What? It´s almost my birthday? hahah. Thanks for the lovely emails and messages and the awesome card!!! I have the best family ever and feel so lucky. I really can´t believe it´s already my birthday again... this last year has flown by but it has been so full of miracles and life changing experiences.
This week was wonderful. Hard, but wonderful. On the investigator front, it´s been hard. We found a lot of new investigators this week but almost all of our appointments for second visits fell through. However, we keep on workin, keep on finding, and even though the day turns out totally different than what we planned if we gave it our all then we come home with peace of mind. Also, I made the grave error of introducing the yellow-car game to my companion (you hit them when you see a yellow car) and it´s gotten pretty intense. We laugh a lot. We also celebrated the end of summer this week! Woohoo! Right now we are in autumn, which means here all four seasons in one day. We wake up in an igloo (my personal study style is pajama pants under my skirt, fuzzy socks, and three sweaters) and by 3 in the afternoon are sweating in t shirts. It seems to be figuring things out though and I would gladly take the cold over the heat. :)
We had a wonderful weekend. Friday night we were invited to attend the district (like a stake, consists of 4 branches) relief society celebration of the anniversary. It was so much fun, we met a ton of awesome sisters in the district and everyone kept saying how jealous they were that Patagones gets sisters. It was unusually relaxing, it was the first church activity in a long time where we weren´t in charge and running around so we just got to sit, eat, and talk! so that´s what normal people feel like... haha.
Sunday was the district conference, and Presidente and Hermana Parreño came in town to speak. The whole district was in our chapel and it was awesome to see it so full! Also, all the elders from our zone were there so it was fun to be all together. Then that afternoon at 3 we took a taxi over to Viedma, the town across the river, for the adult session of district conference. President Parreño gave the most awesome talk/training on the work of salvation. What an exciting time we live in! It is historic. And I feel so lucky to be a missionary now. He shared one of the most beautiful and moving stories from the life of Christ to illustrate what it means to have motivation through conviction (inner force) rather than motivation through encouragement (outer force). We read in John chapter 6 about the miracle of Christ feeding the 5000. Afterwards, he was so popular that the people even wanted to make him their king. But Christ perceived their motivation and said:
26 Jesus answered them and sa
Their motivation was all external, so that once He taught the sermon of the Bread of Life, which required more of them, they abandoned Him. It was too much for them. Too hard, just not worth it. What he says next is heartbreaking:
When I feel like the rejection we face is just too hard, I think about what it might have felt for Him who loves the people more perfectly than I can imagine. Yet, He still asks hard things of us, because that is the only way. Elder Holland said once, "Salvation is not a cheap experience". But, if we know why we follow him, if we have an inner conviction, than the hard things are all worth it. Peter responded to Christ:
He is the way! I know that without a doubt.
So that was epiphany number one. I´ll explain epiphany number 2 briefly. So.... I´ve almost been in this mission for 4 months now. I really have come to love it here, but have never been able to really let go of missing the utah mission. It´s been holding me back from being truly and consistly happy and lost in the work here. So when President Parreño was here it was a unique opportunity to talk with him. He was so busy after the conference but he took 10 minutes to talk with me and hear my thoughts and worries. He said that he totally understands how serving there for so much time and then transitioning would be hard, and for that he admires me. But he said, among other things, that I need to remember that THIS is my mission. I was called to Bahia Blanca Argentina! The people, the Lord, needs me here. I had been living in the past, trying to stand with my feet in two different places. But what I need to do is look forward with positivity. He said many other great things that I needed to hear, and I felt so much in that moment his care and love for me. It was such a tender mercy!
And you know what? This is MY mission! I don´t know why it took me so long to remember that... :) Good thing the Lord is patient. But today I can tell you that I am so happy! I only have 8 more months to serve here and I am going to make the most of it.
I love you all,
Hermana Nelson
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