June 30, 2014

¡Hola Familia!

Well it´s been another great week here in Bahia Blanca.:) I dont have too much time but I´ll try to give a good rundown of the week!!

This sunday we had transfers but since I had my own personal transfer a couple weeks ago we were safe. Hermana Campbell, one of the sisters who lives with us, left though so that was sad. She completed 15 months on the mission this week and we had a "quinceañera" at home - it was pretty great.

The best news though is that our investigator A is progressing again. She´d been getting a little distant, and we were worried. But we had an awesome lesson this week in which we talked about becoming better people, setting goals to improve through the principles of the gospel. She has a lot of desire to be a better person, and she really had an epiphany there of what she needs to do to acheive that. Saturday we watched a video on temples and she really loved it. So sunday she came to church with her 3 kids! It was awesome. The kiddies loved primary.

We havent found a ton of new people this week, but the people we have found have been so prepared to receive the gospel! It has been super neat to see how the Lord guides us. One of them is named S. We were looking for a contact and knocked on her door. She began talking to us and expressed a lot of interest in the message - shes a lady with a lot of faith and talked about how she needs something in her life that can be a constant - something to hold on to when the times get hard. I testified to her that this gospel is what she is looking for! We talked about baptism and  she accepted a date to prepare for.:) 

Meanwhile, the copa mundial continues! Its impossible to avoid - every house has it on TV. I happened to see the end of the Holland win (yayyy Holland pride!!!!) and everyone here is just super pumped about Argentina! Mundial is the best. I´ve decided that I need to watch futbol more often when I get home!

I´ve really been enjoying my reading of the Book of Mormon lately. The other day I read Alma 26 and I felt like Ammon´s words were my own. When I think of how the Lord has made me an instrument in His hands to bring people to Him I am filled with joy!! It is the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced. I love these two verses in particular:

 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.
 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, manymighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

The gospel is true. Jesus Christ lives!!

love you all,

Hermana Nelson

¡¡¡Vamos Argentina!!!

¡Hola Familia!

Today I am emailing you from the heart of Bahìa Blanca. :) We took the colectivo (bus) into town to do some shopping. It is so fun living with the 2 other hermanas - we stick together. Well my new area sure is different but I´ve really enjoyed this week! We`ve met some really wonderful people too.

One of my favorites is M. She is a cute old lady who can barely walk, but is very religious and loves our visits. So we hadnt seen her too much this week but saturday we went to visit and had a great lesson with her and invited her to the church. She said she would! And sure enough Sunday morning when we passed by she was all ready to go. My heart was bursting with love for her as we watched her make her way slowly from the crutches to the wheelchair. And the next miracle was that out came her husband Jose, and we thought he was just going to help her out the door but he ended up coming with us to church! So we had M and J and they stayed for the first 2 hours. The members received them so well, it made me really happy.

Friday we had a really fun ward activity, planned a bit spur of the moment but it turned out awesome! A good group came. It was día de la bandera, national holiday in Argentina. We played some games, a member taught us how to dance the tango, and we ate a lot of food. There are so many families in this ward I am still so overwhelmed haha! Sunday there were 65 people in the chapel and it was crazy but so awesome.

Vamos Argentina!!!! And the world cup continues. We had a funny experience with that. We were finishing a lesson and in the next room some people were watching the Arg - Iran game. It was in the last few minutes and no one had scored yet. So my companion goes to say the prayer and right after she starts all of the sudden we hear GOOOOOOOOOOAL - and it goes on for literally minutes. Hna Mancuello said she almost thanked God for the goal, but decided that wasnt such a good idea haha.

In case you´re wondering, while you guys up north are feelin the heat we have offically entered into winter! It hasnt been too terrible yet but its gettin there. Fortunately we´ve been able to teach a good amount and so are inside more often!

Tuesday we had our district meeting and I got to meet a ton of missionaries! Our zone is huge. It was so much fun - there were some familiar faces too. And then later we passed by the mission office and I ran into my good friend Hermana Nelson. I love it!

I love love love love being a missionary. There is nothing compared to it, nothing that has made me more happy. I love being able to lose myself in the scriptures each morning and then to testify to people of these truths that are so precious! I know with all my heart that it is true, and that this is God´s work!

Love you all,

Hermana Nelson

Surprises

¡Hola Familia!

Well, this might have been the craziest week of my mission ever. First of all... surprise! I am now in Bahìa Blanca! Wednesday we were at the home of pte and hna Gira when my district leader called with some news - I was to be transferred to Bahìa. My first reaction was shock, tears, and sadness. I can`t describe in words how much I love Patagones. It truly had become my home and the people my family! My last few days there were wonderful however. Tuesday we had an awesome zone meeting and our district president, presidente Genova came. This zone is awesome - these elders are gonna be big leaders in the church some day. Later that day we had an awesome lesson with K, our 19 year old investigator. It was really neat and it was one of those really powerful lessons where we knew she was left thinking deeply about our questions - it was a turning point for her and now she is really on track! She is a cool girl. 

Wednesday morning we woke up to find the mouse in the trap!! Finally. So like the typical girls we are we called the Elders to come get rid of it. The zone leaders were there too so we had 4 elders taking out a tiny mouse. Thats what elders are for, right?

Wednesday, my last day, was so much fun. We had an activity with the young women and a good group, about 6 of them, came out! It was so fun - we  taught them how to make brownies. And E brought a non member friend! We talked, laughed, and listened to music. I had so much fun!! Then towards the end all my favorite people came to the chapel for a kind of impromptu sending me off party. It was awesome. We took lots of pictures, ate the brownies, and they signed my book. I sure love them. 

I left at 6 o clock the next morning, after a night of barely any sleep for packing. Hna Gladys, who has been like a mom to me, drove us to the terminal. Then it was hasta luego Carmen de Patagones and Hola Bahia Blanca!!!

My new area is called General Arias. We share the ward with two elders (one of which is elder bench, my former DL who baptized E) and we live with two other sisters. That is so fun, especially because one of them is hna O`Hara my comp from the mtc!!! My new companion is Hna Mancuello, who is from Paraguay. She is super tall and thin, and a convert of 3 years. I already love her tons, and we work great together! It is a great area with lots of potential and a LOT of mud. Good thing I bought brand new boots. The ward is great, right now there is no bishop which is interesting but the ward mission leader is legit and there are a ton of great families. And no more singing solos! Its weird - we go to church and dont have to do anything. It sure is different! We have a few investigators but mainly are focusing on finding right now.

Even though I miss Patagones a ton, I really am so happy right now. I LOVE being a missionary! I am at a point now too in my mission where I can communicate pretty well and have more confidence in general. I absolutely love teaching, meeting new people, and bearing my testimony. These are the best days of my life. There arent the easiest days, thats for sure. But I can feel every day that the Savior is walking beside us, and I know without a doubt that this is His work. 

I love you all,

Hermana Nelson

p.s. for those of you who dont know... the world cup is going on. Last night as Argentina played there was NO ONE in the streets! At home we put on our Argentina jerseys and took pictures :)

June 9, 2014

¡Hola familia!

today is one of those pdays where I sit down to write and have no idea what we did this week!! Apparently its been  busy one... but so good of course! Yesterday L and E were confirmed members of the church!!! I cannot describe how happy that makes me.

In other news, M.G, who is our best friend is coming back to church strong! She now comes to all the activities, with her kids, and is just so much fun. Also she has been helping us out with a situation we have in our house right now, which leads me to the next thing....

THERE IS A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE! I was talking with our district leader the other night when I saw it running out a crack by the door. So naturally I screamed and hung up. Our DL didn´t seem too worried though, probably just thinks we are wimpy girls. but GROSS! I hate mice. So we put out some rat poison, which he seemed to enjoy as a late night snack and did nothing. Sunday night M came by to look over the situation, and lended us a legit mouse trap. SO we set it all up cheese and all, and the next morning peeked slowly around the corner to see if our mouse friend had been caught. To Our dismay (but maybe a little relief too) the trap had closed but the mouse nowhere in sight. He had even nibbled a bit of the cheese. Our friend is still living as of right now but I´ll keep you updated.

On a more spiritual note, the work is going so well. The members have been helping a ton and we are seeing many miracles. Also this week I have had some amzing experiences in my book of mormon reading where I have received answers so exactly to the troubles we´ve been having with investigators. I have such a firm testimony of that book, it is inspired of God and our most important tool!

Anyways sorry for the short email I´ll do my best to write more next week! I love you all!

Hermana Nelson

Baptisms, Singing Adventures, Revelation

To top off an amazing week, Liliana and Emilse were baptized!! Milagros!!!!

¡Hola Familia!

Wow. It`s gonna be hard to put into words how awesome this week was!!!! First off, yesterday L and E were baptised! That was definitely the best part. It was a beautiful, spiritual baptism and a ton of people came, including a bunch of less actives that we have been visiting. I was just so full of happiness, and gratitude, that we were put in the right place at the right time a month and a half ago, and that the Lord gave us the right words all along the way. L and E are amazing. 

Basically, we had a ton of things going on this week, including an activity for the youth (Olimpiadas Locas - Crazy Olympics put on by us), District meeting, Zone conference, Noche de Hogar and English class, and a baptism. And yet, because my companion and I are an awesome team and the Lord blessed us, we had 31 lessons in total!!!! For those of you who don`t know, thats incredible for our mission. And 12 lessons with members! 

The zone conference with Pte Parreño was amazing. He talked about how our goals come alive when it is connected to 4 sources of power. They are unity, focus, determination, and faith. We saw that put into action this week! Even though we are a new companionship we are so unified in our desires to find teach and baptize. Because of that we have seen miracles. One thing that our leaders have really been talking about is teaching the doctrine of baptism to everyone and inviting everyone. We`ve put that in practice and it is awesome. Its amazing to see that when we put away our fears, or worries, the Lord gives us the right words and the people feel the spirit. 

This sunday we saw a bunch of inactive people come back! That was a huge miracle. One of them is M, the super cool lady I mentioned last week. She is on fire, getting her life together and coming to every activity. And now she says her 8 year old daughter, L, wants to be baptized!!

Now for the singing... this week I sang a solo 3 times! Oh how the mission has changed me. The first was when our zone leaders asked us to sing a number for the conference. My comp and I sang "I will not be still" which is one of my all time favorites (and reminded me of my farewell Matt!) and sang it in parts. I had the brilliant idea to start it off alone and regretted it when I was up there but in the end the song turned out beautiful! The second adventure was a familiar one. Directing the music at church, no piano, no one knows the hymn. Awkward. But the third one was a another good one. My comp and I sang a number at the baptism, and as we were up there I looked around the full room and there were a few tears. Music is a powerful thing! We sang Joseph Smith`s first Prayer to the tune of Come thou Fount. 

Anyways, I am SO SO happy. We are reaching goals, and it has become so clear to me that when we totally consecrate ourselves the Lord pours out His blessings. This is HIS work! This is THE church of Jesus Christ!

I love you all so very much!!

Hermana Nelson

May 26, 2014

Saying goodbye to the familia E - Gonna miss those guys!

Our zone last transfer - I stand out just a little bit...

There´s my new comp up front - we taught noche de hogar this week and a ton of people came! woohoo!

We made a birthday cake for this little guy - he is one of the kids of the familia S - M`s family.

¡Hola mi familia!

As always, so good to hear from you. Sounds like a fun week together in Connecticut! 

I had a wonderful week as well. Of course it has been an adjustment to a new companion, but she is awesome. Her name is Hermana Harrison, she is from California and has one transfer more than me on the mission. She is a hard worker and we have already seen success together! It is great to be able to learn from someone else who has different talents. Another good thing that we do that I didn`t do with hna Tovar is we ALWAYS are speaking in spanish. It has already helped me! 

As for the investigators, we had a great week. L and E are still doing great, the members are doing an awesome job being their friends, and they are progressing so well. This week L was talking about the changes she seen in herself since we`ve started - greater spiritual understanding and sensitivity to name a few. And cute E is just as excited to go to church as ever! 

This week we started teaching K, who was found the week before in the less-active rescue activity. Her mom was baptized many years before and Kenya has a huge desire to learn about the church and figure it out for herself! She is 19 years old. We have had some great lessons with her, she is so eager to learn and asks lots of questions. What a huge blessing! 

The sad part of the week was that randomly, out of the blue, the E family decided to move to Bahia where her mom has an apt. I was kinda crushed but I know that they will continue there - we are sending their information so the missionaries there can visit them. Saturday night we passed by, helped pack a bit, and I said goodbye. They are so sweet and both V and N were crying. Oh man I hate goodbyes!

But back on the happier note, this week we started visiting M, a less active lady who is super cool. She owns a small shop, and a non member friend is always there and has been listening in. We had a great first visit, she really opened up, and when we saw her again she said our visit had done a ton of good and that she started reading the Book of Mormon again! woohoo!!

So basically thats the long story short. Its been a great week full of work! This sunday something funny/cool happened. So we found out saturday night  that we were to give talks the next day. I had no idea what I should speak on, and it was 8 in the morning sunday and I had to figure it out. I kneeled and asked Heavenly Father which topic I should prepare. As I waited the word "faith" came into my mind. So thats what I prepared! I love that topic - such a small word has such important meanings. One of my favorite quotes that I shared was this - "brothers and sisters, be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith". - Thomas s. Monson. So many are fearful of the sad things happening in the world all around but faith is the power to go out each day and face the world with a smile! Faith is power. Anyways, Elder Chauque spoke after me and talked about hope, using many of the same references I did. Then the elders taught gospel principles and the lesson was on faith! And then 3rd hour a big theme was faith too. Apparently the members and investigators needed a message of faith!!! There is no coincidence there.

The church is true!!!!

love you all,

Hermana Nelson

The End of an Era

¡Hola Familia!

Well, after 4 transfers making it through untouched, change has finally made its way to us. Hermana Tovar left last night at 12 pm for Mar del Plata. I am here staying with hermana Guenofil until my new comp comes in later today by bus. It was super surreal, while hna Tovar was packing and everything, and then hit like a brick when she was about to get on the bus. It was so so hard to say goodbye to her - she has been the greatest support to me during the difficult times, and we really became best friends as we shared all of our crazy experiences. Fortunately though, we will be finishing our missions at the same time so it was an hasta luego - see ya in 5 and a half months!

I am SO excited though to keep working in Carmen de Patagones. This is the greatest place ever! First of all, during this transition the members have been taking such good care of me. I`ve gotten lots of hugs and kindness. Second, yesterday we had all 5 of our main investigators in church! The E family, and L and E. They are all awesome. The E family is having a bit of a hard time feeling prepared to be baptized, but I have full faith that it will come because they are so awesome. L is super cool! This week we focused on fellowshipping her with Hermana G, and E with B. We have had some awesome lessons, where the spirit is strong. The other day she said that she knows that these things are true! She is so humble, and said that she doesn`t feel she deserves baptism yet. We told her that what matters most is that we are humble and have the desire to follow Christ. Every time we come for a lesson, she has read in the Book of Mormon and has lots of questions. And theres E, who is so excited for church and is just the cutest. Wow. Sometimes I cant believe how much the Lord has blessed us!

We started teaching N finally this week, she has already gone to church twice (but only to relief society). She is kinda a church hopper, she reads the bible and has lots of faith but has lots of confusing ideas. We had an incredible lesson. At first she was just talking so much, about random things that didnt make much sense, of what she understood about religion. But with lots of prayer, we were able to ask inspired questions that led her to resolve those things. It was amazing. We testified of the truthfulness of a true church and she really felt it.

This week we also had a member-missionary activity and it was awesome. We did splits and I was with hermana G, the super legit recent convert. It was so fun! It was like being with a greenie - all the enthusiasm and testimony in the world but not so much experience. :) I loved it.

Anyways, the church is true and the Lord is guiding His work. I know it! Also, I love you all,

Hermana Nelson