Be Prepared

His black nametag...and the one Kolby and Melissa
made for him as he left the Tri-Cities.

Dear Family,                                                                                                                                      

So first an experience. Last night we went to a less active members house to give a lesson about perseverance, he had been in the hospital with a weak heart and so we were visiting to check on that as well.  He listened to the lesson, gave his testimony and then committed his family to be at church without us even asking him. WOW!! So yeah then after that, his daughter that lives with him, about 40 years old, asks us to give him a blessing of health. Elder Arce anointed him and then he asked me to give the blessing....in Spanish. I did it, and the thing is I felt even more guided than in my blessing to Carrie because I needed to literally know the words. So yeah, always be prepared to do that, you priesthood holders out there. Then we went and taught a lesson to a member, the bishop’s mother in law. Outside her house as we were about to walk home, a member stopped us and said she had a reference for right then. SO we followed her to this little garage house where a nonmember with low hemoglobin was in pretty good pain. We gave her a blessing, told her husband she would also need real medical help and then got an appointment for this week on Wednesday. I looked at this one as a blessing of the obedience that we have been striving for. Braden was right, there are a lot of missionaries here that just don´t know why they are on missions.  

My companion is Peruvian from the city of Barranca, roughly 4 hours north of here. We live about three blocks from the chapel in a room and a half house. Two beds, two desks, a bathroom and a couple of racks for clothes. It’s not much but its home. Before I forget we also can´t write anyone else but our family in this mission for the time being. Apparently that announcement hasn’t gotten here yet, and there was a memo sent to each zone about it. We don’t cook or do laundry, we have a pensionista, but we eat our main meal with member families and we’ve eaten only once or twice with our pensionista, she is more of a landlord than a "mom".  Every visit we are offered food at the investigators house or wherever else we are at, so we really only have one sit-down meal per day at lunch.

Streets are paved, but sidewalks are dirt usually, so there’s dust everywhere, just like home sometimes, but its inside as well. My companion is going to Argentina Cordova when he finishes training me, we hope at least. Visa issues are worldwide. There’s only one transfer after I’m trained that I could be transferred to the selva (selva=jungle) because in June all of the jungle areas become the Iquitos mission. I hope that I go out there instead of training, but wherever I’m supposed to be is just fine. We go to the temple about every three months, and I haven’t gone yet, maybe when I go into Independencia. I´ve been chosen to direct a missionary choir from our mission when Elder Craig C. Christianson visits next month so I was focusing pretty well on the conductor at conference.

Pictures are big and slow to load, so I had to get rid of some. Happy birthday to Melissa, I hope she goes to  dances, they’re important opportunities ;)

I am starting to give lessons yes, and talking some, trying at least. People are patient and English is taught in the schools here, so that’s good. I actually understand young adults best because they speak at a moderate speed and don’t mumble yet. Kids talk super fast and grandparents mumble pretty bad. It was a pretty big arriving group yeah, only 4 Americans in the group, which is kind of a typical slice of the mission itself.

Hugo and Clorinda, the Bishop's family,
and Juan and Maritza Ramos family

The picture this time is of a family night with two investigator families. >Juan and Maritza Ramos on the right and Hugo and <Clorinda on the left, and the bishops family in the middle.

Well I better wrap this up because it’s time to go to the zoo ;) Last P-day we played soccer, I played defense and keeper just like Braden…haha.

I love you all, conference was great, and all in Spanish sin (except) hymns so I didn´t quite get the phrases that mom sent, but I hope to get a copy in English for review, a gringo can hope right?

Love,

Elder Nelson