A busy and great week!

Hi everyone! Hope everything is great. I heard that it was pretty cold in the states? that is what everyone tells me but you can't really trust what the people say here at times. the other day someone told me we started colonizing another planet. Didn't quite believe that one. But anyways this week was pretty eventful and seems to have flown by. 

This Wednesday we had the world wide conference. It was pretty awesome. I don't feel like I heard anything new but I heard many things that I can do better. The leaders from the church talked to us about how to teach repentance and baptize converts and how to do better in that. It was the first World wide mission conference since the time Preach my Gospel came out. I loved how Elder Bednar spoke of the importance of the Spirit. Basically without the spirit we are useless, but also we cant force someone to feel the spirit. They have to accept it and let it in their hearts to start the seeds of a testimony. That is a good lesson for all i think. 

Also, Elder Cook came this week! We went to see him and also Elder Christensen was there from the Presidency of the 70 with Elder Ochoa of the quorum of the 70. Its always an experience getting to hear the apostles and being able to shake their hands. It is something you just don't forget. It was a really powerful meeting and I learned a lot. He spoke a lot of the blessings that come from mission service and how it blesses us, our family present and future, and everyone with a connection in our lives. It also blesses all the people we teach and come unto the truth of the Gospel. My favorite was after he talked about how he was in California and someone asked him why the apostles aren't direct in their testimonies. He said we shouldn't share deep spiritual experiences with everyone because they are sacred and need to be treated with respect, and simple is more powerful. But then he told us "but I'm going to be direct with you guys". He bore a super powerful testimony and at the end he said, "I know Jesus Christ lives. I know His voice. I know His face." .... .... ... just let that sink in for a second. I have a strong testimony of the living Prophets and apostles. I know they are His apostles and receive revelation for all of us. Their guidance will guide us through the world we live in that seems to have no guidance. 

Anyways afterwards I went on divisions with the Zone Leaders again which is always fun.  I learn so much when I do that. Sunday we had a stake conference with President Vasquez and Elder Ochoa. It was really awesome and despite being farther away we had 7 investigators there. It was powerful. Afterwards we took a picture with Antonio and his Girlfriend and he told us "the next picture is going to be in all white". Let me just say there aren't sweeter words in the world. Ill send the picture. Well I love you all and thanks for all the support and all the prayers. Love you guys!

Elder Nelson

Happy Monday!

Hello everyone! Sounds like everyone had a pretty good and busy week! Congrats to Anneke on the baby shower. sounds like it went pretty well. Wish I could be there but im happy right where I am. The Disney shirts look awesome. Im sure the grandkids are going to be nice and spoiled after that trip. This week we have two devotionals! On the 20th we have the world wide missionary one that should be pretty interesting. But also Im going to meet another Apostle! Elder Cook is going to come on Saturday and we are all going to the church at the temple to see him. It will be another multi mission activity so it will be cool to see everybody and I'm excited to see what he will tell us. I heard Jeffery R Holland came down there where Jessie is! Jealous! He is so powerful. I love receiving guidance from the leaders of the church. 

Anyways this week was pretty good. We had a pretty good success and I had the chance to go and do splits with the other Elders for a couple days. Its not my favorite thing in the world to leave my area but it is cool to meet new people and learn from other Elders. We have an investigator that is very positive named Antonio and he is getting ready to be baptized on the 13th. He is really awesome and has come to church 4 times in a row. The only problem is that his mom practises witchcraft and i'm pretty sure has tried to curse us. Of all the experiences in a mission in El Salvador... But we are praying all goes good with him. We have a couple people that are really positive and just lack one or two key points to get baptized. We are pretty excited. I hope i get to stay in this area until March so I can finish the training with my companion. We are getting along really well (he promised me a trip to Veracruz Mexico after the mission) and I don't really want to leave the member of this area. When you are with them for enough time you start to get a connection and I get along really well with a lot of them.

 This week I happened to be studying in the night before I went to sleep and during the nightly phone calls about the Millennium and coming of Christ. I sat and pondered for a good bit of time and pretty soon my mind was riveted and I lost all desire to sleep. I think its so true the scriptures that say we should treasure up the words of scripture and life in our minds and if we do so diligently with a spirit of fasting and prayer all things will be made known unto us, even the mysteries of heaven. I have found that as I study more and more I have desires to learn about this wonderful gospel. I am so excited to see what the future holds and now see the importance of day to day obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. I have a testimony of my Saviour and Redeemer and I know of the power of his Atonement. I have Faith in the scriptures and try every day to develop my faith. I know the priesthood was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and know he was a prophet of God. I know also that there is indescribable joy in the Plan of God and the chance to become an eternal Family. I am thankful for my parents and the opportunities they have given me to learn and grow in the Gospel. Hope everyone has a fun and safe week! Till next week!

Elder Nelson

Chad wearing his tie clip mom sent

"This is how we exercise in El Salvador"

Happy Monday!

Heeeeellllooooo everyone! I'm happy to be somewhat talking to you this monday through email even though it is just me writing down the conversation that goes on in my head. Apart from going a little crazy, this week has been pretty good. It was cool to hear about the baptisms in the ward back home and I send my congratulations to the family back there. Its cool to reminder and see that the Gospel is being spread in all the parts of the Earth. Also my thoughts and prayers go out to the Neeves family, it was sad to hear the news. I have always enjoyed seeing Sister Neeves every Sunday and she will be missed back home. But it makes me so happy to know about the Plan of Salvation and the comfort to know that God has a plan, and it is perfect. Also shout out to the Gage family! i got your package and it was awesome! My companion enjoyed it too. i honestly think he has gotten more things sent to him from my family than he has gotten from his because he is still waiting for his in the mail. You guys are awesome. 

Anyways this week was good and flew by like no other. Looking back I have to think hard about what we did. the mission sometimes is just like one big blur. This Wednesday we had a big milti zona where basically the half of the mission that is in central got all together with President Vasquez. It was quite an experience. Usually these meetings are really upbeat and exciting as well as spiritual to animate us for the work. This meeting did the same, but in a very different manner. We all could tell from the start that President had something on his mind, and when he spoke an unusual silence fell over us. They started sharing stats from the mission in the past year which was cool to see because we had good growth in our mission from 2014 to 2015. But then in a very serious manner our President shared that he along with the leaders of the Church were worried. World wide there has been a slight decline in the mission work. And attacks in opposition to the plan of God are very evident. He gave a powerful talk on the Atonement and gave us many cautions saying that we walk and work and fight in Satan's territory, and he is mad. He is now attacking our very homes, companionships, families, and church all of which is our territory. As a father lovingly chastises a son, he called us to repentance, saying that if we do not repent we will not make it through these difficult times. If we let the opposition take away our strengths and territory that we have as respite from the trials of the world, we lose strength and fall. He then spoke of specific things we will be changing in the mission and the importance of our work, to call people unto repentance through Baptism. This week I've spent much time pondering on if I really understand the atonement of Christ and allow the power of it to work through me and give me strength and take away my sins. I have had indescribably amazing experiences looking to Christ for my answer. I felt a need to tell this to you guys because I hope you realize the daily war that we face. I didn't realize the magnitude of it until I came here, but I couldn't shake the feeling of the proximity of the second coming. Its here, even at the door step and things will just get worse in the world. But God's plan is perfect, and those that fight on his side and use His Atonement everyday will always come off victorious. 

Well that was my week. I didn't mean to write so serious but that is what came to me as I started. I want you to know I have a testimony of my Savior. I know He lives. He will lift us up when we call upon Him. He never leaves our side and I hope we all ask for Him for the help He is so willing to give. I know this Church is true and and the power of the priesthood is real. The power to seal families for time and all eternity is on the Earth and we should do all that is possible to be worthy of such blessing. 

Well I love you all. Oh yeah we now wont have change meetings here which is where we all meet to do changes when we change areas. So it will be interesting how we will get to our areas from here on out because in this Country traveling is quite an experience. Love you all and thanks for all the support!

Elder Nelson

10 Months today!

Well I'm officially in double digits. 10 months flew by so fast. Anyways I wish everyone a happy new year. I cant believe its already 2016 and its weird to think that this full year ill be here in the country. But I am excited for what life holds for me in this next year. Anyways  this week was actually really good. Something cool that happened was our fast on Sunday. Me and my companion really were praying and fasting for our investigators and I tried really hard to go 24 hours with a constant prayer in my heart, because it is easy to forget the reasons why we are doing it. We were praying specifically for a family of three boys who are super awesome and honest but just wont read or wake up to go to Church. It was a hard day but we kept hope. In the morning on Sunday we passed by the home of the family and we realized they were all asleep. We decided to knock anyways and the older kid came out and said the he woke up early today and just felt like he should come to church. He also read a little of what we left him. It was such a huge step for the family and he loved church is is going to go to a youth activity this week. It was such a blessing from God. 

This week was pretty interesting other than that. We ate a BUNCH of food on the 31, mostly panes con pollo which are amazing. I ate 3. Which is a lot.  Then we ate a whole turkey made by our bishop. All night people were doing fireworks so we didn't sleep at all and I've been tired ever since. Buts that's just how we do things here. 

Its been really cool study how to be a better leader and I've focused on just showing love for other people. In all the actions you do.  And sometimes you know you just have to grab your companion and tell him you love him. Me and my companion get along really well. I used to want to leave this area but now I hope I finish his training. 

WELL that's all I got. Hope all is going well there. Love you guys and miss you a lot. Happy new year!

Elder Nelson

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone! SO im not sure what to say in this email because I just had an hour to talk with the family. It was great to talk to everyone and everyone seems so different now, but happy so thats all that matters. It really is the best gift in the world to talk to family. So I'm sorry that I let the emotions get the best of me and cried my eyes out. I didnt want to do that but im an emotional person. It was tears of joy, so dont worry. I really am enjoying the mission and dont want to be anywhere else before my two years. This weekend was good; we got right to work. It was refreshing to be back on a normal schedule and to have our days full of work. We have a lot of work to do. Id be lying to say my area wasnt hard, but im refreshed and up to the challenge. I have been reading a lot of the words of the Presidents of the church and the example that they have set in their lives. Im awe struck at the challenges and their hard work and how they overcame them. Its a testimony to me and I want to be more like them. 

Uhhhh really nothing else has happened. Im really greatful for all my fmaily and I have the greatest in the world. My family means everything to me and I love you guys more than anything. Im so happy i have your support and prayers. Its been a hard week away from Christmas, but Im already looking forward to the next year and setting new goals. Love all of you and thanks for all the prayers!

Elder Nelson

(These are pictures that were posted by the mission president's wife of the Christmas activities the missionaries participated in over the holiday.) 

Chad's Christmas call, 2015

(Chad gets connected and is chatting with some other Elders in Spanish.)

Chad- Hi!  How’s it going?

Mom- Hi!! Good, we just had Christmas and we’ve just been waiting here for your call.  I loved hearing you talk Spanish.

Ch- today we had a big Christmas activity, I’ve been talking with a lot of English elders so I have to switch back and forth.  Hi everyone!  Hi Lexi, you’re so big now.

Mom- You opened the book right? (A book that had family holding up a scripture of the Christmas story in Luke.)

Chad- That was awesome, Thank you.  I was just telling my companion (crying)… I was just telling my companion how much I missed reading in Luke with Dad when I was younger.  Then I opened that book and it was perfect.  I was just telling him how much I’d miss that this year and I got the book and it was really cool. 

Mom-  Oh awesome!   

Ch- I loved the small little white board.  That is a great idea.  I’ve seen others use that. 

Mom- that was Tyler’s idea.  He gave me a lot of ideas.. different colored pens, stickys, the white board.

Chad- It’s awesome.  It’s something I’ll actually use.  Thank you!

Chad- I’m using a tablet.  Can you see me?

Mom- Yes, great.  Did you like the star wars socks?

Chad- Yes, loved it.  My companion loves them!  They are “p-day socks”.  :)

Mom- What did you do the last few days to celebrate?

Ch- Christmas is like new years here!  It can get a bit dangerous bc people drink a lot.  So we had to enter home earlier.  I’m here in Apopa.  In the day time we went to San Salvador and went with all the missionaries and just played games with all of the missionaries.  I’ve made a lot of friends in the mission now so it’s fun to see them.

Mom- Did you get all of your birthday letters?

Ch- I think I’m still missing two.  But, I understand what it was supposed to say.  Thank you. 

Mom- How are all of your clothes doing?

Ch- They are good.  My shirts are yellow.  I don’t wear long sleeve very much right now so my long sleeve shirt I’m wearing now is still white.  It’s normal to have yellow-ish shirts here so I’m good.  Next time I go to the temple I’ll buy some more garments.

Mom- did you get the money from G Sheldon?

Ch- Yes.  I haven’t used it, but it’s in my account.

Mom- What’s your favorite thing to eat there?

Ch- I don’t know how much I’ve told you.  But, my favorite thing is beans with cream and fried plantains, like baked bananas.  Fried plantains with French bread.  Here you eat with your hands.  It’s uncommon to have a fork.  I’ve gotten really comfortable with just eating beans and cream with your hands. 

Mom- What is the cream?  Just like a normal cream?

Ch- Yeah, just like straight cream.  They dump it on everything (bread, beans).  Everything.  It’s really good.

Mom- Do they have street vendors?

Ch- It’s a bit like parasite roulette... haha.  The papusas are good, but we can’t really eat all of it. 

Lexi- When have you been the happiest?

Ch- Well, I’m pretty happy right now!  When we have people to teach and they receive us and are progressing, I’m pretty happy with that. 

Dad- Kai wants to say hi.  He has a superman shirt on.

Kai- (Kai waves.)

Mom- What’s your favorite p-day activity?

Ch- Soccer is fun with the other elders.  In Apopa we don’t do a whole lot on p-days.  It can be dangerous to go out, so usually we stay home.  I like to write and rest. 

Bean- What is your favorite smell in your area right now?

Ch- Lol.  This country does not smell good.  It’s beautiful, but the lakes, gutters are trashed.  There’s a lot of interesting smells.  A lot of people don’t bathe very well.  Good smells?  There aren’t many.

Mom- are there good fruits? 

Ch- I don’t try the exotic fruits very much because they are expensive but every week I buy apples.

Kevin- Here’s Navy.  She’s asleep.

Chad- Sorry it’s late.  What time is it there?  It looks light there. 

Mom- We are only an hour later.  Do you do a lot of service in your area?

Ch- It depends.  Maybe we should do more service.  We always ask what we can do in San Miguel.  They say to throw water in the sidewalk.  They say it cools it down a lot.  It sounds weird but that’s what they always like us to do.

Mom- where do you live now?

Ch- It’s pretty nice.  When the other elders come, they say it’s pretty cool.  The other half is not finished and trashed, but our half is nice.  It’s finished.

Mom- How is the area?

Ch- it’s pretty hard to be honest.  The members are mostly inactive.  The members we do know will feed us usually. 

Mom- you can always have more money.

Ch- I’m okay.  I’ve been pretty good about budgeting my money.

Mom- When was the last time you washed your sheets?

Ch- No answer.. haha.  You have to understand.  I wash my clothes by hand.  So if I wash my sheets then I sleep without sheets for a week.   

Mom- Do you feel safe?

Ch- It’s best if I don’t answer that...  I’ll tell you most of them after my mission.  I’m very protected here by the Lord and I feel it every day.  But there are a lot of things I’m not going to tell you til after.  I live in a dangerous country and see a lot of things that I don’t ever want to see.  I’ll have a lot of stories to tell one day.  I’ve been  and seen places that I don’t want to see again.  But, I’m okay.  I feel protected here as a missionary completely.  I realize the danger I am in at times, but I also can tell you that I am protected.   

Kevin- How have your responsibilities and the way you teach different now as a DL?

Ch- I feel some more stress.  At a recent zone meeting, my name just dropped down and I had no idea.  They were showing how everything had changed (elders moved places and my area shrunk), but I’m learning to deal with it.  I’m more conscious of what I’m doing.  People watch and see what I’m doing and follow my example, so I watch what I do carefully.

Mom- How many are in your district?

Ch- They just took out 2, so just 4 right now.  But, they will bring back 2 soon.

Mom- What do you like about your companion?

Ch- He’s just barely came out.  He’s really good.  He was a little weird at first. Haha.  He’s really spontaneous and energetic (he had a youtube channel before the mission, so he’s that kind of person). I don’t like to remind people about obedience stuff, but sometimes I have to with little stuff as he is a new missionary.  I get along really great with him.

Mom- When does your mission pres leave?

Ch- He’ll leave 8 months after me which is really cool that he’ll be here the whole time I am here.  He helps me a lot.  I have a great testimony of him and the spirit has testified to me about the things he’s taught more than any other.  One thing I’ve really realized here is the importance of the Sabbath day.  I know I’m in the mission mode, but I’ve made the commitment to not watch football on Sundays after my mission.  An elder said to me once: The Sabbath day is to prepare us for the Celestial Kingdom.  We shouldn’t do anything on the Sabbath that we wouldn’t do there.

Mom- They’ve really been focusing on that here too.

Ch- Here in central America it’s been one thing that a lot of people don’t do.  It’s really hard.  I’ve had to say something to a bishop about it before and he said “show me where in the scriptures it says that”.  I just walked away. 

Ch- It’s pretty dangerous here.  Sometimes they don’t want to leave their neighborhoods to go to church. 

Mom- I ran into Trent the other day.  It was really fun to see him

Ch- I just heard from him a few weeks ago.  It's always great to hear from friends! 

Mom- Do you have any questions for us?

Ch- I can’t think. 

Mom- Do you get to see the country?

Ch- Here its a bit more dangerous to go out into the country.  Since I’ve been here I haven’t really gone out because of the situation in the country.  Not as much as I would have liked. 

Ch- There’s a lot of hills.  I’ve gotten stronger because we walk all over.   I used to get really sore and my feet would hurt.  But I’ve gotten used to it.  I feel like my calves are really strong. haha

Ch- No, I haven’t worn sunscreen in months.  Send me some sunscreen.  It’s really expensive here for a tiny bottle.  Send me some if you can. 

Ch- For Vitamins I just want something that doesn’t have anything over 100%

Mom- what’s the music like in your ward?

Ch- in this ward that I’m in… It’s actually a (can’t think of English word.. branch) basically.  No piano.  When people sing it sounds like they are screeching.. chalkboards.  I miss good singing.  There are no CD’s to play either.  They just kind of sing.  Sometimes the investigators will say “it’s so beautiful”.  I’m like “what are you listening to? Because that’s not what I heard.”  But, they don’t get to hear singing much, so they love it.    

Mom- Do you speak in church a lot?

Ch- I’ve gotten really good at just saying what I know.  As I’m walking up, I ask Bishop “what’s the topic today?” He says “repentance” so I say Okay!  There’s about 60 people, and about 40 there and 20 less actives. 

Mom- What do most people do for work in your area?

Ch- Uh.. construction.  Most people go into San Salvador. 

Mom- How far are you?

Ch- To the temple it’s about 40 minutes.  We take 2 buses to San Salvador.  We should be due pretty soon for the temple.  We haven’t been since being here.

Tyler- Do you meet in a church building?

Ch- There was a building they built about 7-8 years ago.

Mom- Why’d they close it?

Ch- I’ve heard rumors of disobedient missionaries, but also some violent areas, and it just wasn’t progressing. 

Tyler- Is there a field in the back of the church to play soccer?

Ch- There is a small one there.  They are fun to play on. 

Mom- Anything else you’d like me to send you?  Any food you’re really missing?

Ch- Ah, I miss good food, but no I’m pretty good here. 

Mom- I wanted to send Soubie Salsa, but it was fresh… not pressurized.

Ch- I haven’t had tortilla chips since I’ve been here.

Jess- what is your focus for your area?

Ch- Focusing on friends of member families, member references, Less activities. 

Mom- What’s the weather like?  Does it stay about the same?

Ch- It stays about the same.  The nights are a bit cooler.  I sleep with a sheet.  But, it’s still really warm.  Today I was sweating a lot. 

Mom- ID, UT have so much snow right now.  We are nice here.  60’s and sunny. 

Ch- I miss that weather.  It’s so hot here.

Kevin- I know you’re in Apopa.  There’s a lot of little tiny communities.

Ch- I’m technically not in Apopa.  In a bus it’s about 5 minutes.  Go to lds.org, look for vilamariana (?) ward. 

Kevin- Are the buses super rickety?

Ch- sometimes they don’t stop.  You just have to grab on to the bars.  You throw your money in and yell.  They slow down just enough for you to jump off.  Especially during work hours.  Yeah, the buses are fun.  Some elders say the buses here drive faster than other areas.  They compete and try to beat each other around corners.  It makes it pretty crazy. 

Mom- Are you feeling used to the area? 

Ch- I feel pretty comfortable.  It feels pretty comfortable.  I was telling my companion that it feels like Christmas is my half way.  On the board in the mission president’s room my return date is the 15th of February.  Something with the latinos schedule (they are changing some of the elders to only 3 weeks in the MTC) may shift all of the dates.  That’s far away, so I’ll keep you posted.  That’s so far away. 

Mom- do you have some companions that you want to room with?

Ch- Yeah, there’s a couple that I’ve gotten to know.  I’ve met a lot of cool guys and definitely be friends with them. 

Rimo- Hey!

Ch- How’s it going?  How’s the studies?

Rimo- Good.  It’s getting hard to keep going.  I’ve been doing it so much.

Ch- that’s awesome.  I’m not looking forward to doing that.  I’ve already forgotten everything.

Jessie- Do you keep a journal?

Ch- Not really.  With all of the responsibilities it’s been hard.  I am usually done around 10:30 and then just go to bed.

Mom- Did you get a lot of letters and emails for your birthday?

Ch- Yes.  I got a lot of first time writers since they have written for my birthday.

Kevin- Keep tokens from restaurants and etc. as memories. 

Mom- what time do you get up?

Ch- 6:30.

Ch- Sorry I don’t really send pictures as much as I’d like.  I don’t take my camera outside anymore because I’ve had people go through my bag. 

Rimo- Have your plans for life after the mission changed since the mission?

Ch- My view on the world has changed so much.  I still want to do engineering.  Maybe that will change, I don’t know.  I don’t know what they will change to, but my views have changed. 

Mom- Who has been cutting my hair?

Ch- Just anybody I can find. Actually right now the Bishop’s wife cuts it.  They just start going at it usually.  They always try to leave it long on top bc that is the style.  But, I always say ‘mas, mas, mas!” They cut it off the sides and say you’re good.  They don’t really blend it.  Or they want to just buzz the whole thing. 

Ch- The testimonies have all been really cool for the 25 days of Christmas.  Thank you for sending them.  I’ve been trying to respond to people and write them back.

Mom- How are your shoes?  Is it something you can get there? Did you get new running shoes?

Ch- My shoes are fine.  They are wearing thin on the sides a bit.  I will get some here at some point..

Jessie- are you happy?

Ch- It’s hard, I’ll be honest.  Some days are harder than others.  I’m what they call “baggie”, just really home centered.  We can’t knock on doors.  It’s too dangerous.  We just shout usually and sometimes they come out.  We can’t knock unless we have a member with us or if we are looking for someone specifically. 

Kevin- what’s your fav chapter of PMG?

Ch- We focused a lot on studies.  Having good studies.  I’ve been studying a lot in Chapter 2.  Christ-like attributes. 

Jessie- what’s a missionary challenge you have for us?  We’ll report on Mother’s Day.

Ch- If you tell yourself no one is there to share the gospel to or that you are not the person to do it, you’re lying to yourself.  In Alma it says the angels are preparing the way for others to hear the gospel.  Your challenge is to bring someone to a church meeting.  Then tell the missionaries about them. 

Ch- I have to start saying good bye now. 

Mom- Okay.  That’s the hard one.  Mother’s Day isn’t so far away. 

Chad- Thank you for your prayers.  I feel them.  It helps a lot.

Ch- Anneke, I just want you to know that I don’t always have time to write you back.  But, I really appreciate it.  I thank you a lot.  I always read your emails. 

Anneke- No worries!  I love the letters to families. 

Everyone- Bye!!  We love you. 

Mom- Alright.  You are doing a great job. 

Chad- It’s really hard mom.  I miss you guys a lot.

Mom- You are doing a great job.  We miss you but you are doing so great.  We pray for you a lot.

 Chad- Sometimes I feel like I’m not making a great difference, but I try really hard. 

Mom- You are.  Especially here too.  We are so proud of you. 

Chad- Love you Mom!  I really am happy, but I really do miss you guys.  It really is hard sometimes. 

Mom- Hang in there.  You are doing great. 

Chad- okay.  I really am safe mom. 

Mom- Love you. 

Chad- Love you too!! 

Chad was pretty emotional, which made it emotional for all of us.  He sounded strong and not at all discouraged, but he mentioned often that it was very hard.  We know that he has been protected and blessed every day serving as a missionary.  It was so great to hear from him.  He expresses wanting to do his very best and we know that he is giving his all to the Lord serving in El Salvador.  

Merry Christmas!!

I can't believe Christmas is already here. I am not going to write as much today because I will be talking with my family this week. Family, I will be doing skype on the 25th. Im not sure at what time but it should be between 3 and 6. Ill try to get word out to you but just be ready during this time. That's all the info I have. This week should be interesting for us because the 24th and 25th are just a big party so we probably wont be able to teach much. In fact we already have about 5 eating appointments. Also the 25th we are going to have a big mission activity in San Salvador with President and the other missionaries so that should be cool. Wish I could be there for this time of year but at the same time I think Ill be fine here. Honestly I miss you guys so much, but love you too much to deprive you of the blessings that are received from missionary service.

This week has been pretty good. Me and Elder Vazquez are enjoying ourselves and working hard. We have found a lot of good investigators but it is hard to find them in their house because they are always gone this time of year. We have a really good family called Familia Ortiz that seems to be our most positive. Jose is out of town all this month so we will keep teaching him in January. Me and my companion were really excited with our stocking presents. (Elder Vazquez says thanks to you mom and that you are the best!) He has a lot of energy and he helps me lose myself in the work .

SO I'm 100 percent mad that you guys will see star wars and not wait a year for me. Hahaha just kidding but not really. I didn't realize it was coming out until one of our investigadores told us and it was kind of depressing but it will be even better when I get back. I cant wait to talk to you guys this week. write questions because in the moment I always forget what to say and ill probably be crying too much. Love you all and Merry Christmas!

Elder Nelson

Here is a picture of me getting in the Christmas Spirit.