarrhea  right in front of us, and then he fell in it!!! It was probably the grossest thing that I have seen in my mission!!!

Well, it looks like in the next couple of weeks we should be having some baptisms here in our sector, which is great because we have been working really hard with a lot of people. I hope that we can start seeing our fruits.

We are just getting ready for the holy week here in a primarily dominant catholic country. I am so blessed that we believe in a living Christ, everybody should go and watch the video on the page easter.mormon.org  it is such a great video and really helps us to keep in mind the importance of this special time of the year that we are celebrating. We need to remember the words "He is not here, for He has risen" Lets remember it and share this message with everyone.

I love you all and hope that you have a great Easter.

Love Elder Nelson

Carta de Moroni delivered in Jell-o

The bass section of the Rahue Stake Choir

Happy General Conference weekend!

April 7, 2014

HAPPY LAST GENERAL CONFEREMCE WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!!

I hope that everyone had a great general conferance weekend listening to the servants of the Lord this past week, I sure was loving it but we will get to more of that in a minute.

This week started out crazy. On Tuesday we were on our way to district meetings when we got a call from some sisters in the zone telling us that there was a Jew that was a bit toasted and drunk that wanted to go to the district meeting with them, but I told them no. We got to the district meeting and the sisters were trying to ditch the guy but he wouldn't leave them alone so I went and tried to talk to him and he was high as a kite and I told him that he wasn't allowed to the meeting that it was only for missionaries. He kept calling me a discriminator for people of other religions and he kept getting mad at me and just wanting to fight me. I told him that he couldn't go because he just wanted to argue with everyone. I invited him on to go on Sundays and he got mad and started going into the church. I told him to leave and he wouldn't so I called the caribineros (police) on him and while I was looking for the address of the church he left by force from a larger member that was setting up stuff for the conference. I think I was the only one who was daring enough to get him out -- but that was fun.

That day we also went on an intercambio with another sector in Osorno, I was with an elder from Peru and we saw a drunk guy passed out on the grass and he had blood running from his nose and face and was choking on blood. My companion for the day wanted to just keep walking but I didn't want to stop so we went and found a neighbor and they called an ambulance. It was amazing how many people just walked by him. It made me think of the good Samaritan. We came back a little later and the guy was gone so I think that he was taken care of and was alright in the end.

We were doing a good bit of intercambios this week and hardly the time to work in the sector together with my companion. On Friday we had a zone leaders counsel which was good as have a lot of really good things from the mission and president rappleye gave alot of good compliments to our zone as we have been teaching more in our zone which is great.

On saturday and sunday, i was again in a little office watching general conference in ENglish but it was such a good session, i especially loved the talks of Elder Holland, both President Uchtdorf talks, President Monson in the PRiesthood session and Elder Oaks, i think it is so wonderful to have these church leaders that love us. The only way to find happiness is to follow their counsel. I felt like a common theme as well was loving God more than all other things and loving our neighbor more than all other things. It is wonderful to have this kind of loving guide and inspiration.

I hope that all is well, i am more and more excited to see everyone every day, but i am trying my hardest to work hard and take advantage of the experience that i have and am actually teaching more than ever in my mission. I sure am going to miss this special time in my life.

I love you all.

Elder Nelson

 Our current Zone.  I have the most time here (me: Bottom left corner)

 Elder leaving to go home

Doing Zumba with our mamita's down syndrome son

Getting ready for my last General Conference in the missionfield

March 31, 2014

I know that it isn't April yet but it is close enough. 

This week was a welcome back to the wintertime week as it was very rainy and cold from Thursday until today which is depressing again but it is still great. I have just had to break out the rain clothes again, but I think that people feel bad for us because they tend to let us more into the house, but never want us to sit on their couch haha because we are so drenched.

This week was a week of cambios, so as a zone leader that basically means a day and a half sitting in the terminal babysitting and making sure that elders leave and go to their sector. It was a really long day but it was fine. I got to spend a lot of time with one of my good buddies from the mission who went home named Elder Campbell. It is nice being in Osorno because we are allowed to go to the farewell party for all the missionaries going home but it does get kind of trunky thinking how little time I have left. I got to see a handful of my friends from the mission including an excompanion and an elder that I lived with when I first started my mission in Fruttillar when he was a really young elder as well. He lived with me so we have seen each other throughout the mission and he is home now, crazy how the time passes.

This week, we had a cool experience as a guy came and talked to us, and we kind of thought that it was just another drunk who always comes and talks to us, but it wasn't.  He was a less active member whose mom was in town from Bariloche, Argentina and wanted us to come visit them.  His mom is an active member, so we went and gave a blessing to the house and taught them a little bit, they are super good. They are not married and he makes chicha which is hard apple cider but they are really nice and we are hoping that they progress and can go to church.

Well, this week we are getting super excited for general conferance, it truly is like the super bowl on the mision, but we get it twice a year. It was kind of weird because the stake president decided not to show the first session on Saturday. I don't understand why. I think that only happens in Chile where someone decides to not show a session of general conference, but we will be finding another way to be able to watch it I hope.
This week we also have a mission leaders counsel which is always great, but i can easily see this week flying by and I think that it is not going to be as rainy this next week as it has been in the past couple of weeks.

I am hoping that it starts to be heating up there in Utah.
I hope all have a great week and enjoy listening to the prophets and apostles. I know that they are true servants of the Lord, but we have to apply the things that we learn for our benefit.  They will always tell us ways to be better people and ways to gain our salvation. Let us always show our love to the Lord, and not by our words but our actions.

I love you all and am thankful for the love and support that you give me.

Love, Elder Nelson

My tie collection

Staying in Rahue

March 24, 2014

Dear Friends and Family:

Another Cambio has now come to an end and to cut the suspension, me and my companion will be staying together for another cambio here in Rahue. It will be great as we get along well.

I just cant believe that I only have 2 cambios left. Wow the time passes so fast!

This week I did a couple intercambios with some elders, one was to Rahue Alto which is another part of Osorno and then another I stayed in my  sector. It was good. I went with one of my good friends Elder Jauregui who is from Mexico and is a way good elder. We had alot of fun but also taught a bunch, and now he is leaving the zone to go be a zone leader in Chiloé.

So funny story; me and my companion were trying to visit a less active lady who we haven't been able to find and a drunk old man came out and tried to punch my companion in the stomach as hard as he could, but it was a very soft drunk punch so it was funny and we just started laughing.  My poor companion while we were on an intercambio fell in mud as well while he was walking and the other day I was walking and a bird pooped all over my shirt. Luckily we were close to the mamita so we went and I changed my shirt but that is one of the first times that I have ever had a bird do that on me!. This week has been a really weird week as it has been really cold in the morning but really hot in the afternoon so I never know what to wear when I go out but it has been great.

I have been so busy as a zone leader with just a ton of meetings always, and this week was no exception, we had a meeting of stake priesthood leadership and a baptism in our ward so we didnt get to work that much on Saturday. On Sunday I got to do another special musical number, I think that I have done a special musical number in every single sacrament meeting and other baptisms etc. since I arrived here. They sure do love it. I have gotten good use of the Paul cardall book!

Well, I am exctied to be starting this second to last change which means about 12 more weeks.

I hope all is well-

Love, Elder Nelson

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17, 2014

Happy St Patricks Day!! everyone in the northern hemisphere. 

This week was a very uneventful week unfortunately.
It is starting to get cold, I have returned to put on my thermals while I sleep because it is cold and we cannot use our firewood until May 1st so it will be a fun couple months before we can do that. That will probably be the last time that I will use firewood to keep myself warm!

Our Mission President is ending his mission this June when I am ending and he is working really hard on cleaning and leaving the mission home really clean and dejunking it so we spent a good bit of time on Thursday working in the mission home taking out stuff. It wasn't dirty but it just needed a good cleaning.  I found out that the mission home is like Hogwarts, we just keep making turns and there is another room and then there is like a secret passage way and all fun types of things. I think I felt the most like Harry Potter that I have felt in my life!

We have been starting to play basketball in the moning with the AP´s. It is a little discouraging that we can't get that many to go and play, but it is amazing how easy it is to get out of bed at 6:15am to go play basketball but how hard it is at 7:00 am to just do normal exercises in the house. It has been good to get back in to playing and we are trying to play 2-3 times a week for an hour.

Yesterday in church I was really disappointed in the Sacrament meeting because there was just a big lack of reverence with children going and walking on the stand without the parents doing anything, everybody leaving and entering during the whole meeting and people playing games and watching videos on their cell phones and showing up late. I was really disappointed so I went and talked to the bishop about it and he said that I could take some time in ward counsel to address the problem. I talked to everyone and they came up with the conclusion that it was the parents fault for not controlling their kids. A member, the Sunday school president  (whose kids are the worst) made comments about how the children still have their free agency and he can't tell them what they can and can't do. I raised my hand and asked him: "why cant you? You are the parent and they are the children. If you need to have them leave their cell phones at home, you can because you are the parent and they are not." I told them about my parents and how I had certain freedoms but they were with the expectations, and how things like church were never an option and now I am on the mission, and then the bishop said "in my house my children don't have agency, they do not make decisions, me and my wife make the decisions." It was such a great counsel! That guy got so burned. I am grateful for righteous parents that taught me the gospel, and had me do what I needed to do so that I can now be in the position to bless other people. I wouldn't be here without my parents.

Well I hope that everyone is having a great week!

Love, Elder Nelson