April Conference

A street in our sector.

Our Mamita & Papita's house.  We live behind it.

 

Hello Family!

What a great general conference--so uplifting.  It's like the Super Bowl of the mission. I had the opportunity to watch it in English again. I could watch it in Spanish but I love the voice of the prophet and apostles so I chose to watch it in English. It’s amazing to think that I was there in the conference center at last year's April conference just after I received my endowments.  That is a great memory for me.

I really loved the talk by Elder Craig C. Cardon about Forgiveness. Recently we talked to a less active member and he told us he knows he isn’t doing everything right but he hopes that God will forgive him. Elder Cardon talked about how God will forgive those who are living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I also really enjoyed President Monsons talk on obedience. That obedience is following the commandments even when we don’t know WHY. We had two investigators attend the sessions who aren’t ready to get married and I think that that talk was the answer to their problem. We are going to see today as we have a lesson with them tonight. We are just working hard to get these people married. That seems like it will be the common theme always here in Chile for the next year.

It was really cool to see Jaren with Elder Wilhelm and to think that just a few weeks ago I was in a meeting with him and my Mission president. It’s a cool thing to think about the size of this world and the place where we would meet is in the bottom of the world. Also, a big congratulations to the move! It's nice to finally not have to help haha, but I made up for it in entering firewood for 3 hours, so fun. I just want to reaffirm that Oscar can stay in my room until I get there, I have no problems with sharing with that hound. Just hoping that he is still alive next year.

Well, it is just now starting to get really cold.  I am back to wearing thermals not just at night but sometimes during the day as well. As long as its not too rainy were good.

Last night at 5:00am in the morning I heard my companion get up and go to the bathroom and he came back and was shaking and breathing loud.  He asked me for a blessing and I gave him one. I have a hard time speaking spanish when I am tired and almost gave a blessing in English but I did alright. Then he went to the bathroom and came back and was feeling better. He told me this morning that his stomach hurt worse than it had in his life, but during the blessing he felt his bowels loosen and then felt alot better. I sure am glad that I have the opportunity to have the Holy Priesthood. What a blessing in my life and I feel it truly is a blessing and a privledge.

Well I love everyone and I am so excited to be an uncle and to meet little Jentrina. I hope that everything goes well in the next weeks having the baby. We have been teaching a couple who have a little baby girl that has 1 month and I always think about Jeni's little girl.

Take care, I love you all

Elder Nelson

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

I Hope that everyone had a great Easter.  It was nice to remember the true meaning of Easter during this time. We went to some of the members and shared a mormon message about Easter with them,  by Elder Holland called "Totalmente solo" or "Completely Alone". It was really good but other than the Catholics, nobody really celebrates Easter.  All of the Catholics walk in the street singing and carrying crosses and stuff, and when they pass us they try to aim their song at us.  I'm happy that semana santa is over and we can return to normal. We also had a lesson with an evangelist where the guy started yelling at us because we told him that Jesus Christ was in the Americas.  It was a good opportunity to bear my testimony about it.  While he was yelling we stayed calm and I told him that I have prayed and asked God if Jesus really came to the Americas and he answered me - yes. I asked him if he had prayed and he said no because he already knows that Jesus didn't come here.  It's frustrating with Evangelicos and their pastors,  but there isn't much that we can do with them. They believe in their pastor more than God.

Well, I am starting to think that I am bad luck for my companions because this past week Elder Barriga had a pain in his leg.  On Wednesday we went to the doctor in downtown Valdivia and learned that he has tendonitis.  He needed to be on bed rest for 3-5 days so I did some divisions with another missionary to be able to work.  We still had to stay in the house a little and it was nice to get a little extra sleep.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying the nice spring time, and taking care, and staying warm during the time while it is starting to get a little colder.

Take Care, Love  Elder Nelson

The Talent Show

Hey Familia!

It was great to hear from everyone.  We were super busy all week.  On Wednesday we had interviews with President Rappleye and it was really good. When we finished we got a phone call from the zone leaders.  One of them was going on an emergency transfer out of Valdivia and had to pack, and the other had a meeting with the Stake President of the Valdivia and Calle Calle stakes, so he asked me to go with him.  The meeting included the zone leaders, stake presidents, President Rappleye and Elder Wilhelm. I think it was interesting to be in a meeting with my Mission President and Jaren's Mission president. We talked about ways to help activate those that have lost their way.

We have been teaching a man who is really nice, but doesn’t have any legs.  He is always super calm and talks very calm.  It was surprising when his friend came over to tell him something and he started yelled a bunch of swear words at him (I now understand the bad words), I just hink it is funny because I wasn’t expecting it and it was right after we asked him to end with a prayer.

I also had another fun experience with some drunks this week.  We were looking for an address  and a bunch of drunks started coming over to talk to me and the one said he had 3 questions: who is God? Who is Jesus? Who is Jehovah? and who is the Son of God? Then he started taking off his shirt  (again). He started to talk to Elder Barriga a little and another one started talking to me and telling me how I killed the Mapuches (Natives to Chile) and how mad he was that I killed him and how he really doesn’t want to punch me but if he has to, he will. And then he spat in my face, which was gross because it was beer & tobacco saliva.

On Friday we had a talent night at the church. We had about 25 people come. I played a couple of songs on the piano. Some other people sang and danced and we felt it was a good turnout. We are trying to get the people of the ward more involved because they are a little lazy.

Well this was the week for me. Have a great week.

Love Elder Nelson

 

la casita (our apartment)

 our kitchen

 My zone: youngest (top left) to oldest (bottom right)

My companion Elder Barriga

New Companion

Dear Family,

What a week! This week Elder Mendoza and I parted ways as he went to Puerto Montt.  I am now here with Elder Barriga of Santiago, Chile. He is great.  He is a convert of about 3 years, and we have about the same time in the mission. It was a good week, we found a lot of good people who we are going to start seeing who will progress and are ready for the gospel in their lives. We started teaching a guy named Ruben who is really good, but its sad because he was in a train accident and now he has no legs so it will be a challenge to get him to come to church. 

This past Sunday, my companion and I gave talks in church as well. We talked about magnifying the calling and helping others to come back (sublimanaly stop being so lazy). This is a ward of old people and nobody wants to do anything so we are working hard to animate them to start working because the attendence is around 30-40 every week.

We have really been working hard to work with the bishop here which is helping..  We have an activity this Friday which is a talent show. We´re praying that the ward shows us some suport in this talent show and that people will come and inactive members will want to come.

We are still getting alot of cold but only in the morning. I am back to sleeping with thermals for the next 8 months.

I love you all and am happy for Mom and Dad and their new house purchase.

Love Elder Nelson

Lanco, Chile

Hello family!

Well it's another rainy week in Valdivia, but it was a good week. We found a great guy named Ricardo and some families to teach.  They seem really good. It's been really hard to find people in the past month because they have been traveling and having visitors, but the school just ended their summer break and are back to having to stay here all the time.

A few weeks ago, a zone leader in a city called Lanco, his lung exploded and was in the hospital but then he was transferred here to be in my zone, so this week all of the elders in the zone took turns taking care of him, so that his companion could work in his sector, so I got to just hang out with him one night, and then on Friday I had the opppurtunity to go to Lanco so he could get all of his clothes that he left there.  It was fun to see another part of the mission. Lanco is a small city about an hour north of Valdivia with alot of trees. It felt like I was going camping.  (Speaking of which, I can't wait to go camping next year)

This week we received a call from the Mission President and it appears that Elder Mendoza will be leaving this sector to go to Puerto Montt, and I will be getting a new companion named Elder Barriga from Santiago, Chile. I'm hoping that my spanish is really going to get good now. I'm going to learn all of the Chilean slang. It's definatelly different to have a latin as a companion, but I like it. 

It is exciting to start another cambio, I can believe how fast the mission goes, I'm already in my 6th cambio out of 16 almost with 9 months. 

Sorry, this was not the most exciting week that i have ever had,  but it was good.

I hope the best for everyone in all that they do, 

Que Dios Les Bendiga

Elder Nelson

Satellite Stake Conference with President Monson

Dear Familia,

Just when I thought that it was becoming winter, we have been hit with some more heat this week. But the longer the rain holds off the better.

We had a good week capped off with a good stake conference yesterday. It was Satellite from Salt Lake City with Sister Burton of the Relief Society General Presidency, Elder Corbridge of the Seventy, Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the twelve and our beloved Prophet Thomas S Monson. It was special because it was broadcast to only Chile and was specific for this area. I also had the opportunity to play the piano in the stake conference. We arrived early and it was quiet or people were talking, so I had my paul cardall book and I took it up to the piano and started playing, soon after the stake president asked me if I would play for the meeting, so I did. I played bandera de sion (High on a Mountain Top) and Tú me has dado muchas bendiciones Señor (Because I Have Been Given Much). When I finished, there was still time before the broadcast, like 5 minutes so I continued playing some more paul cardall. I have played the piano almost every Sunday. There were some good talks, Elder Anderson and Elder Corbridge both speak Spanish, they talked a lot about tithing, that is what we are faulting now in this area, that is why they still haven’t started work on the Concepción temple yet.

In our ward here, a missionary returned home from Resistencia, Argentina, and we had lunch at their house, it was weird, he came home on Saturday, just kind of weird to think of that being me in a year and some, because the time here sure goes by fast. It is incredible. Including this cambio, we will find out who goes and who stays this weekend, and then on Monday, I will tell you who will be my new companion in the next week.

We are also really excited, we found a new person this week who is really good, we have been having trouble finding people lately. I think it is because the summer vacations end this week so I hope now it will be more steady.

Well I´m thankful for all of the love and support, and am proud to say that my testimony of having a living day propet was strengthed by listening to him, and I am so excited for General Conference in only a month! I also can't believe that a year ago this week, I received my sacred calling to come to "La gran Missión Chile Osorno". I have grown to love these people, as I have served them.

Love, Elder Nelson

 

 A beautiful hotel here in Valdivia

 They have McDonalds here too...and it tastes pretty good

 the Calle Calle River in Valdivia which has a lot of sea lions

they are so cute

 A view of downtown Valdivia

A view of the Calle Calle River

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