Hello again!

Hey guys! Sounds like it was a crazy exciting an awesome week! Congrats to Anneke and Tyler for the new baby! That sounds so awesome! I'm glad everyone seems healthy and I'll be praying for you guys! And happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Hope you guys had an awesome time in Disneyland and enjoy the day! Sounds like Disneyland was fun and not too crowded which always makes things pretty good. And everyone got home with only minor problems so that's good too. Anyways my week was actually pretty good. 

We had a good week and found a lot of new people to teach.  We found two new people named Ruth and Yesica and they are super positive. They already came to church and accepted to be baptized so we just have to help one of them get married and the other drinks coffee. We opened up a neighborhood that had been closed for some time here and it all seems pretty chill. Its just too big of a place not to enter so we are trying to get references there. We are finally having success working with the members and we have found a lot of positive people. We had 6 investagadores in Institute this week which was awesome and its mostly because the members are helping us bring them. We also have a family of 6 that is progressing a lot. its just hard for them to wake up and come to church, so we trying our best to get them to come too. 

That's basically all that happened this week. I learned a lot about the importance of having Faith. Its such a powerful concept and when we have it we can do miracles. Also we had a service project where we set a school partially on fire. That was fun. Love you all. thanks for the support! Love you guys!

Elder Nelson

Haaapppyyy VVVV DAAAYYYY (plus pictures!)

Hello everyone! Well Valentines day passed I didn't even realize it. I wasn't sure if it was the 14th or the 15th of February... To be honest Im still not 100 percent sure. Anyways I got packages Mom!!! Thanks for the candies and heart attack and everything else that was in there. It really does make my month when i get those packages. But it was awesome thanks so much. I have to apologize for the email last week apparently the Internet has been super bad in the whole country basically and I'm not sure why but i hope it gets better. This week had its ups and downs... and ill explain why. I'm officially mad that you guys are going to Disneyland without me. its just not the land of magical dreams without me there. So you guys wont get the full experience without me there, sorry to break it to you. 

Anyways this week was really hard. Its been a little cooler and pretty windy and dry. Nobody wanted to talk to us this week... and we spent a little more time walking than I wanted to. Also Antonio's baptism got delayed... but we are still hoping for the best. My companion got a little discouraged but he seems better now. Tyler told me before the mission the that mission will consist of some of the highest highs and lowest lows and everywhere in between. I testify of the words of my brother. Amen Tyler, amen. 

But something really cool happened. We had a multi Zona with Elder Duncan! I love how so many leaders come to visit us. It was probably the best and most powerful meeting i have had so far in my entire mission. Never have I felt such a strong spirit testify to me of so many things. I think of the time when Christ came to the Americas and it says that parts of his teachings could not be written nor understood because they had to be heard with the powerful spirit that was there. I feel it was the same. it will be hard to communicate the magnitude of the meeting through email, but ill try my best to give you my highlights. ( I hope you guys don't mind when I give summaries of when people come to speak but I just love the leaders so much i cant help myself.) Anyways Elder Duncan is one of the 70 and also the presidency of Area here in Central America. Also now he is one of my favorite General authorities. He gave us a lot of cool advice and council on how to improve in our areas and how to work with the members. It really changes our perspective and I understand now how much we can change to meet out potential. So that was cool. He also talked about how the Lord is accelerating his work here. He explained how in the last 8 months there has been something like 12 new stakes here in central America compared to the last 2 or 3 years there had been about 4 in total. He then showed a graphic of all the world and it was cool to see how the work is moving in the latter days and all the prophesies are being fulfilled. he also talked about who we are as missionaries. That's the part i cant really put into word, but ill just say there wasn't a dry eye in the room. He also talked about how our mission was different than every other mission in the world because of the situation that the country is in and how we have to live, and gave us awesome consejos on that. Also he talked about the importance of the Sacrament, which blew my mind and opened my eyes. So those are my highlights.

Anyways Thanks for all the support from everyone. Love you all so much and I'm praying for you guys. And i thank you for the prayers! Love you guys !

Elder Nelson

HI FRIENDS

Hello everyone. I am happy to be talking to you guys and hope all is going well. Sounds like some of you were sick this week and if that was you I hope you feel better. I don't have a whole lot to say this week and the connection here is really bad but I will try to get out what I can. This week was a little long for me but good. At the beginning of the week I was really drained of energy and motivation to work. It was kindof hard couple of days but my companion got me motivated and after a good 24 hour fast I was ready to go and feel good. Its crazy how powerful that is. We have been struggling finding people to teach. We hope to have the baptism of Antonio this 13 of Feb and he is super awesome but has some doubts about if he feels ready so we are praying and fasting a lot for that. Also Elder Duncan of the seventy is coming to visit our mission this Saturday so we are excited to hear from him. I love when the leaders of the church come to visit and they seem to be coming a lot recently. Anyways other than that it was a pretty normal week. Like always in my spare time I love to study the doctrine of the Church and the scriptures and I have spent a lot of time studying the Plan of Salvation. Its amazing how perfect his plan it and how everything we do see and learn is involved in the plan. When you can see the world from that perspective it changes a lot of things. Anyways Im sorry for the short email but I need to catch up on some others. Love you all and wish the very best!

Elder Nelson

Time Flies!!

Another monddaayyyyyyy. time flies. honestly it is so hard to think about what happens during the week. Anyways I hope I can try to share the thoughts on my mind. i always have a plan of what I am going to say but when I write it out it all comes differently. It was great to hear from everyone. it sounds like everyone is hanging in there. Everybody looks so different its crazy but its awesome to see all the pictures from people. You guys all are always in my prayers and I think of you guys as much time as i let myself. Which actually isnt a whole lot of time because you've got to focus on all the fun missionary stuff. Anyways so that you guys know... this week we had another change. And....... Im staying here in Apopa! Ill be finishing the training of my companion which I am happy because he is one of my best friends now and we are starting to have a lot of success. Ill be passing that good old year right here in Apopa which is cool because the members love me and already promised me a bunch of food. Ps... Im getting fat. Ugh. but the food here is so good. 

So we have quite a few people progressing. Most of our success has come from the members. We have won the confidence of the members and they are just pulling references out of nowhere so we have quite a few people to teach and they are all coming to church  because the members bring them. When the members know you are servants of God and good missionaries and nice and loving just like them they will trust you with the nearest and dearest friends. Thats something i learned this week. Antonio is going to be baptized this upcoming week and ill send the picure because I couldnt send it before. He is awesome, and we are hoping for various others in this month. This week we had a ward conference and all the stake came to our little ward to it was packed. But they presented the Central America Area plan and i took some notes. i have big plans for what i want to do to serve God all of my life and so every once in a while I let myself take note and plan how i can be a better priesthood holder, son, brother, and future father. They stressed a lot of the basics, saying that we cant fail with daily scripture and prayer. Also the importance of being perfect with tithes and fast. they also stressed a lot of establishing a family home evening, every Monday night and it has to be a priority. There is a lot of work to be done in those areas with families here so I thought it was great. 

Time flies. I had a minor freakout that ill be passing my year mark because i still feel so new here. I also learned about having Faith. If we have faith we will be happy. Faith and doubts cannot co exist. So if im doubting, its simple, im lacking in faith. Faith is basic, but so powerful I think it is impossible for us to comprehend. i have been diving in to studying that and I am just so amazed at the power of faith. Its something I want to improve. 

Love you all very much. I am doing great. Its hard, but nothing worth anything in life was ever easy. And this is so worth it. You all are in my prayers everyday and I thank you guys for the constant prayers on my behalf. 

Elder Nelson

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