30 June 2014

Puerto Love

Hey fam! Quick email no màs! I am really loving Puerto. WE had an incredible conference with the President last week! It was a little different because we did it in the JUNGLE. Literally, we had a testimony meeting in the AMAZON JUNGLE. It was really really cool. (see pic).


We had a great conference with all the branches here too... it was really inspiring and we can already see the members getting more excited and more involved in the work. We have a long way to go, but there is SO much potential here!

You want to know about Puerto? Well, just enjoy the pics :) It`s hot here and Im kind of turning into a crazy person... opening cans of peaches with small machetes, becoming friends with spiders, it`s all just part of the jungle life. Don`t worry mom, I`m elevating my feet at night too. :)

The work is going really well. We are working a ton with families, which is a really rewarding experience. We are also trying to do a lot with family History. It`s all really exciting and fun! I feel very excited for the future of Puerto. I feel very strongly that big changes are soon to come to Puerto.

Love you and thank you all for your support. Praying for you lots! Special shout out to BRIAN AND MOM!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you both so much and am praying for you lots today!!

Love,

Hermana Nelson


Lima Temple!
Really delicious Ice cream. I was a little overwhelmed.
The lamb I found in the fridge in our house before I left Cusco. No big deal. 
10 hour drive through mountains, almost barfing, from Cusco to Puerto. SNOW!
FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS MOM and BRIAN! We celebrated yesterday for you!

23 June 2014

Welcome to the Jungle.

Hey, remember that one time I said I didn`t have a transfer and then I went on and one about how excited I was to be staying in Cusco with Hermana Guajardo... well, about 10 minutes after all that, I found out that I did have a transfer. to the JUNGLE. PUERTO MALDONADO, Madre de Dios. It`s what they call the "Selva". A little bit of a shocker, but SO fun. I love it here. A COMPLETE change of life, but so good. Here`s a few changes I`ve had to go through in my first week in the jungle:

1. Learning new spanish words like, "to sweat", "bug bites" and "shorts", words I never used in Cusco.

2. My feet are growing. Or they are extremely inflammed right now. I will send pics next week.

3. I packed up all my sweaters and don`t even want to look at them.

4. Went from drinking hot herbal tea daily to cold lemonade.

I love Puerto despite the heat and crazy new everything. It`s amazing. I won`t even try to explain how hard it was to say goodbye to everyone in Cusco, but I will just say that I am exteremely happy to be here and be with Hermana Condie my new compi.

Love you all and praying for you lots! 

Hermana Nelson

(click to enlarge)

16 June 2014

CAMBIOS.

News about changes? THERE ARE NONE! Woohoo! So excited to be in this sector for my fifth transfer. I know I have so much to do here. Excited to jump in the work and put in an even greater effort to change lives in this sector. 

Highlights from the week:

1. I went to the temple in Lima! I had to go again for my Visa and it was seriously the greatest trip ever because of the temple. I wanted to stay in there for days. I felt the spirit so strongly there. So grateful to have been able to attend the temple last week. It literally is the House of the Lord, I felt that very strongly.

2. Elder Oaks came to CUSCOTOPIA! Elder Oaks, the apostle... apostle of the Lord... came to Cusco! We had a seperate meeting with him and his wife, Elder Grow (a general authority over the area) and his wife for just us missionaries. It was SO incredible. Can`t even descirbe it. I learned SO much and felt the spirit SO strong. SO amazing. He talked about the priesthood, keeping committments, the sacrament, he told jokes, etc. At the end he said he blesses us, as if his hands were on each of our heads, that the angels of the Lord would protect us and he blessed us that we would be guided in our work by the spirit. It was a really powerful and spiritual conference. Enough said.

Brian and Ally. What the heck. Were you two in Cusco a few weeks ago?? so confused. An elder came up to me and asked me if I know a Brian and Ally Nelson. I said yes, how do you know them? he said he saw you in the Plaza de Armas?!?!?! That`s like 5 minutes from my sector!! Wow! Still so confused. Enlighten me please.

Chris! It was such a surprise to see your aunt in my ward yesterday! So fun to recieve a giant hug from her! She`s awesome. We might be able to get together for lunch before she leaves!

Love you all so much! So happy and even more motivated to be a missionary and work in the work of salvation. 

Love,

Hermana Nelson


Also, a really great email from the president I recieved today...

Hermana Nelson,

You have come to learn on of the greatest truths and strengths of your existence… the truthfulness and the daily importance of the Book of Mormon. This is something that I hope you will make part of who you are, permanently. I promise you that the Book of Mormon, that is, what is contained therein and the things that you learn while studying the things that are contained therein, will be the source of protection and strength for you during your mission and all through your life. It should be as much a part of your day as is getting ready, eating your meals and brushing your teeth. Your progress as a missionary and as a daughter of God is wonderful.

Con amor,
Presidente Harbertson

09 June 2014

"BaptIZE!"

I often think of Nacho Libre when my companion is practicing her English and says "baptIZE!". Haha.  Speaking of baptism... Yolanda was baptized this week! Oh she really is amazing. All week she was just telling us how excited she was about her baptism. Everything went really well... Other than the night before she introduced us to her ex boyfriend... they have a long history, that´s not all too pretty. We were a little worried that they were back together or something, but we talked to her before the baptism and she told us that they are just friends. She said they were talking the night before her baptism and he told her he is really excited for her to be baptized. She told him that she was soon going to be like one of "us"... a missionary! She has strong desires to serve the Lord, to be strong in the gospel, and to do His will. Truly an example for me. In her testimony after her baptism she expressed her sincere joy and excitement to be baptized. She said she knows she will never leave the church. I know that´s true. She is so strong and so happy right now! I love her so much and am SO incredible happy for her and SO grateful for the opportunity we had to teach her. I know that Heavenly Father sent her to us and us to her so that she could experience the great joy of the gospel. 

Sometimes as a missionary, we are more than a teacher of the gospel, or a messenger of truth... but we are marriage counselors, phsycologists, or nurses... I felt that strongly this week. We are working with the Aguilar family. Really really really long story, but they were seperated and now they are back together. They have four ADORABLE kids! They are all less active and 2 of the kids aren´t baptized yet. Everytime we are with them as a family, there is contention between the parents and mainly between the Dad and the kids. It´s really sad, but they both have desires to come back to church and strengthen their family. Yesterday we had a lesson (or a counseling session) with just the parents and another couple from the ward. The bishop and leaders from the ward are all really worried about them too, so there is a stellar couple, Fredy and Izayda, who are going to help them, kind of like their home teachers, but as a couple. Anyway, the visit we had with them was really good. They both expressed their desires to improve their family. At one point the wife started rambling on about how he plays the radio way too loud when she is trying to watch TV after work. Haha. It´s funny how the littlest things can blow up into huge, unecessary arguments. They both want what is best for their kids and they want to be happy. I have great faith that they are going to achieve that goal. We talked a lot about strenghtening the family through the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ: prayer, faith, repentance, FORGIVENESS, etc. The husband expressed to us how things have changed and improved since the missionaries started visiting their family. There´s a quote that says,"A missionary is something that leaves their family for a short time so that others can have families for the eternities." I am grateful for this opportunity to help bring families closer together through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Thanks for being the greatest family in the world, for living the gospel of Jesus Christ and staying strong in the church. You have NO idea how much that means to me as a missionary. I love you all so much!

Con MUCHO amor,

Hermana Nelson


02 June 2014

Receive Strength Through Him.

This week we saw so many little blessings happen!

Remember Evangelina and Fabian? Their Mom is 85 years old and is really going downhill. They both can hardly walk well and don`t have much strength to help their mom. It`s a really sad situation. Eva and Fabian are up to their ears stressing about their mom. Their Mom always yells things at us in Quechua... I`m pretty sure their not very kind words, but I don`t understand anything so it`s okay! I love her! haha. The Elders came over to give her a blessing. Fabian was super nervous about his mom freaking out on them during the blessing or something (she`s kind of a crazy nut), but they prayed that she would be able to recieve the blessing calmly. The Elders came and the entire time she gave the blessing, she was silent. She didn`t move or say anything. She kissed the Elder`s hand after he gave her the blessing. It was literally an answer to their prayers. They told us after that they know Heavenly Father was listening to their prayers and blessed them because of their faith. 

Yolanda is awesome! Getting baptized this Saturday! She hasn`t had an easy life... her Dad passed away when she was 14 and left the family with 8 kids! She is so incredibly happy now. She is so excited for her baptism!! She is just another testimony to me that the gospel blesses our lives and brings us happiness that we would could never imagine. 

As I`ve seen countless times in my mission and again this week, life is rough! Sometimes we don`t know what more to do. Our problems may not cease to exist, yet we can find the strength to overcome our challenges through the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we become closer to Him through following His example, we will recieve strength to press forward in whatever situation we may be in. 

I am so grateful for the gospel in my life. I am the happiest I could ever be! SO HAPPY!!!! I love life, love this ward, the mission, the people, my companion, the Book of Mormon, prayer... I love it all! I love my Savior and know that He gives me strength everyday to keep working hard, because he gave us is perfect gospel and example to follow. As I follow Him I am finding the strength to press forward with faith.

Love you all!

Hermana Nelson