Week 82: "I got your back" and "The great apostasy started in Elders Quorum"

Buenos Dias a Todos!

To start, the special mission. This last week we got a call from president telling us that there were 2 people who got baptized in my old sector about 2 months ago who still hadn't gone to church to get confirmed and that he wanted us to go there and have a lesson with them so that they would go to church. It was cool to see the confidence that president has with us. We went and had a lesson with her. She was really stubborn and her sister talked a ton and wouldn't let us talk. In the end we had a good lesson and she promised to go. In the end she didn't go. But It was cool to go to my old sector and go on a special mission for president :)

 

This week was a great week full of teaching, progress, and crazy experiences! :)

This week we taught our investigators that are progressing a little bit. We had to leave a couple investigators that didn't want to read or pray unless they had a huge desire to read the Book of Mormon. But it was a good week. K with her kids and her little sister came to church! It was fantastic because she arrived sad and looked like she had been crying, but after talking to a sister in the relief society she was a lot happier and liked the class about Adam and Eve. If you could pray for them that they can keep progressing to be baptized on the 10th of April that would help a lot.

My companion and I decided that we are tired of not having progress and not preparing people to achieve salvation by being baptized that we decided that we are going to have a super baptism on the 10th of April and we are going to do everything we can to help 10 people get baptized on the 10th (in our sector) and 20 people get baptized that day in the zone :) So we are going to keep working super hard :)

This week we had a very spiritual experience in a Family home evening with some recent converts. Ke the 14 year old girl gave the lesson and shared a scripture about Jesus teaching about repentance. She then shared an experience about a girl at school who was passing through hard moments and needed spiritual help. Ke shared the gospel with her and invited her to church. It was awesome to hear that because you could feel her belief and conviction about the power of the gospel and I felt the spirit very strongly.

Ha ha this week we had a lunch where the person brought us the food the day before so that we could cook it the next day. It was chorrillana and had a base of french fries. We started cooking them the next day and after 45 minutes (Lunch is only an hour) the french fries still hadn't finished cooking. I was impatient and took them out of the oven and even though they were only half cooked and half raw I used them to make my chorrillana and eat it. My companion decided to take the half raw french fries and fry them. After frying them for 10 minutes they were still slightly raw. I made fun of him for cooking them twice and he made fun of me for eating them raw. He said I was going to die from uncooked potatoes. I told him I was from Idaho so potatoes couldn't do any damage to me. Well I didn't die... But NEVER in my life have I had such bad gas for 3 days straight! I really don't know how my companion didn't die in the night! He told me that he had to pull the covers over his head to try and filter the air at least a little bit! So DON'T EVER eat raw potatoes if you want to be with other people :)

This week the relationship jumped to level 10 because my companion saved my life. We were walking to church on a street that was kind of abandoned (It was a main street but in the morning no one was there). And I was happy on my way to church when all of a sudden my companion yells "Watch Out!" and pushes me forward. I turned around in time to see him stopping a drunk guy who was running at me full speed with an empty beer bottle raised over his head to hit me. The drunk guy began to yell at me because I was gringo and that I have lots of weapons that I brought from the U.S.A. My companion told me to keep walking and ignore him so I started walking and the drunk guy tried to keep following me but my comp wouldn't let him. The drunk guy got mad at my companion and threw some sort of liquid from the bottle at my comp (We thought it was beer, but when we smelled his suit it didn't smell like beer). My comp was mad at the drunk guy for throwing the liquid on him (Luckily just a couple drops). But anyways he saved my life and can literally say "I got your back"

Ha ha this week Church was hilarious!!! To explain I have to explain our elders quorum. Our Elders Quorum is a group of old people. The youngest one (Besides our new convert who is 22) is like 65. One only has 1 eye, another one has been a member for 6 years and was evangelico before (Yelling, fainting, singing, and jumping in church) He doesn't do that anymore but that is what people do in the evangelico church. And another old guy who thinks he is on top of the world. Anyways they were talking about the atonement of Jesus Christ and Never have I heard more apostasy in my whole life!! They were talking about God and one started teaching that there is more than one God that isn't part of the trinity. Another taught that Jesus only did the atonement because God was watching him, but that if God wasn't watching him he wouldn't have done anything. It was hilarious to hear a bunch of old guys saying such hilarious things. Luckily my companion and I had a chance to speak and let them know what is true and what isn't. But I received revelation that the Great Apostasy after the death of Jesus Christ had to have started in the Elders Quorum ;)

That was my week! I love you all! Stay Golden!

Love,
Elder Nielson :)

Week 81: Nunca! I like that word :)

Buenos Dias a Todos!

This week was a pretty standard week! Still feeling the hills but I'm getting used to having sore legs ha ha :)

This week we worked really hard to help the investigators come to church. We had planned that K H would come to church with her 2 kids who had baptismal dates for the 27th. They didn't show up so we called them to see what happened. In the morning someone entered there house to rob them so they had to deal with that and that's why they didn't come to church. I was kind of frustrated with the thief. Why couldn't he have robbed somebody else house?! I laughed at the question after thinking it. But what can we do? We will see if we can help them come to church this next week.

I am learning the sector pretty well and am gaining the confidence of the members and the recent converts. The last elder who was here was really loved to it has been really hard to win the love of the people because they are all sad that the other elder left. But slowly and surely I am getting there.

This week we watched a really great capacitation that Elder Bednar gave to the missionaries of Chile and Argentina. He talked a lot about using the spirit by asking questions and following the needs of the people. He talked a lot about faith being a principle of action which was cool because I received a revelation. In Chile lots of people say "Querer es poder" which means "Want is Power" but after this talk I left with the knowledge that "Querer no es poder. Hacer is Poder" (Wanting isn't power, doing is power) I learned that if we want something and we have faith in order to receive Gods power to get it done we must act. It was a very good Capacitation. Elder Bednar can't speak Spanish but he spoke some words which was pretty funny. "Nunca" Means "Never" and he used "Nunca" many many times. One time he said "Nunca!... I like that word". It was funny to see his personality come out a little bit between using Spanish words, fist bumping the translator, and more.

On Sunday we had a special Conference that was Broadcast from Utah for all the stakes in Chile. They talked about being of Good courage, reading and praying, and keeping the commandments. It was really good but the coolest part was it was all in Spanish. Elder Nelson speaks Spanish! Did you know that? He sounded very gringo but it was awesome to see him speaking Spanish. It was another testimony that he really is a man called of God to teach every people and language about the Christ.

We have lots of investigators that have to get married. The others have to go to church, and others are members of incomplete families that have hardened hearts. If you could pray for progress in our sector that would help a lot. We are finding lots of people that have great potential, we just haven't been able to turn that potential into action.

My studies this week have been awesome! I have really focused on pondering during my studies, asking questions about what I read, and focusing on the details. It is amazing how fast studies fly by and how much we can learn about a couple of scriptures if we take the time to ponder and ask questions. I have really seen a difference in the scriptures when I have changed my desire to use them. I know that the Book of Mormon really is Inspired of God and no matter how many times we have read we can receive guide and inspiration.

That was basically my week! Hopefully next week We have some good news about the investigators! Next week remind me to tell you about the special mission from president to go to my old sector :) I'll tell it you you next week :)

Have a great week! Stay Golden!

Love you all!

Love,
Elder Nielson :)

 

Week 80: These legs are on fire!!!

Buenos Dias a todos!

This week was a great week of finding people to teach, working hard, laughing, and getting one of the best butt and leg workouts ever!

This week we continued teaching L. It has been hard because he is living with a lady for 20 years but they don't want to get married and don't want to stop living together. Another hard part is that he used to practice dark magic and made pacts with the devil which is why he is looking for the Light of Christ. But it is very hard to teach that God has requirements when Satan's power was so easy to access. We will see if he keeps progressing. If you could pray that he can receive an answer that he needs to live the law of Chastity.

This week was a good week because we found many investigators that can progress and others that need to get married before they can progress. But we have some families of single mothers with some kids that can get baptized and bring the happiness of the gospel to their home. We need prayers that the Herrera family can come to church this Sunday. That is what we need more than anything.

This week I have been a little bit sick with a Man Cold. My whole body has ached (Probably part from being sick, other part climbing so many hills) But I am getting better so that is definitely a plus in my week.

We had interchanges this week I was in a sector that isn't very hilly which was nice. It was a great interchange because we were able to teach lots of people and invite some people to be baptized. It was a great experience because they felt the spirit after learning about Joseph Smith and they felt the spirit really strongly. It was a great interchange and a great chance to show the elders How to just go for it and invite everyone :)

This week My legs and Butt have hurt soooooo bad! Our sector has the biggest steepest hills in the whole mission. And all the Recent Converts live, yeah that's right, at the top of each hill! But it has been good. My legs are getting a lot stronger and I am getting skinnier again ha ha but they are on Fire! :) A good way to end the mission :)

My spiritual experience of the week. After a day of lots of appointments that had fallen through I was really wanting to teach someone who was going to progress and actually put our teachings into practice. I could tell that my companion wanted the same. We decided to start knocking doors but we were in an area that isn't the most secure in the night time and it was pretty dark so I prayed that we could be guided to someone who will progress. We felt the impression to knock one more door. When we did we found a lady who is pregnant and is going to have a baby in a month. She was really friendly, kind, and was interested in our message. She doesn't live with anyone except her parents so there is nothing big that can prevent her from progressing :) I know that God answered our prayers and guided us to her house.

I know that God lives, Loves us, and wants to guide us if we accept his counsel.

I love you all! Stay golden!

Love,
Elder Nielson :)