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

Giant Things

 Hola!

Another hot week.  We're burning up down here.  It has been around 30 degrees Celsius and very humid all week. It reminds me of Kansas. 

  

 

It was a good week though, we found some really good people. It's just hard because a lot of them work in tourism or at the Theater at the Lake which they are in their busy season right now. 

There are many tourists here from all over the world: Argentina, Germany, France and Brazil. I still haven't talked to anyone from the states yet, but most people from Europe still talk English. 

We are finally helping our investigators progress. The biggest problem that I have seen is the amount of people who could care less if the Book of Mormon is true or if what we say is true.  I have also been having a feeling as we have changes next week that my time in Frutillar is coming to an end. Even the members and investigators have been saying it. We were teaching a lesson and at the end when we were getting ready to leave, the person turned to me and said yo creo que Ud. se va a ir, which is "I think that you are going", and then she asked me for a picture and my information to write me during and after, and then other people have also been coming and saying that they think I'm about to leave and they want me to come say good bye. Its a weird feeling leaving the kuna of cradle, but it will be good, we'll just wait and see what happens this next cambio.  I sure do love it here. There are some great people here that I am going to miss, but it will be good to move on to another area. 

This week start the Semanas Musicales which are the musical weeks which is about 10 days of concerts and stuff like that, so it will be packed in Frutillar with people.

Another cool thing this week is that Marcos, got his first calling to serve as the secretary of the Elders Quorum, which is just awesom! I just wish he had a little more time to be around, he is still working a lot, but I was talking to the Elders in Lanquihue and Puerto Varas, and they said that if you take a bus with Marcos as the driver, he never makes the missionaries pay, even if he doesn't know them. He's pretty great!

Love you all!

Love Elder Nelson

Kuchenladden

Hola Familia!

Wow, another very hot week here in Frutillar, Chile, hovering around the 90´s, and that includes a lot of  humidity, so it feels even hotter. I'm getting more tan and catching up to the chileans. This week I did an intercambio which is an exchange with another elder in the my district. I stayed in the sector and directed it with Elder Chamorro from Santiago, its amazing to be able to communicate with someone all day in Spanish. We had fun and went to Frutillar  Bajo, which has so many tourists right now the beach is loaded with people. So we don't have too many investigators in Frutillar Bajo and we showed up at an appointment and they weren't there so we called this guy named Mauricio, and he told us to come back in 30 minutes, so we went and found a place called Kuchenladden which makes this stuff called Kuchen, which is like a gelatin cake.  It is very popular down here and very German. I don't really know how to explain it. But they had some some of the best tres leches cake I have ever had, so they do have tres leches in all parts of the world.

Today for P-Day, we did a district activity and went to a little town called Puerto Octay which is about 30 minutes from Frutillar in a bus. We got there and soon realized that there isn't anything other than really old German buildings, but that's just like here in Frutillar. Another fun fact that I found out this week is that the man who invented the gas chamber that was used in killing Jews in Germany.  He moved to Frutillar after the war and he still has family here. His name is Rolf or something like that.

But there is just a lot of tourists here right now, and the beach is always filled with people. So I decided that I want to go to a beach when I get home, because I really miss swimming.Well I hope that nobody in Rexburg freezes to death this for the next couple weeks.  Stay warm...

Take Care, and love to you all,

Elder Nelson

Hace Calor! Hot!

Hey Familia,

Hot! Hot! Hot!  Wow! what hot temperatures we have been having! It is crazy to hear how cold you guys are when I am sweating and getting a nice tan here working in Chile.  The people finally believe me when I tell them that I am chilean. I have a great watch tan right now and have only been wearing short sleeves all week. Finally I am enjoying the nice weather here in Frutillar but I know in about 4 months, you guys will be the ones who are laughing when it is nice, and I am in the cold and rain again. 

This week we had the oppurtunity to have interviews with President Rappleye, which is always a good. I can't believe it is my second interview because we do them every other change, and it is my 4th already. Time sure goes by fast, but he encouraged me to think about the goals for this year and what I would like to accomplish this year specifically with the mission. So although January is half way over, I would encourage everyone to do the same, to think of what they would like to accomplish this year, and work hard for it. 

This week was also a good week as Marcos, who we baptized a few weeks ago was able to receive the priesthood. It  is one of the best feeling to see people who you've taught and baptized start to take hold of the gospel.

We also have been having many encounters with drunks lately. There is a drunk that keeps coming up to me and Elder Magaña and touching where our heart is and saying ¨There is your temple¨ haha, and then he gives us a hug which is gross... haha but its funny, when its hot outside, there are even more drunks.

Well, I hope that everyone doesn't get too cold there in the States as I am very very hot right now.

Well I love you all!

ELder Nelson

Short Sleeves

Hola Familia y Amigitos

What a very hot week! I wore a short sleeve shirt almost all week and have been getting a good tan until yesterday when it rained all day.  We expect that the weather should be really nice this week as well. Remember this in June and July when I am freezing and you guys are dying from heat.

It's good to hear that everybody had a nice New Years. Ours was kind of calm. We didn't even stay up but we were awakened at midnight by the fireworks. The holiday, for most people, is just an excuse to get drunk and lay in the street. On Saturday, my companion and I were contacting someone and a drunk person came up and starting yelling and swearing at us and acting like he was going to hit us.  We didn't flinch so he grabbed my tie and pulled on it trying to rip it off.  He was a mean drunk. Most of them are nice drunks who just want money.

Also on New Year's Eve we went and had dinner with our mamita´s family where we had a whole bunch of meat.  Here are a couple pictures of our papito cooking the new years eve dinner which is a whole bunch of different types of meat on an outdoor barbeque spit. It was very delicious and I was really full afterwards.

Well the summer tourists have finally arrived in Frutillar.  We were in Frutillar Bajo this week and around the beach is packed becuase it is so hot. We are teaching a really good family in Frutillar Bajo which is nice or else we would avoid it.

This week I also had the opurtunity to do an intercambio with my district leader named Elder Colque from Bolivia.  He's a good Elder. It's crazy that I am able to communicate with a person for 24 hours in spanish. I love it! Its a pretty cool thing for me to be able to talk and think in Spanish and I feel like it is coming along really well. 

I wish everyone a prosperous New Year!  I can't wait to see you all next year in 2014!
Love,

Feliz Año Nuevo

Hola Familia y Feliz Año Nuevo

It sure was great and a lot of fun having the oppurtunity to talk to everyone for Christmas. I am already looking forward to Mothers day. This week, wasn't the most eventful, on Christmas Eve, we taught a lesson and then went into our home to spend the rest of Christmas Eve. We couldn't really be outside, but it was nice because I could finally sleep the night on Christmas Eve unlike times in the past. On Christmas, we ate lunch with the mamita which was a lunch of meat and potatoes. Very good meal. Then we went over to skype at a members house which afterwards they made us crepes. Afterwards we went and taught a lesson and when we were done they wanted to give us more cookies and this bread called pan de pascua that I dont like (It is kind of like a fruitcake only worse, with the taste of black licorice). I was so full by the time that we got to that house that I didn't want to eat but I didn't want to offend them either so I ate it willingly, although I had a hard time walking home. Well, I sure do miss all the old family traditions  of Christmas and New Years, I think that was the hardest part, the only traditions that people have here in Chile is get drunk, and a ton of people get drunk. I'm ready for the holidays to be over, because then there are less drunks. It is also finally starting to heat up, we´ve been having about every other day is hot and then the next it rains. I hope this doesn't continue for a while as I am ready for a nice summer.

This night (New Year's Eve) as well, we just go to bed, it is just another day in the mission world, but I hope that everybody has a safe and fun time to close out this holiday season.

Love to you all,

Elder Nelson