Mi querido familia!
Another week of the mission has flown by! I completed six months this past week and without even planning it I finished reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover the same day! It was very exciting! Hopefully pictures are to come!! My computer is a bit slow today and I am missing a bunch of pics from the last week!
So this was a great week! A great week to end the year and a great week to welcome in the new year! Lets start with the funnies of this week! First... we were in a lesson with a new investigator. Out of no where hna smith sees a spider coming towards me... she ofcourse knows how I feel about spiders so we stopped our lesson by me jumping up. I asked the investigator if she could kill it... except for the investigator heard cat instead of spider... so let me just paint a picture. Hna ella puede matarla? (hna can she kill it) and she heard... hna ella puede matar el gato? (hna can she kill the cat) I was wondering why the investigator was taking so long to decide... she then just yelled at her cat to get out of there... then she saw the spider and understood. Not sure if the picture I drew is sufficient, but let me just say it was HILARIOUS! haha
Next funny is the things children say... last night we were at a members house. We made scotcheroos and took them some. They wanted to give us something in return so they gave us a box of cookies. I was like oh thank you so much! That is so nice of yoU! then the five year old little boy goes... NO TENGAN PENA!!! which means like oh dont worry about it, it is nothing... and then after he goes LES ESPERAMOS! which means like we hope for you in the house all the time... it was SO stinking funny! they took a picture of him and his cousins trying to play my violin and they promised theyd send them to mom so she can forward them to everyone else.
So missionary work this week was amazing!!! We have 12 new investigators... three pretty big families and they are all really promising! One of them we had to spend an hour and a half explaining to him that the church has nothing to do with the american goverment. he kept asking why obama doesn't spend his money on the poor people in guatemala instead of the huge temple. it was actually kind of funny but also very interesting just how much the people here actually associate the church with the united states. it was great being able to clarify a mountain of things for him... explaining tithing and that those who serve in the church aren't paid and that it is the members money that funds temples and chapels... really strengthened my testimony of the organization and set up of the church. It simply cant be the true church without being set up how it was originally set up. The investigator was very grateful that we took the time to answer his questions and it was such a good lesson! we are hoping and praying for success with that family! they are golden! They don't drink coffee and have doubts about all the other churches theyve attended that our church doesn't have because it is the true church!! Anyway so that is great!
ANother great lesson we had was with a different investigator named luki. I had been reading in 1 nephi when they are getting ready to leave for the promise land in the boat. Luki was telling us about some vegetables she has that are supposed only grow here and in egypt. Well in 1 nephi it talks about how they brought seeds from jerusalem to plant in the promised land... so I explained to her the connection and it really grabbed her attention and she really wants to read the book of mormon now. So we will see what happens with them this week! We are super excited about all of them!
So we did exchanges this week for the first time in my mission. With how many investigators we have, and that all of them can only have citas at night, we are swamped every day! So we did exchanges to be able to visit more than two in one night. I went with a rm sister in our ward and hna smith with cecilia. it was really fun, but very strange not being with my companion... the "always with someone curse" has already taken hold of me! It will be SO weird being able to be alone when I get home... mom, megs, and karli might play companions until I get used to it again. Hopefully it doesn't take too long:) for your sakes! The night we did changes I had three dinners... back to back! I have been showing people pictures from my recital and every single one makes comments that I am a lot thinner now than in that picture. I don't know that I have actually lost weight but certainly inches from walking so much. All my clothes are baggy and originally I thought it was because of the lack of dryers... this week I learned that in fact my clothes have been getting washed and dryed in a dryer... so that is fun! Not sure how thats possible when I eat three dinners, but the 4-6 miles every day it working out for me:)
Anyway, sorry kind of short this week... hope everyone had a great new years eve and are enjoying 2012... the people here think the world is going to end december 12th of 2012... they better start listening to us:) haha anyway, HAPPY 2012! Invite the missionaries over to eat and more than anything... ask when you can go out and teach with them! BEST GIFT EVER to a missionary! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Be safe and dont forget your favorite sister missionary in Guatemala:) I LOVE YOU!
love, hna nelson!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Baptism
Hola Familia!! Another amazing week in the mission has passed by!!So first, I am going to try and call sometime around 1230 your time... have all your questions ready because president wants me to stay under 40 minutes between all three phone calls!!! AHH!! Its ok though... we will get to talk and then email again on monday the next day! Next, dont you worry... TIRANTULA 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I climbed up on hna smiths bed while she killed it... when she found it she started screaming which was hillarious because when hna ramos found the spiders I never knew, she just killed them. Then after hna smith finished screaming she thankfully killed it... we all know I couldnt have killed it! Time to spray our house again with bug killer!!!So this last week was AMAZING!! Beyond words!!! We had our baptism with Cecilia and lets just say it was so SO SO amazing!! The day wasn't actually too painfully stressful, but we were running all day long basically. So President Bautista had a meeting with us in our district meeting and he told us that as missionaries we should never give up an opportunity to teach. So from then on he didn't want us just singing hymns or watching a video while the person being baptized is changing their clothes. So hna smith and I decided to make a musical lesson. Everybody loves the violin and Hna smiths voice so it was perfect! We taught a principal (like God is our loving heavenly father, or the gospel blesses families) and then we sang a hymn that went along with it. Lets just say it took about 15 minutes to plan and the spirit was SO much more powerful in the baptism. When we shared the restoration I played the melody for Joseph Smiths First Prayer (whatever the hymn is called) while hna smith shared the first vision. It was SO SO powerful and without practicing at all, I finish playing the first verse of the melody as she finished sharing joseph smiths words. It was amazing! Then we sang that whole hymn. We bore testimony and the members and investigators that were there were touched. We had many people come up to us afterwards and tell us it was one of the most powerful baptisms they had ever attended. We are also seeing the fruits of gaining the confidence of the members too! One sister came up to me and told me that hna smith and I are very very powerful missionaries. She then asked when she could go out with us to visit investigators. That was great and definitely the blessing that came from us following presidents guidance. Another sister asked if she could make our investigators treats and if we could go out and deliver them this week. It was so amazing and that night hna smith and I were so very grateful that we were blessed with an amazing investigator and baptism, and as well that the baptism itself was so very successful. Hna Luki and Carlos came to the baptism so that was fantastic! I hope they felt the spirit and that the next people we will announce for a baptism is them! Cecilia is an amazing person. I wish you could all meet her! She told hna smith and I that before we came into her life she felt alone, but now she knows she isn't alone. Her husband died about 6 months ago and she is the only support her mom and children have. Jordy is 4 years old and she also has another son named bryan and he is 11. Bryan is a member and so is her mom, so just she was baptized this week. She was an amazing investigator and I hope and pray she will be an amazing member as well. She is so humble and happy with what God has given her. She has been one of the greatest blessings so far in my mission and I am so grateful we found her and were able to help her make this step. It was SO SO funny at the baptism we asked luki and carlos if they were going to come to church the next day. They were ify to say the least and then all of a sudden their 11 year old son carlitos, goes... we will be there! we dont have anything tomorrow right? Yeah, we will be there... it was hilarious! I am SO grateful for their children and know their kids are going to be the key! Their children are all ready to be baptized... if their parents would just read the book of mormon and we'd be set!! Please pray for them... if they would read the book of mormon they'd get that testimony and make the step to be baptized! Another fun thing of the week was offering service to luki and carlos for the house they are constructing. The elders helped with the house and we degrained corn (not sure if that is a legit word haha) basically they dry their corn out for like a month or month and a half and then they have to get all the grains off. They use EVERYTHING! after the corn doesnt have the kernals they use that for their fire stove and the bad kernals are food for their animals. It is actually pretty fun and the blisters go away pretty quickly:) I am hoping and praying it is something I can do when I get home. The corn tortillas here are SO SO much better than in the states and SO easy to make. Salt, water, and the kernals! Hna Luki made us all lunch that day and it was also DELICIOUS! I am not sure if I have told you yet but I LOVE the food here! It is delicious and you will all be happy to know that every week I am forced to eat fresh tomatoes... hna smith is convinced I will go home liking tomatoes... not there yet!! But we shall see, I am definitely to the point that I don't gag trying to eat them. Progression wise.. hna luki and carlos aren't reading like I said. We want to try and put another date with them and we will see what happens.MOM something I need!!!! Your carmel recipe! I think you are at work so I cant get it before sunday but will you make sure and email it to me? I dont want to use up time during our phone call writing down the recipe. Basically, I would love if you could forward me a bunch of your sweets recipes.. or maybe aunt shannon can send me some. THANK YOU!!! So this is going to be a great week for all:) Beau and Megan... and everybody else but especially them... I want to know EVERY DETAIL OF CHRISTMAS DAY!!!! what you got, what you did, EVERYTHING!!!! So you better have some emails waiting for me for Monday... ELder Nelson you too!! Let me know everything of how your christmas is! I hope you all have a very fantastic Christmas!!! Look up 2 Nephi 26:24... I am so grateful for all we go through in this life, every blessing, struggle and trial are things god gives us for our benefit. FELIZ NAVIDAD and cant wait to talk to you!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!Love, Hna Nelson
Feliz Navidad :)
Hola mi querido familia!!First it was so great talking to all of you yesterday! I know it was short but guess what... I FINISH A THIRD OF MY MISSION THIS WEEK!!! Six months have already gone by and I will be home in a year! SO CRAZY how fast time is flying by!!! This was a great Christmas week!!! Couldn't have been better! We had a party on Thursday as a mission. President was very hesitant in having the party because of problems they have had at conferences in the past, but in the end he decided to do it. We had the spiritual part first which was SO great! President talked about how Christ lived a childhood and teenage years just like we do. That he had to learn how to walk, how to talk, that he probably didn't have friends because he couldn't be like the other children or the other teenagers. We talked about how Mary and Joseph had to be worthy to raise a child in righteousness... that they had to teach Christ the scriptures and that when it came time for him to start his mortal ministry he was prepared and was able to quote endless scriptures from memory... all because his parents taught him. I also had the thought that through scriputre study christ was able to learn his purpose in this life. I thought that was really beautiful and a nice thing to think about that in reality the savior does know EVERYTHING we go through. So that was great! We sang some hymns and I was able to play my violin while we sang the hymns. Everybody loved it I think, and it was so nice to just enjoy each others company and see the other missionaries.All the zones in the mission did skits and that was super fun. If we ever come back to guatemala we will experience the craziness of the busses. One of the zones did a skit about the crazy buses... I will send a picture of two elders imitating a woman with her child tied to her back with a blanket... it was SO FUNNY! The office skit was also great... making jokes about the zones that don't turn in baptisms records and people asking the elder in charge of money for more money all the time. It was a really fun time! After the skits we had a delicious lunch! Lasagna with veggies and bread. It was really good and so nice to have a warm hearty meal:) Afterwards we just got to enjoy talking to everybody. Those who wanted to, could watch the polar express but the majority of the missionaries just wanted to talk to other missionaries. As of like 3 weeks ago we have a senior couple serving in the mission and i am SO SO excited to have them here. The wife is a convert to the church and didn't convert until after they were married. They both have very strong testimonies and with Hna Bautista they are both learning spanish. The wife (sorry... can't remember their last names) gave a talk in spanish... her pronunciation isn't too great but I know we all appreciated her diligence in trying to speak the language of the people here. So that was really great and I am so excited and hope we get to teach with them. It makes me think of Elder and Sister Gale and Byington that served in Michigan and I hope I can be close with the couple here, just like them in Michigan. After our party ended they handed out packages and HOLY SMOKES FAMILIA! I got spoiled this year!!! Thank you so much for the thought, time and effort you all put in to my presents. I loved them all and hopefully will have time to send pics of everything I had. I have bruises on my arms from carrying the packages because they were so heavy. I actually had to pay for three people when we took the bus home because my packages took up two seats!! I thought you'd all enjoy that:) Thankfully the buses are about 10 cents in american money! Thursday night we had our ward party and that was also great. Our ward really pulled together to put on their christmas party. They had acts from various members of the ward. We had a great investigator turn out and menos activos which is great!! Before I forget!!!! Is Sammy home now??? If so somebody tell her hi for me:) Anyway, there is a group of north americans that are here in Guatemala right now helping build housed in Llanos de Pinal (area in my area...) they came to the party and although the majority of them don't speak spanish, they sang a song for the members and they loved it. These north americans also brought tons of gifts to give to the poor people in our areas. It was so great and Cecilia (our convert from last week) was able to receive one of these packages. hna Smith and I were SO grateful for them, and now they can eat a little better for a while and I know they had a very merry christmas:)So Friday we went to help Hna Mary make paches... the typical Guatemala food for Christmas. They are like tamales but apparently different! I will attach pics of them so you can see what exactly they are. Anyway, we helped hna mary prep the food. It took FOREVER!!! But it was really fun to learn how she does it and hopefully when I come home I will be able to make them for everybody. Friday we had a party with our zones. We did a white elephant gift exchange... I got whips haha. Undoubtedly from an elder.... It was fun to see their ideas of white elephant gifts. After we finished we were able to give away the majority of the treats aunt shannon sent to investigators, menos activos, and our bishopric. They all loved the gifts and were so grateful to receive them. THANK YOU AUNT SHANNON!Grandma Doreen! Thank you so much for the stockings!! They are so adorable and I am so grateful to have them. Thank you to everyone else who sent things! I had a fantastic christmas and couldn't have asked for more!!! Hna Smith and I were asked if we were homesick and as much as I miss all of you, I was so grateful to be here and serve these people on christmas. I truly gained a better appreciation of the meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it. We are all so grateful for the birth of jesus christ but had he not performed the atonement, it would have been just like every other birth in the world. I am so grateful to be able to serve a mission. Zach and Karli, I hope your cruise was fantastic! I loved talking to you for a few minutes! Thank you so much for the package of presents! I loved them all!!Kori! Thank you so much for the letters and the pictures!! I loved that some of your girls wrote to me in spanish! I am going to try and respond to them today! Thank you everyone else for your thoughts and prayers. I feel them every day and I am so grateful to have each and everyone of you!!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!! I hope you all enjoyed your christmas:)Se que vive mi senor Jesucristo. Se que podemos recibir paz y gozo en esta vida por la expiacion de el. estoy agradecida por los templos y que las familias pueden ser eternas. estoy agradecida por espanol... me encanta hablar en espanol y tengo que practicar escribiendo en espanol en una computadora porque es dificil!!! les quiero mucho y estoy agradecida que tengo una familia buenisima!! I LOVE YOU! sorry can't type in spanish quickly enough to continue on... Have a great week and happy new year this next week!! I will be thinking and praying for each of you!!! con todo mi amor, hna nelson
Temple dedication:)
Hola mi familia!How is everyone doing this week?? I hope fantastic! I dont have time to read everyone's emails but thank you so much for all the emails. Although it takes up time reading them, it is so nice to get them! So first really quick... just fyi the mission is keeping all packages that come before christmas. Mom you package came but they wont give it to me... i even bribed my zone leader with cookies and he still didn't get it... but for sure it is here so you don't have to worry! Dad, not sure if yours with candy came ( I HOPE SO!) but it is probably the same situation... it came but the mission is keeping it for our christmas party on the 22nd of december. Jordy! YEAH! You are in the MTC! How exciting! I loved getting your email and the pic mom sent me! I hope all is well and I cant wait to read your email... I will have to respond next week! Sounds like you are good though!! I LOVE YOU!So this was an exciting but sad week... sad because we didn't get to meet president uchtdorf... all the other central america temples the member of the first presidency has had a meeting with the missionaries, but not this one. I was bumbed but I know he did what heavenly father wanted him to do while he was here. We didn't get to go to the cultural celebration like everybody thought we'd be able to but hna smith and I were so lucky and got to see about 1500 of the youth in their outfits for the activity. So that was neat seeing all their clothes and stuff! I also sent my camera with a member so she took lots of pictures that I havent even looked at yet! Hopefully they are fun to see. We hardly took pictures of us this week so we need to be better at that! So fun things of the temple dedication weekend. Hna Uchtdorf told a man that they ran into that she loved his shirt... the man took the shirt off and gave it to her. Then as they were leaving the cultural activity somebody threw a package in the car and it had a hand sewn bag it it... president uchtdorf was touched by the generosity and humility of these people. He was apparently dancing the the xela theme song luna de xelaju (moon of xela) and everybody loved that! They had a cornerstone something or other for the first session. President uchtdorf and elder anderson and the other general authorities that were there took turns putting the cement up. Then after they finished he invited some of the children and teenagers in the audience to come and do it as well. Hna Coti, a sister in our ward, had my camera and they ended up calling her son up and they got some really great and fun pictures. I am not sure I understood correctly but I think this temple is the first to have this kind of stone. THey supposedly put all the interviews they did at the open house(mine included!) in the box and sealed it shut. Not sure but I think that is what they said.So they sang a special hymn that has only been sung in the kirtland and salt lake temple dedications so that was exciting. There are only three countries in all of South america that have more than one temple. Mexico brazil and now GUATEMALA! YEAH!!! Very exciting and crazy because it is such a small country. The people here are truly special and you wouldn't believe how very true the prophecies are in the book of mormon about these people having visions... some of the dreams these people have are INSANE and I dont know about any of you but I have never had a dream like theirs... for instance seeing their father accept the baptism that was performed for him in the temple. Really special and neat to take part in this. We were able to go to all three dedicatory sessions so that was really nice. The words were all great and I was thankful that nobody translated at the same time president uchtdorf was talking. Somebody had to translate for him but he would talk and then theyd translate. Did you know elder anderson speaks spanish? Pretty neat huh? So the three sessions were great and president bautista got to be in the celestial room for the last session. His wife told us this morning it was really neat and that they got to meet president uchtdorf and his wife. A very exciting weekend for xela ju:) I don't think I fully appreciate what it means for these people to have their own temple here, but they are very grateful and many were very emotional at the dedication. Many of these people traveled from here to mesa arizona with beans and bread... all by foot. They are truly pioneers! We are so very blessed to be so close to the temples here.Anyway hopefully you enjoy the pictures... time is up unfortunately!! I love you all so much and cant wait to talk to you on christmas. zach and karli ENJOY YOUR CRUISE! Zach CONGRATS ON GRADUATION!!!! How exciting that you are going to finish!!! Very proud of you! Thank you so much for all the packages you have all sent! I will make sure and let you all know when I get them. Training is going good, we are doing well and have our first baptism this weekend!!! Cecilia! She is very prepared... last night we taught her the law of chastity and her drunk neighbor and wife came over to join us and lets just say words cant describe how interesting that lesson was haha. But cecilia accepted and we are pretty much set for her baptism. I cant wait to send pics of her and her little boy... he is adorable and his name is jordy:) Loved that!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Have a great week and cant wait to hear from you next week!Love, Hna nelson
MISSION RECORDS
Hola family... time has flown by me today so forgive the spelling and mistakes that might follow because i need to be fast!
This was a great week! Carlos and luki are building an extra room in their house so we helped them to dig the holes for the 2x4s. In case you were all wondering yes we used machetes... a big knife... to dig these holes. It really makes you appreciate how blessed we are in the states with our equipment and house building machinery. It was actually really fun and nice to be in pants for a little while. I was SO sore the next day!! From sitting funny for so long and because the next day... we walked NINE MILES!!!!! Yes that is right nine miles... and would you like to know what we have to show for it? NOTHING! haha it was one of those days where we walked and walked and walked and didn't have a single lesson. So that stunk but thankfully hna smith and I tried to have good attitudes and our efforts payed off the next day!
The next day we had a cita with a sister named cecilia. She was a reference from the temple and came to church without us inviting her because we hadn't contacted her before that. We actually hadn't even recieved the contact yet. So we had a cita with her and two years ago her mom and her 11 year old son were baptized. They arent active any more, but she never had the lessons because of her work. But now she is very prepared... her husband was murdered about 6 months ago and it has been really hard for her but we challenged her to baptism and she ACCEPTED! YEAH! we have so much to teach her still but if all goes well she will be baptized on the 17th of dic. We were so excited for her. my excitement was diminished slightly at the end of our lesson though because she has neighbors that drink and they were screaming at each other. i dont know that the man actually hit the wife or the wall but more than anything it was an awakening moment for me. I wasn't scared at all because cecilia said they never bother her, but more I gained a great appreciation this week for the laws we have in the states protecting women. Another one of our investigators hna gupil, that lives by hna luki and carlos also gets beat by her husband. Hna luki told me this week that he hurts her all the time. they have the laws here too but they aren't enforced. it broke my heart finding out about hna gupil and it makes me terrified that the one time we found her husband in the house he hurt her because we told him we had stopped by with his wife before. That was an experience I will remember and I am determined to help however I can after my mission to help these women have better protection from their drunk husbands. SO SAD! The gospel can only help a willing heart and mind... but putting the date with cecilia was so great and I am so grateful hna smith and i could have that experience together.
We had another very prepared investigator but turns out that she is having the lessons with a different set of missionaries so she wont be our baptism but still great the power the temple had in helping these people feel the spirit.
We had a good lesson with luki and carlos this week too. We ended up having to explain to them about polygamy because a friend of theirs mentioned it and told them they refused to go to the temple because of it. I think we explained as well as we could and they told us they are really going to try and find out if it is true. We are trying to have the faith that they will accept it before the end of the year, because if they do we will be able to see them be sealed as a family in a year. If not heavenly father knows what they need.
I hope you all got to watch the devotional! IT was GREAT and I was so SO grateful to not only watch it but watch it in english. it is really hard to understand when they are doing the translation because I cant watch their lips. I loved all three messages and it was so fun to see the orchestra at temple square. I really want to audition for the orchestra when I get back. that would be such a neat experience. anyway, we had to have an investigator to be able to go and orginally hna mary told us her sister in law would come with us and at the last minute she backed out. hna mary didn't understand we couldnt go without her sister in law so she talked her mom into going. (none of them are members) we have a lesson with them tonight and we are hoping to teach her mom as well .
anyway my leaders are sitting here waiting for me to get off... just a quick list of things you could send me IF YOU HAVEN"T ALREADY SENT ME SOMETHING!!! If so DONT WORRY about it!
crest with scope... how i will miss that toothpaste while i am here
butterscotch chocolate chips and regular chocolate milk chocolate chips
candy... obviously:)
long sleeve cardigains... I could use some black ones or what ever other color... it is really cold at night and in the morning when we are studying
oxy clean... they don't sell it here and my white shirts could use some!
Thank you so much for your love! I lvoe you all an sorry for the short email this week . BUENA SUERTE JORDY!! Have fun dropping him off at the MTC I love you all and HAPPY DECEMBER! Christmas is almost here and we will get to talk on the phone! I LVOE YOU!
love, hna nelson
This was a great week! Carlos and luki are building an extra room in their house so we helped them to dig the holes for the 2x4s. In case you were all wondering yes we used machetes... a big knife... to dig these holes. It really makes you appreciate how blessed we are in the states with our equipment and house building machinery. It was actually really fun and nice to be in pants for a little while. I was SO sore the next day!! From sitting funny for so long and because the next day... we walked NINE MILES!!!!! Yes that is right nine miles... and would you like to know what we have to show for it? NOTHING! haha it was one of those days where we walked and walked and walked and didn't have a single lesson. So that stunk but thankfully hna smith and I tried to have good attitudes and our efforts payed off the next day!
The next day we had a cita with a sister named cecilia. She was a reference from the temple and came to church without us inviting her because we hadn't contacted her before that. We actually hadn't even recieved the contact yet. So we had a cita with her and two years ago her mom and her 11 year old son were baptized. They arent active any more, but she never had the lessons because of her work. But now she is very prepared... her husband was murdered about 6 months ago and it has been really hard for her but we challenged her to baptism and she ACCEPTED! YEAH! we have so much to teach her still but if all goes well she will be baptized on the 17th of dic. We were so excited for her. my excitement was diminished slightly at the end of our lesson though because she has neighbors that drink and they were screaming at each other. i dont know that the man actually hit the wife or the wall but more than anything it was an awakening moment for me. I wasn't scared at all because cecilia said they never bother her, but more I gained a great appreciation this week for the laws we have in the states protecting women. Another one of our investigators hna gupil, that lives by hna luki and carlos also gets beat by her husband. Hna luki told me this week that he hurts her all the time. they have the laws here too but they aren't enforced. it broke my heart finding out about hna gupil and it makes me terrified that the one time we found her husband in the house he hurt her because we told him we had stopped by with his wife before. That was an experience I will remember and I am determined to help however I can after my mission to help these women have better protection from their drunk husbands. SO SAD! The gospel can only help a willing heart and mind... but putting the date with cecilia was so great and I am so grateful hna smith and i could have that experience together.
We had another very prepared investigator but turns out that she is having the lessons with a different set of missionaries so she wont be our baptism but still great the power the temple had in helping these people feel the spirit.
We had a good lesson with luki and carlos this week too. We ended up having to explain to them about polygamy because a friend of theirs mentioned it and told them they refused to go to the temple because of it. I think we explained as well as we could and they told us they are really going to try and find out if it is true. We are trying to have the faith that they will accept it before the end of the year, because if they do we will be able to see them be sealed as a family in a year. If not heavenly father knows what they need.
I hope you all got to watch the devotional! IT was GREAT and I was so SO grateful to not only watch it but watch it in english. it is really hard to understand when they are doing the translation because I cant watch their lips. I loved all three messages and it was so fun to see the orchestra at temple square. I really want to audition for the orchestra when I get back. that would be such a neat experience. anyway, we had to have an investigator to be able to go and orginally hna mary told us her sister in law would come with us and at the last minute she backed out. hna mary didn't understand we couldnt go without her sister in law so she talked her mom into going. (none of them are members) we have a lesson with them tonight and we are hoping to teach her mom as well .
anyway my leaders are sitting here waiting for me to get off... just a quick list of things you could send me IF YOU HAVEN"T ALREADY SENT ME SOMETHING!!! If so DONT WORRY about it!
crest with scope... how i will miss that toothpaste while i am here
butterscotch chocolate chips and regular chocolate milk chocolate chips
candy... obviously:)
long sleeve cardigains... I could use some black ones or what ever other color... it is really cold at night and in the morning when we are studying
oxy clean... they don't sell it here and my white shirts could use some!
Thank you so much for your love! I lvoe you all an sorry for the short email this week . BUENA SUERTE JORDY!! Have fun dropping him off at the MTC I love you all and HAPPY DECEMBER! Christmas is almost here and we will get to talk on the phone! I LVOE YOU!
love, hna nelson
Training a norte :)
Hola mi familia!!
So big surprise of the week... not only am I training 12 weeks in to my mission but I am also training a north american, not a latina!!! Lets just say my nerves were very high when president announced that we would be companions but after our first week, things are going to be fantastic and I know we were supposed to be companions! Her name is Hna Smith. She is from Wyoming! She is giant (especially compared to me) :) and so sweet and loving! We are still in las flores so it was nice only having to train and not move areas as well like hna ramos. Hna ramos is in minerva which is really close to my area but is a different zone. Her new companion is Hna Pablo. They are both latinas. So that was the biggest surprise of how the sisters got assigned to their companions. There were three north americans and three latinas. Three latinas that are training and three north americans. me, hna morgan who was with me in the mtc and ccm and hna olsen (my grandma in the mission) So you'd think we would get the three latinas and the latinas would get the three north americans. Well God had a different plan than all of us were expecting! I got a norte an the other two nortes got a latina. Hna ramos got a latina and the other two latinas the nortes (I was convinced that hna ramos would have a latina because she has been told by her stake president and both presidente bautista and presidente lorenzana (previous mission pres) that learning english would be very important in her mission... God knows all though!) So that was a surprise and some of the sisters in the mission were really shocked when they saw I was not only training but training a north american. But I know I can do it and I know we are going to be great together!! Bring on the challenge:)
So this was a crazy week!!! A very crazy first week for Hna Smith for sure. We had to work in the temple every single day this past week. They were expecting about 80,000 people to come to the open house and the actual number!! 126,492! Crazy huh?? People are saying this open house was an even bigger success than el salvador because the open house here was only 2 weeks long and the open house there was 3 weeks long. SO that is pretty exciting! We had some very long nights this week and didn't get to bed until 11 or 1130 because we didn't even leave the temple until 10. So that was nuts. An elder actually pointed out the dark circles under my eyes the other day and congratulated me for working hard. My comment to hna ramos after he said that... he's never going to get married:) haha it was pretty funny, but I am sure he will learn on his mission:) It was really fun working at the temple though. We lost basically all our citas with people this week, but it was great being able to talk to people and teach them a little bit about the church. We also have been contacting references like CRAZY! Some of them aren't good references and others are great so we will see what success we can have from them.
So training is going well, it is surprising how easy it has been and I know so many of my experiences before my mission prepared me for this time. Hna Smith is PILAS! (spanish for getter done):) She talks to everyone and I love that about her. She isn't afraid to knock a door and has really amazing ideas. I have learned a lot from her so far and we are going to have agreat time together. I will probably eat significantly healthier with her because she is making sure I get all the basic food groups every day:) She loves cooking too so I am really excited to see what I can learn from her. This week will probably be a little more challenging because we will actually start working but she has a great attitude and is ready to work.
So luki and carlos went to the temple for a 3rd time!! I was so happy for them! We have a cita with them tonight and I am hoping we will finally get over the hurdle we have had. Hopefully they have continued reading from the book of mormon and felt the spirit in the temple! So we shall see. We also contacted into a really great family. They have a lot of money and are really nice. The husband is an inactive member of the church but he still believes in the church and we are going to start teaching his wife and kids and maybe they will join and help their family become active members. They work at a spanish school here (there are a bunch of spanish schools here. People will come for a month and only focus on learning spanish) and their schools has a lot of humanitarian projects and if I have the money I would love to come back after my misison and work for their school. Tha would be really fun and their school is a non-profit organization which is great too. So we will see what happens with them. I am very grateful for the open house and that we have a lot of people to contact and hopefully who will become new investigators.
Anyway, this was a good and fun week. I am loving my time with Hna Smith and training is going well. Walking a bunch always and enjoying the life of a misisonary. I am so grateful to be here in guatemala and when I think of all the people I have met so far, I am so grateful for being sent here to this place. It is amazing how much my spanish understanding has jumped without having hna ramos to rely on. The gift of tounges is real for SURE and I am so grateful for it. I hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving and that you enjoyed some orange rolls and turkey for me. We went to Emilianos (our restaurant) and they gave us an amazing dinner for thanksgiving after we finished in the temple that day so that was fantastic. We have two sisters that live pretty close to us and I think we will probably spend a lot of time with them. Hna Harvey and Hna Silva... Hna Harvey came with Hna Smith so I know it is very helpful for here when we spend time together. Anyway, time has again come and gone:) I love you all so much and miss and pray for you always!! Happy first of december this week and Jordy! BUENA SUERTE ESTA SEMANA! LA MISION ES FANTASTICO! ESTOY EMOCIONADA PARA TI! LES QUIERO MUCHO!!
So big surprise of the week... not only am I training 12 weeks in to my mission but I am also training a north american, not a latina!!! Lets just say my nerves were very high when president announced that we would be companions but after our first week, things are going to be fantastic and I know we were supposed to be companions! Her name is Hna Smith. She is from Wyoming! She is giant (especially compared to me) :) and so sweet and loving! We are still in las flores so it was nice only having to train and not move areas as well like hna ramos. Hna ramos is in minerva which is really close to my area but is a different zone. Her new companion is Hna Pablo. They are both latinas. So that was the biggest surprise of how the sisters got assigned to their companions. There were three north americans and three latinas. Three latinas that are training and three north americans. me, hna morgan who was with me in the mtc and ccm and hna olsen (my grandma in the mission) So you'd think we would get the three latinas and the latinas would get the three north americans. Well God had a different plan than all of us were expecting! I got a norte an the other two nortes got a latina. Hna ramos got a latina and the other two latinas the nortes (I was convinced that hna ramos would have a latina because she has been told by her stake president and both presidente bautista and presidente lorenzana (previous mission pres) that learning english would be very important in her mission... God knows all though!) So that was a surprise and some of the sisters in the mission were really shocked when they saw I was not only training but training a north american. But I know I can do it and I know we are going to be great together!! Bring on the challenge:)
So this was a crazy week!!! A very crazy first week for Hna Smith for sure. We had to work in the temple every single day this past week. They were expecting about 80,000 people to come to the open house and the actual number!! 126,492! Crazy huh?? People are saying this open house was an even bigger success than el salvador because the open house here was only 2 weeks long and the open house there was 3 weeks long. SO that is pretty exciting! We had some very long nights this week and didn't get to bed until 11 or 1130 because we didn't even leave the temple until 10. So that was nuts. An elder actually pointed out the dark circles under my eyes the other day and congratulated me for working hard. My comment to hna ramos after he said that... he's never going to get married:) haha it was pretty funny, but I am sure he will learn on his mission:) It was really fun working at the temple though. We lost basically all our citas with people this week, but it was great being able to talk to people and teach them a little bit about the church. We also have been contacting references like CRAZY! Some of them aren't good references and others are great so we will see what success we can have from them.
So training is going well, it is surprising how easy it has been and I know so many of my experiences before my mission prepared me for this time. Hna Smith is PILAS! (spanish for getter done):) She talks to everyone and I love that about her. She isn't afraid to knock a door and has really amazing ideas. I have learned a lot from her so far and we are going to have agreat time together. I will probably eat significantly healthier with her because she is making sure I get all the basic food groups every day:) She loves cooking too so I am really excited to see what I can learn from her. This week will probably be a little more challenging because we will actually start working but she has a great attitude and is ready to work.
So luki and carlos went to the temple for a 3rd time!! I was so happy for them! We have a cita with them tonight and I am hoping we will finally get over the hurdle we have had. Hopefully they have continued reading from the book of mormon and felt the spirit in the temple! So we shall see. We also contacted into a really great family. They have a lot of money and are really nice. The husband is an inactive member of the church but he still believes in the church and we are going to start teaching his wife and kids and maybe they will join and help their family become active members. They work at a spanish school here (there are a bunch of spanish schools here. People will come for a month and only focus on learning spanish) and their schools has a lot of humanitarian projects and if I have the money I would love to come back after my misison and work for their school. Tha would be really fun and their school is a non-profit organization which is great too. So we will see what happens with them. I am very grateful for the open house and that we have a lot of people to contact and hopefully who will become new investigators.
Anyway, this was a good and fun week. I am loving my time with Hna Smith and training is going well. Walking a bunch always and enjoying the life of a misisonary. I am so grateful to be here in guatemala and when I think of all the people I have met so far, I am so grateful for being sent here to this place. It is amazing how much my spanish understanding has jumped without having hna ramos to rely on. The gift of tounges is real for SURE and I am so grateful for it. I hope everyone had a fantastic thanksgiving and that you enjoyed some orange rolls and turkey for me. We went to Emilianos (our restaurant) and they gave us an amazing dinner for thanksgiving after we finished in the temple that day so that was fantastic. We have two sisters that live pretty close to us and I think we will probably spend a lot of time with them. Hna Harvey and Hna Silva... Hna Harvey came with Hna Smith so I know it is very helpful for here when we spend time together. Anyway, time has again come and gone:) I love you all so much and miss and pray for you always!! Happy first of december this week and Jordy! BUENA SUERTE ESTA SEMANA! LA MISION ES FANTASTICO! ESTOY EMOCIONADA PARA TI! LES QUIERO MUCHO!!
Training anyone??
Hola mi querido familia! How is everyone doing? I hope fantastic! This was a week of CHANGES!! First off... none of you will guess but I will be a trainer these next two transfers.. AHHHHHH! haha there are like 10 missionaries from my group that will be training the incoming missionaries and I am one of them. I am more nervous about her being a north american and spanish not being so great for her. I understand the majority but there are still moments when I have no idea what the person is saying. (the worst is on the phone..) There are thankfully only 3 sisters coming in that don't speak spanish... 9 in total. Hna Ramos will also be training and she will be moving to an area called minerva. I will stay in my area (las flores) and unless something strange happens I will be there for another 3 months. The church has come out with a new training program where the new missionaries train for 12 weeks and have 2 hours of companion study every day. I love it and I am excited I will be able to continue that. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME THIS WEEK!! I am excited but nervous because of the responsibility but I know that Heavenly Father wouldn't have me train if he didn't think I could do it! So we are going for it!! We also had another exiting good lesson with Luki and Carlos... really good lesson! We had a meeting with President tuesday and he gave a great lesson and we wanted to apply what he taught us. So we planned really thouroughly and amazingly enough we saw the benefits!!! Luki has been having tests to see if she has cancer in her uterus. We didn't know anything about this thought. So, up until Tuesday this past week all the results were bad and she was really scared that she has cancer and was going to die before seeing her children grow up. She has been super stressed about this and has been praying for positive results of these tests as well as an answer that this church is where she needs to be. Tuesday during the day, she finally got back test results that were completely positive and she is clear of all the bad things. Then Tuesday night we went through the temple with them and it was AMAZING! The guides didn't say anything about the mirrors in the sealing room so I explained it to Carlos. We didn't end up going back with them because of another story that is to come:) anyway, we went back the next day and had A FANTASTIC LESSON! Luki didn't notice the mirrors but she said it was so powerful imaging her family in the temple being sealed for eternity. It was so funny because when I asked her if she had received an answer about the book of mormon and the church she told me no. Then after telling us her test results were good and she knew god answered her prayer... I testified to her that perhaps that was the answer she was looking for. I then shared with her the experience I had when I found out somebody was going to pay for my mission. I assured her I never once asked that some stranger could pay for my mission, but that that was the answer heavenly father gave me to my prayers and the prayers of many others. I told her that God doesn't always answer our prayers in the way we expect. Carlos also read in the book of mormon this week which is huge for him. I am praying they will be baptized in the next few weeks so that I can see them sealed in the temple before I go home... can you believe I am already almost down to just 1 year??? If they don't get baptized before the new year, I wont be here when they get sealed! Too crazy how fast time has flown by! I love this family and hope and pray that they will accept the gospel and make this change in their life. Their children are in classes to get their confirmation in the catholic church and all of them are so excited to finish so they can start going to church with us. I don't remember if i told you but Daira... the youngest bawls when she can't go to church. ADORABLE!!So back to the reason why we didn't go home with them! So there were two buses that took people from our ward to the temple tuesday. We were in the second and a cute old man that we visit every week was in the first. He doesn't hear well at all and can barely walk. He is so sweet and we think of him as our grandpa:) Anyway, organization isn't the strongest here in guatemala. When Hno fransisco (our grandpa) finished going through the temple, somebody parked his wheelchair and left him. He ofcourse got up and walked away... ended up getting on a wrong bus and was VERY far away when the bus driver told everybody to get off. Thank heavens somebody who knows him found him and took him home. But meanwhile we were looking EVERYWHERE for him! In the temple, the temple grounds, security people were looking for him in all the buses that were there (30 or so!) and nobody could find him. Mission rules say we should be in the house around 830 or so... we didn't get home until about 1045 looking for him! We didn't even know but the man who was helping us is a member of the 70... elder morales. Look him up:) haha it was crazy and we were SO SO thankful we found him before something really bad happened. We saw him the next day and he basically told us... what is up with you losing me?? it was pretty funny! So fun fact of the week... I ran into some people from Kurrville TX (however you spell it) they weren't members of the church but I told them that Zach served his mission there and it was fun seeing them... the man was shocked I'd heard of Kurrville and that I had been there... pretty funny. We met them in a shop that sells typical things... the owner is SO nice and gives the missionaries a huge discount. I will always buy things from him while I can! So we are receiving many references for the temple. We spend about three hours looking for one to find out it is outside of our area... LAME! But two of the references we have found are really positive and I am SO excited to teach them. It is so amazing the power the temple has and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to be here during the open house. It is so fun inviting people and talking to people afterwards how they felt. This week a woman said in her comments... your temple is beautiful but the way that you received my family is a true testament that this church has something different. That was amazing... another family told me... we want to be members of your church! it was amazing! As usual though, there are protestors here! I am always amazed at the efforts and money they use to try and convice people we are an evil church... pretty funny actually. Anyway, they are below where all the buses go so the majority of the people don't even pass them which is good. I told the tistoj family that that is how it is every year at general conference. Thankfully they aren't really having to great of an affect on the people visiting here. So yesterday was our stake conference and it was SO good! They apparently started this new thing where they broadcast the stake conference from Utah. So we got to hear from elder holland and president Uckdorf (don't know how to spell it) that was really fun and I got to watch it in english which is always a treat! We still don't know if we will get to go to the dedication but I am hoping and praying!! So we will see! Mom when will the gilbert temple get dedicated? I was thinking the other day and I am SO SO excited for it! BECAUSE I am pretty sure I will get home before hand AND I will be able to be the tour guide that translates for all the latinos! I am SO excited for that!! Let me know when it is k? I met somebody in the temple from Gilbert... I don't know who he is or anything but it was fun to tell him I have family there.So I told Zach and Karli but just so you know:) I sent some things home for Christmas for you all with a north american man that was here visiting. Don't worry mom, I only bought the things and didn't have to pay to send them. DON"T OPEN ANYTHING UNTIL CHRISTMAS!! OR ELSE:) I hope you all enjoy your guatemala gifts. Tell Beau not to worry, I will send some things for his country report with another north american who is coming and told me he could take stuff home too. What a blessing that there are SO SO many people here for the open house and dedication of the temple! Anyway, I love you all and we will see the next week who my brand new to the mission, new to me companion is. I am praying for a latina so that I can continue improving my spanish and so that when I don't understand anything she can help me:) I hope I can tell you that Luki and Carlos commit to a set date in my next email. Prayers are very much appreciated:) I love you so much and pray for you all the time!!! Until next week!Love, Hna Nelson
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