Dear
Familia,
First off yes I pulled S/. 100 out of my card and I may pull 50
to 100 more out this week in order to buy a few recuerdos (souvenirs) before leaving the
offices. I think I will coordinate with Inka Envíos (Vanessa) to send them home
in a package before leaving. To do that, I may have to pull out an additional
amount to pay the shipping. I´ll let you know when I send it so you can be
expecting it. As for a Christmas package, I am absolutely fine haha not a thing
I need for sure. If you still feel like you need to send me something you can
send me a tie perhaps, in one of those bubble envelopes so it won´t cost
anything. I was brainstorming with some of the office elders about what to
bring down in that suitcase that we can give away. Winter does get kind of cold
for people here, but I haven´t really seen many people use hats gloves or
scarves unless they are the knit variety from llama wool they have, and to be
honest those are probably better than we can bring. Then, Elder U had this
great idea. He said that the majority of the people he knows only have maybe
one white shirt to go to church in, or two ties max and they stay that way
until they have been members a good two years. As well, the women usually don´t
own skirts or dresses to wear to church. If we brought down a suitcase full of Sunday clothing
to give away, I know it would get put to good use, and I also know that it
would be a great subtle reminder for them to stay active in the church.
As for this week, we continued with the interviews and work
visits, this time going to Independencia, Collique, San Felipe and Canto Grande
zones. The week goes by super fast when we have mission activities going on,
and even faster now that we do visits after the interviews. We usually get back
to the offices around 9 or 9:30 now and have just enough time to
figure out the agenda for the following day and then head home. One of the good
things I have been able to do this week is head out into Tahuantinsuyo more
often and try to drum up some member support for the sisters. I went out on
Thursday night with Elder S because I decided not to do a visit to
Collique that afternoon and we went to a couple of less actives houses that I
know. Nobody was home, so we went to the Elders Quorum president´s house and
asked if he could help us find someone to teach. He had actually just gotten
home after work in the early morning when his dad told him one of the elderly
members of the ward passed away in the hospital and they were going to have the
viewing and the burial that day. So he went with his dad, and saw a lot of the
members of the ward out to support the family of a really faithful member who
had passed on. He had just gotten home and eaten dinner when we knocked on his
door, and he was hitting maybe 24 hours of being awake still but he agreed to
take us to a friend of the deceased who had actually been the one to invite him
to church many years ago, now inactive.
When we got to his house, he invited us in, mostly in virtue of
that we had Hno E with us. We sat down and we started to talk about the
plan of salvation and remind him that his friend Hno C (the member who had just passed away) was where all
faithful members go to wait the second coming of Jesus Christ. We explained
just that and invited him to come back to church the following Sunday, shared a
glass of soda (very very typical) then left. I felt that we were
supposed to have been there and shared exactly that during the lesson, that it
was no surprise just after the passing of his friend whom he had invited to
church, we should come to his door to invite him to church. We
left and the days went by, I got the duty of staying with Elder Y, an
elder who fractured his ankle playing soccer and now has to stay in the office
while he recovers. Saturday night, after Pday, I asked Elder
U to accompany me to one last appointment at 8:00pm to visit
Hermano A. We got to his door and he welcomed us in, this time without
Hno E. We came in and started to teach the plan of salvation from the
beginning and were able to get to the atonement before I just couldn´t keep
going with the lesson points. I looked at him and said "Hermano E,
usted puede acercarse más a Dios solo por tomar el primer paso, yendo a Su
Iglesia, este Domingo" he responded that he was in the proccess of that
and that he eats breakfast at 8 on Sundays. I told him "Hermano E,
Dios le está esperando con brazos abiertos, y no piensa que es demasiado tiempo
que usted está tomando desayuno a las 8 en vez de la Santa Cena
(sacrament)?" He looked at me with very changed and very sad eyes and
whispered, "Hermano Nelson...no sé si me van a aceptar con tanto cariño si
voy este domingo." Y en seguida nos compartió porque se había alejado de
la iglesia. Estaba en la hospital hace años por una operación importante y
había comunicado con varios miembros para que le donen sangre para la operación
(no hay bancos de sangre donada aquí, simplemente tienen que pagar otros por
donarla o traer amigos de su tipo de sangre) y cuando la hora de la operación
vino, nadie estaba. El hermano tuvo que comprar sangre de otros ahí en la
hospital y se sentía muy decepcionado con los miembros del barrio. Sentía que
por ofenderse con los miembros no le iban a aceptar de vuelta después de sus
años alejado. Le aseguramos con toda la certeza del espíritu que si le
aceptarían y que aunque no, él va a la iglesia por su propia salvación y no por
sus amistades, sean tan cálidos o no. Nos miró a los ojos y dijo
"Hermanos, mañana voy a la iglesia...a las 8 de la mañana me parto por
allá".
(Brother E, you can get closer to God just to take the first step, going to his church this Sunday. He responded that he was in the process of that and that he eats breakfast at 8 on Sundays. I told him "Brother E, God is waiting for you with open arms, and not think it's too long you are taking breakfast at 8 instead of the sacrament (sacrament)? "he looked at me with very sad eyes and very changed and whispered," brother Nelson ... do not know if they will accept me so fondly if I go on Sunday." And then he shared it was because he was away from the church. He was in the hospital for years for a major operation and had contacted several members to donate her blood for surgery (no donated blood banks here, just have to pay others to donate or bring friends to your blood type) and when the time of the operation came, no one was there. His brother had to buy blood of others there in the hospital and was very disappointed with the ward members. I felt offended. The members they would not accept him back after years away. We assure you with all the certainty of the mind that they will accept and if not, we go to church for our own salvation, not our friends, so they are hot or not. He looked into my eyes and said, "Brothers, tomorrow I go to church ... at 8 in the morning before I labor over there") (sorry, very rough translation from google translate)
We left the visit absolutely burning with the spirit after finishing
out the lesson and I called the elders quorum president to make sure he knew
the situation. Today they welcomed him with open arms and several members from
before came and talked with him during the several meetings without having been
asked to do so. Things are starting to happen here in Tahuantinsuyo, slowly but
surely. The immense sadness is that I won´t be around to witness it unfold.
I love you all, I know that there has to be members of our ward
that don´t go. Look them up, do whatever it takes and make a couple of visits
to them this week. Seeing someone twice in one week makes a huge difference,
and if a less active member sees two different friends from the ward during one
week that both encourage them to come back, I´d be willing to say there´s a greater
chance they come than that they don´t.
Love,
Elder Nelson
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