Happy Easter!!

Hi family‼ How is everyone doing? How was your Easter? Easter here is
totally different. It`s Semana Santa but I think it`s a week for the
Catholics. Everyday they do something different but I`m not sure what
and on Friday everyone makes Fanesca. A soup with 12 different grains,
representing the 12 apostles, and if it is made right it is pretty
good. But it`s okay with me that they only make it once a year. It`s a
huge process- they cook every grain individually and they blend
peanuts with milk and put that in there and dried fish. It would be so
much better without peanut milk and fish. Anyway that`s about all I
saw of the Easter celebrations. Not even church was focused on Easter.
No Easter dresses, Easter themed talks or hymns‼ I was very
dissapointed. But oh well Easter was in my heart‼

I am so grateful for the Savior and for the Atonement and to know that
because he lives we will all live again too. These past few weeks I
have been thinking a lot about the purpose of this life and that this
is not the time for everything to be perfect. We have to work and
struggle, to learn and to grow, to become like Heavenly Father. There
is no Neverland and eventually we all have to grow up and experience
life. I am grateful for everything I am learning here that are shaping
me into the person the Lord wants me to be. He knows me better than I
know myself and he knows what I need to become. The most important
thing we can do in this life is to live the gospel and be the best we
can be so we can be an eternal family. It requires the work of each
one of us. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and for the hope of
Eternal Life. I know that all the struggles and hardships will be made
up for in the next life. And through it all the Savior is right by our
side.

Well Last weekend, I think I told you, Carlos was baptized‼ I attached
the picture. He is the one next to me. After sacrament last week he
left before we had a chance to talk with him so we went one day during
the week and he came our super happy and told us he found a job‼
Someone in the ward talked to his after church and he started the next
day‼ He was so happy‼ We asked him how he felt after being baptized
and confirmed and he said he had never slept better than that night.
He said he slept like and angel‼ haha the Sunday before his baptism we
had a lesson on tithing and he was so worried about it because he
didn`t have a job so he thought he couldn`t be baptized because he
couldn`t pay tithing. We explained that he only had to pay tithing
when he had a job and was making money but he was still super worried
about it. Anyway this Sunday the first thing he said was that he got
paid and wanted to know how to pay his tithing‼ hahaha He is going to
be so great in the church.

Well family I love you all‼ Thank you for all of your love and
support‼ Have a great week‼ xoxoXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson

April Showers Bring May Flowers!!

Hi family!!

How is everyone doing? I am soaking wet!! It has been raining all week
long!! I guess the rainy season is starting! Woo! Well this weekend
Carlos Columba is going to be baptized!! I am so excited for him! He
is a special spirit! He lives all alone, with next to nothing in his
house. His parents died about 20 years ago and he got out of rehab
about a year ago for drugs.. The drugs have definately had an effect
on him. He is like a little boy! Most of the time it seems like he
isn`t paying attention but when we has questions he knows everything!
He is always waiting for us when we come with his Book of Mormon in
hand! haha The poor guy is so lonely I feel so bad for him. But with
the church he will be able to make friends! His life has been so hard
but I know with the gospel he will be blessed!

Last night we were walking down the street and we passed a little boy
who was crying and asking for his dad! So we stopped to ask what was
wrong and he said he was asleep in the car and when he woke up his dad
was gone and he didn`t know where he went! So we sat with him and
tried to calm him down and talked to him until his dad came. When he
did we found out that we were infront of his grandma`s house and the
dad went to the store next door to buy some oil! haha The poor thing
was so scared that his dad left him! But it was kinda funny
afterwards! haha

This week we had a Specialized Training with President Sloan and he
talked to us about having faith in Christ and helping to build the
faith our investigators have not in the church but in Christ. It made
me reflect a lot on faith. It really is the key to this life. Without
faith we have nothing! I have always had faith but until this mission
I don`t think it has really been tested. I am grateful for all of the
experiences that try and test my faith because it has grown so much
and I know it will continue to grow! It is hard to believe all of the
change that has happened in my life in the past 18 months and I can
only imagine how much more change is on it`s way! But through it all I
know the Savior is with me and will always be with me! In our specialized

training we also had interviews with the President and it was so
wonderful to know that he doesn`t think of me as the first terrible
impression i gave him! He said he was so proud of me, that I have a
pure heart and I am the type of girl he wants his son to marry! haha I
wrote more in my journal but it was so nice to hear that! 
Things with the new companion are good! We both share the work
responsibility which is good! It is preparing me to have to take it
all on if or when I become a trainer! I`m glad I won`t have to have
all that stress on me at once! Right now is stressful enough!
Does Kyle have to leave in January? Can`t they wait another month?
But how long will he be gone for? I know it isn`t until January but still! And then Bubba will be leaving!

Wow time is flying by! A year ago I was calling you telling you I was
thinking about a mission and here I am! It is so crazy! Time is a
funny funny thing! I am so grateful to be here and I am so grateful for you and all of your love and support and prayers!  I really couldn`t do it without you!

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! 

Well I love you and miss you so much!! Thank you for everything!! You are the
greatest Mom ever and my biggest example and hero!! And thank you Dad
for all that you do! You work too hard 

xoxoXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson

Conference!!!

Hi family!!! How are you?? How was your Conference weekend?? I
absolutely LOVED it!!!!!! It was such a blessing!! There are a couple
zones who didn`t get to watch it because there is no satelite where
there are. Hermana Norman- my companion from the MTC was one of them.
I feel so bad for them! But I am so grateful I got to watch it!! And
in English!! Saturday morning I was told we couldn`t watch it in
English and I was so bummed! But then after about 10 minutes an Elder
came to get me to say it was in English!! That happened Sunday morning
too. Blessings are everywhere! I loved hearing the voice of the
prophet and I am so grateful for the gospel in my life! Everything
that I am, everything that I do is based on the gospel. Without it I
would be nothing! And I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be
an instrument in the Lord`s hands to bring the gospel to others and to
see their lives change and become filled with happiness!
And the Lord is blessing us more and more! This week we taught
Manuel`s sister and Maria`s brother, who are married, they came to
conference and they definately have potential! They are so great! And
they have the support of Manuel and Maria which makes it so much
easier!! And last night we met their neighbor family and they seem
super interested too! I am so excited!! I love working with members!!!
We could do nothing without them!
We are also teaching the Velastegui family but it`s a little hard
because he works about 8 hours away and is gone for two weeks then is
home for a week. She thinks he has another woman there and she is
having a hard time but she came to conference with her two kids!
And then there is Carlos! He is a special guy! His parents passed away
when he was 12, he lives alone and he was on drugs and in re-hab. You
can definately tell the effects it has had on him. But he is looking
for something more in his life, he is so lonely it`s so sad! But he is
always waiting for us when we have an appointment with his Book of
Mormon and pamphlets haha He has a date for the 16th so keep him in
your prayers!!
So we went to the offices today and we went to McDonald`s for lunch- I
know gross but it is actually not bad here! Maybe because it is
familiar food! haha but anyway there is a Down Syndrome girl who works
there and she is so adorable! I have been there a time or two and I
always say hi to her and today when we walked in she was so excited to
see me! haha So cute!
I am so grateful for all of these experiences, for my time here and
for everything I am learning! Thank you for all of your thoughts and
prayers! I couldn`t do it without you! xoxoxXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson
P.S. Here are the pictures from the baptism!! Everyone together with
the bishop, The Andrango family with thier little boy in the corner,
and the Chamorro family!- Not too sure about the random two little
kids, they aren`t related! haha