What to say...

Well, hello everybody. Probably going to be a short letter this week because I dont have much to say but  I promise this wont be a regular thing. So this week was the first of the new change. We had to drop a lot of our investigadors because they werent coming to church and so we didnt have a lot of people to teach. I had been worried that my companion was starting to get ready to go home and didnt want to work very much, but as an answer to prayer and fasting we recieved a burst of motivation and worked very well. He is very determined to work untill the end of these three weeks and that is such a blessing because its one of the worst things to work with someone that doesnt want to work. But I have also tried to see things from his side of the ball and this has helped me a bunch. I find myself a lot more patient and we get along a lot better.  Oh the life skills that I learn here in the mission.

Anyways as far as this week, well as much I didnt want to say anything about it i feel I need to in order to say how my week went. Although my spirits are high, my body hit a low. About tuesday I was hit with really bad stomach pains and a fever very high. The next day i had a mild fever that was pretty constant all day too. After I began to have stomach pains and nausea and the doctor of the area had me do some testing for parasites. Oh that fun stuff again. Brought back great memories. Anyways the tests came back negative and right now we are still not sure why I have stomach problems because I have tried to be pretty careful with the food. I havent had much desire to eat and while I dont have fever or anything anymore I still am not a 100 percent. But the Lord blessed me to be able to work all day yesterday for the first time the whole week and we were able to put 6 baptismal dates, which were desperately needed. Anyways, Mom, if you have recovered from your minor panic attack be sure that I am very fine here and well looked after. Just thought you deserved to stay posted. 

Anyways that was pretty much all the things that happened to me this week. I should be able to work all this week so I am very excited for that, and I hope you guys know how strong my testimony is no matter the hard or great weeks. Thanks you for everything and love you all very much!

Elder Nelson

(After being asked about his housing) Well... at least its a house. Its big. It has a second story but thats where the bats live. I dont really like it but it could be worse i guess. The shower is like a rusty faucet hanging over the toilet so I mean its convenient... you can go sit on the toilet and go to the bathroom and take a shower all at the same time. Great time saver.

News from Apopa

Hello everyone! It's great to be with you guys, in a figurative sort of way, because I am another country in case you guys forgot. Anyways, This is the first week of a new change! And so you guys know I will be staying here in Apopa with Elder Rodriguez. Elder Rodriquez will be ending his mission after this change, so I will be his last companion. Its easier said than done. But ill make the most of it. This change is actually one of four weeks instead of the normal six weeks because the date fell really close to Christmas and the plane tickets were too much. There is a good chance ill be staying in this area until Late February or March, so Ill probably pass my birthday, Christmas, and my year mark in this area. That's pretty crazy.

Anyways this week as far as the work went there isn't much to say. Quite honestly, we didn't have the chance to do very much because my companion sent the whole week sick. SO I got a lot of extra time of studying. It has been pretty hard as I have seen the affects of ending the mission has on some people, losing their desire to work very hard. But I'm determined to make the most of it. But this week we did have a stake conference and Elder Cordon of the seventy came to talk to us. It was very good, and VERY direct. I can see as these times get harder and the world gets worse, We have to really know where we stand. A big problem here is the Day of Reposo, and he called us out on it. I saw things that i was doing in my personal habits that I wasn't doing exactly right, and I have the desire the change. I finally see the importance of the Sabbath Day. Also he talked a lot about the law of fast, how its a way to train the natural man, and feed the spiritual man. The natural man is an enemy to God, and the fast is how we tame him. I encourage all of you when you have the chance to have a sincere, heartfelt, prayer and a 24 hour fast. I promise God will speak to you and answer the questions or problems you have. Like Christ taught to his Apostles, sometimes the toughest demons we have can only be taken out through "much fasting and prayer". I have seen the blessings of this profoundly in my life. 

Anyways time flies. I cant believe we are already coming up on Christmas here shortly. By the way I got the chance to meet and talk a lot with Temple President and his wife here in the the Temple of San Salvador (see photo). He is from Costa Rica and really nice and really energetic. Anyways that's all I got. Love you guys and am praying for you! Thanks for everything!

The bat story continues...true story

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday!  Its a little weird to think that it already Tuesday and I feel so out of place! But here I am. SO its crazy that halloween passed already, nobody here celebrates it so its like it doesn't even happen. But people here celebrate a different holiday... more info to follow on that. It is great to hear from everyone! Congrats to Tyler and Anneke with the baby girl that's awesome! I'll be praying for you guys! And I loved seeing Kai and Lexi and Navy! Glad everything is going good there and that even the sports are going good. 

Anyways this week was an interesting one. So that you guys know, this weekend we had an activity in the cemeteries. All the missionaries went to their local cemeteries and we were explaining to people about Family History. We had a little video and everything but it basically turned into an activity of contacting. It was really good and we found a lot of referencies, so we will be busy contacting this week. It was a long day because we were out there in the sun basically the whole day and I was dead tired. In the weekend that passed, all the people here go to the cementaies to put flowers and visit their passed loved ones, so It was a great chance to talk to them about a way they can know about their past ancestors. The goal is to get them to come to the activity at the temple in December so they can learn about the Temple work that can be done for them. 

Other than that, the week was pretty normal! I have had a pretty cool experiences really focusing on my prayers and communicating with God. I have learned the importance of the prayers and talking with your heart open and not just saying the words. Thats the way that God can respond to you and guide your prayers. My nightly prayers have become something I look forward to at the end of the night so that I can express all my concerns and doubts. I have really felt His Presence in these times and is something I will forever cherish. Anyways this is the last week of the changes already! It has flown by so fast. It is very likely that i will stay here with my companion in this next change since it is the last of his, but ill keep you guys tuned.

For those of you who are regulars here if there are any, you will know of my constant struggles with the infamous Bat that haunts me. I thought i had him defeated. I woke up in the night with my companion to the noise of something hitting the walls. When we turned on the lights we saw the bat going crazy and hitting everything. We got it out of the house, and in the morning i woke up to the surprise of seeing it dead on our floor. Who knows what happened... but anyways after bravely prodding it with a 10 foot rod we were in a rush so left and were going to take it out of the house when we returned. When we came back that night, to my haunting surprise, it wasnt there, and we found no trace of it. I don't live with a Bat, but its actually a Vampire. Happy Halloween.

Love you all and wish you the best! Till Monday!

Elder Nelson

Chikungunya, Baptism and Pictures!

Hey everyone! I cant believe Halloween is next week! I actually forgot that was a thing, nobody talks about the american holidays here! But I hope everyone is enjoying the coming of the holiday season. It is, the most wonderful time of the year. Anyways this week has been an interesting one. As part of my contuing quest to involve myself in the culture here, I decided it was the best time as any to get Chikungunya! For those of you who dont know it sufficeth me to say, Its not fun. Basically it started with a fever and then pain in all your body but especially the knees and ankles and back, and then I got an awful rash that covered my whole entire body with red spots and it was very itchy. SO that was fun. The good thing... (dont worry mom) I am very much over it right now, and I just have lingering pain in my ankels and knees that Im told really doesnt go away. Supposedly this illness is coming around hard right now and i swear half the country has it. But i feel good now, and am back to working.

Other than that we had a baptism this week. His name is Francisco, and he is awesome. His biggest trials were leaving behind some bad friendships but finally did it and was baptized and confirmed. He has expressed a desire to serve a mission and is preparing to recieve the priesthood and already has his eyes set on the temple. It really was an example to see his change. The other person we had, Katerine, has been kind of bailing on us recently and and we are praying she is not thinking of turning away. We are going to pass by tonight to see whats happening. Anyways My compainion basically has half his foot out the door of his mission and is losing the desire to work a bit, which can make things difficult. But we are chugging along. This change has blown by fast already.

News alert!!!! My Pday next week will be a tuesday!!!! We have an activity for family history next monday. SO I wont be writing until the next tuesday.

Anyways I was talking to my companion about the joys of serving here in El Salvador. I really do love it here, and like every missionary I will defend till the day I die that I am serving in the best place ever with the best people. No matter what the circumstances in life you just have to make the best of it. I was talking about this with my companion as we geared up with bug spray to take on a swarm of mosquitoes that attacked our bathroom, chased a rat and a pigeon that found its way into our house, walked all day in a sun the burns like no other and then ran home in pouring rain that soaked me to the core, and then later had to crawl up on all fours trying to go up some of the hills in my area. With all these joys and countless more, I love the work and have seen daily miracles. I dont want to be anywhere else to serve these two years. I know sometimes we are given trials but if we look at life at a Gospel standpoint, with knowledge in the plan of Salvation, we can get through anything with a true smile on your face. Love you all!

Ps here is a picture of the baptisms.

Pss we hired a world renown local artist to do a center piece and I took a picture of him!!!

Psss here is a investigator we helped build their house. She refers to me kindly and lovingly as "her white boy"

Hello everyone!

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing really really awesome. Awesome is awesome. It was great to hear from everyone! I love hearing about everything back home, and its crazy because I forget that life still goes on. Its crazy to see some people coming up close to graduating high school and things like that, it makes me feel so old! Anyways, I have to apologize to my mother because unfortunately I don't have any pictures. The problem is that this area that I am in right now just so happens to be a lot more dangerous than my old area, (sorry mom i didnt want to tell you) and I am scared to leave with my camera. Also the P days here are kind of boring because the Zone Leaders dont do anything.. but as soon as i get the chance I will send you pictures. Just know that I am always protected and have seen the angels guiding and protecting me even in this short time I have been here. Although we are cautious, I dont leave the house in fear, mostly because of my knowledge I have in the Gospel and that the Lord will protect us as we do His work.

Anyways this week seemed to fly by! Shout out to Grandpa and Grandma Sheldon I got a bunch of letters from you guys and it was great to hear about how things are doing up there north. Also I got a big poster type card letter thing with a bunch of family signing it which was quite entertaining, I really enjoyed it. Thanks to the best Family in the world! Me and my companion struggled at the beginning of the week to find new people to teach, but we started to look for the less active families and had a lot of success finding people who werent members. Working with the members is by far the most effective way to work. Make sure you guys are giving the Missionaries back home plenty of opportunities, and I am sure you are. Anyways we have a few investigadores that are really doing great, one that is going to get baptized this week. The other Girl that wants to get baptized we are going to wait one more week, and then we hope she will do it do. We also had a family we were thinking about dropping because they just werent completing their committments, but the whole family showed up this week to Church! It was awesome to see and it made me so happy. I get such joy when the investigadores are progressing.

Anywas other than that the week went by pretty normal. Me and my companion have started to have pretty good unity while teaching and the lessons are becoming more and more powerful as we feel the spirit work through us. I have really seen how the mission has brought out my weaknesses, ones i havent seen in abundance before. Lots of impatience, whisps of pride-fullness, and the occasional doubts. I have learned to rely on the Atonement to help me with these things and have seen the ¨weak things become strong". I know this church is true, and the more i teach the more I look forward to one day sharing this gospel back home as well. I cant wait to have the opportunity to exercise these Gospel principles among a family of my own, but I know everything has its time. Thanks for everything! Im praying for you guys every day, especially you guys mom and dad! Love you!

Elder Nelson

Wild, Wild Central

Hey everyone! Im so happy to be able to write and hear from you guys once everyweek, it is such a blessing. SO I wanted to give a little more info on my area because sincerely Im not sure how I described it the last week, the cyber we were in was really bad. ANyways my area is completely different than the last area. My calfs are getting quite the work out, there is nothing but hills. Honestly I always feel like no matter where we have to go it is uphill both ways. The ward is a lot smaller and really different. We only have about 60 people in Church Sundays and there are a lot of less actives, so that is what we are focusing on a lot. The investigators are pretty good, this area was reopened only a change before I got here so we didnt have a lot to work with. But we are moving along! My companion is very different from me, and him almost "dying", or finsihing the mission makes it interesting sometimes. But we get along pretty well and he is teaching me a lot. Anyways thats a little bit about my area.

I have been studying a lot of doctrine this week. I have found that I love to read things about the church. I have really put a lot of thought into the atonement, and it has blown my mind as I think more and more about it. I know that if we use the atonement daily, and i mean daily, we will find power in our lives. It has something that I really have grown a testimony of these days. Anyways this week we also had a Multi Zone. Presidents Wife gave a little "talk" about the Sabbath day, and I was so blown by what she said. I recieved a lot of personal revelation in how I should conduct myself, and even here in the mission I have made changes. There is a lot of power in this commandment.

Anyways im doing good here! I got a little sick this week, but after a day I was pretty good. I have also lost a little weight because we dont get fed as much here and we walk a lot but I am staying strong. Sometimes I get hit by homesickness, mostly I miss my family. But I know where I am is where I need to be. We had an investigador and she is going to get baptized. We taught her of the temples and asked her what she thought, and her response made me happy. She said it just felt right that God would give us something eternal in a world that is full of temporary. I know Families can be forever together, actually it is what holds most of my testimony together. Love you all very much!

Elder Nelson

Elder Nelson and his new companion, Elder Rodriguez 

A family Elder Nelson was teaching in San Miguel

Where is Elder Nelson.. ?

Hey Family and friends. I hope all is going well back in the States and wherever you find yourselves. I am so thankful for the chance I had this weekend to watch General Conference. To watch General conference on the mission is an experience I hope to never forget and one I hope I have every 6 months for the rest of my life. The spirit is so strong and i am so in tuned to the talks they give and they are some of the most treasured thing ever. I cant wait to apply what God has told us he wants us to do, and I hope all of you take the step to apply what you felt and learned, following the council of Elder Eyring. Also I wept this conference. For those of you who know me well, Im sure you know why. I add my solemn testimony to the talk of Elder Holland. The love I have for my dear mother and more importantly the love i know she has for me and all her family is something that can not be of this Earth, something so incredibly divine and Godly that upon thinking of my mom I couldn't help but fight back the stream of tears of joy. I love you mom, and know your love is the closest thing on this Earth to the love that the Savior has for us. Thank you for that example. SO I was sitting in the Stake center here in Apopa... WAIT.. .Did he just say Apopa?!

Yes, I am in a new area. I am now located and serving far from San Miguel, which was a surprise, in the ward Villa Mariona in the Stake Apopa! It is about 40 minutes outside the capitol. My area is huge, and when you think of a central American village in the middle of a jungle that pretty much describes my area. There are hills EVERYWHERE that I firmly believe are close to 90 degrees, so much so you cant take any cars or vehicles on them. My companion is Elder Rodriguez! He has 22 months in the mission and goes home in December, so he has a lot of experience. He has been good about teaching me the area.

Anyways is was a little hard to leave San Miguel . We actually had a few investigators of ours cry, and i cried too, when we left. I didn't realize how much I loved the people I served there and hope i get the chance to visit them again. One of the members named Kelvin was like my big brother, and it was hard to say goodbye. He gave very brotherly words of council that I will strive to live the rest of my life. He truly is a huge example to me. He has been through more than you can imagine, but so strong in the Gospel. I hope to become someone like him one day.

Anyways I hope everyone enjoyed their week. I have a lot to do this week and so many people to meet, but I am so excited to start this new journey. If you want to know more about where I am, you can look up the ward boundaries in my ward on LDS.org. Thank you for everything you guys do for me! Love you guys!

Elder Nelson