Miracle on 34th Street

Hi family!!! I hope you are all doing well! This week was so crazy!! I know I say that a lot but this one wins!! So we started out the week thinking only David was going to be getting baptized, right? Well then the girl we were teaching who lives with a family in the ward told us she was going to be leaving to the coast until September and wanted to be baptized before then. So we talked to her parents and they gave her permission and then we called our district leader and told him the situation and he talked to the zone leader and they said yes!! Then we went to visit the Yépes family with the district leader because the President told him to verify a few things and they could get baptized! And we were also going to do the interview with his mom who said she also wanted to be baptized with them! So we got there and she said that a lady called her to work and that she wouldn´t be gone too long so the district leader talked with Jose and then we waited for Maria, his mom, to get back. Well 2 hours later she finally showed up! (They live in the middle of nowhere so we couldn´t leave and come back) And she said that she didn´t want to be baptized nor have the interview so we waited for nothing, but oh well! Anyway everything was good with Jose, so they also got permission to be baptized this weekend!! Well as we were trying to start the baptism, a boy named Jonathan, he is the Barrera family´s son - He started coming to church a few weeks ago, but he lives in another area with his mom now so we couldn´t go visit him and we could never get together in a members house.  Anyway he was there practicing soccer with the Young Men´s and he came up to me and was so upset and asked why he couldn´t get baptized too!  Well it just so happened, that the zone leaders and district leaders were at the church too - I´m not really sure why - so I told him to go talk to the zone leaders because I can´t do anything about it! Well they talked to him, had him call his mom and ask permission, and then he had an interview with the district leader!  So we had him change and ran back into the service just in time for the baptisms to be performed!  It was insane!!  One baptism turned into two, two into four and four into five!  I was in shock! They all just fell out of the sky!  As always, I feel like I had nothing to do with any of the baptisms we had, I was just there to watch!  This really is the Lord´s work and it will go forward with no help at all! I have seen so many miracles here and I love every single minute of the mission! I hope you all have a great week!! 

xoxoxoxXo
Love forever and always,

Hermana Nelson

Genesis Paraga

Jonathan Barrera

Jose & Elizabeth Yepes

David Guanga

These Are The Days!!!!

Hi family! 

I hope everyone is doing well!! So two fun stories of the week! The first- We went by our mamitas house for lunch on Saturday and she wasn´t there so we were walking down the street to go get lunch and we saw this old lady who was seriously walking .0005 miles an hour! So slow! So we went to talk to her to see where she was going and if she needed help and she said she was going to buy bags at the bakery so she could sell chips and stuff. And then she started crying and telling us that she lives with her daughter but she hates it here and she wants to get some money so she can go back home so that is why she wants to sell the chips. She said her daughter never lets her leave the house and she feels like a prisoner and it was the saddest thing ever! So we knew she would never make it to the bakery before dark so we went to buy the bags for her and we came back with them and then she said she wanted to buy stuff to put in the bags to sell! So we got a car because she was determined to walk there and we knew she couldn´t and it was a site trying to get her in the car! haha so we finally got her in, went to the bakery, bought the cookies and took her home. Another site getting her out of the car and down the steps to her house. As we were leaving she was crying and had a look on he face like please don´t leave me!! We told her we would come by and visit her another day. It was the saddest thing ever but kinda funny at the same time. She was so old and probably took her 4 hours to walk halfway down the street- no joke! Anyway that was Saturday. 

Sunday we went by a contacts house to see if she was home- of course she wasn´t because no one is ever home on Sundays- contrary to what the Missonary Handbook says- anyway we were standing in front of her gate and she has stairs that go down to where she lives and this chunky guy comes walking up the stairs with a Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus in a glass box! We asked him why he had it with him and he said he takes it everywhere with him! haha My eyes have definately been opened to other churches beliefs and practices here.. anyway we started talking to him and of course he had been drinking so it was a fun conversation talking with a half drunk man! Then his brother came over who also had been drinking and they were just funny! So we gave them a Word of Wisdom and Law of Chasity pamphlet because we didn´t have anymore! And they wanted the missionaries to visit them so hopefully they can get some help! Anyway it was a funny experience and I´m sure more funny in the moment because the story doesn´t sound that funny! Sorry!

Anyway we found two new families this week! The Caiza family and the Diaz family! None of our families came to church though.. But i really think the Diaz family will progress! So keep them in your prayers please! Things are going well! If all goes well with interviews, the Yépes family and his mom will be baptized this weekend and David- the son of a recent convert- I don´t know if I told you last week about him or not. We were teaching him a few months ago and he never wanted to get baptized but now he does! We have a few others who are on the list for baptisms! The hard thig is getting everyone to church. But they will be baptized eventually! Thank you for all of your love and support! I am so so grateful everyday for the blessing I have to be a missionary! It is so great and time is going by so fast! I love you all! have a great week!! 

-- 

xoxoxxoXo

Love forever and always,

Hermana Nelson

Jacque and Hermana Fogg
Wish I knew how to turn this pic.  I just figured out how to add a caption!

La Cruz or Mi Hija???

Roberto, Gabriela and Dina's Baptism. Roberto's Grandma - cute little lady!

Happy Birthday Sis. Nelson!!

Jacque with her humble little cupcake I sent!  They don't have an oven so I couldn't send a Cake Mix but it looks like she got a YUMMY Birthday Cake from somewhere!!

I Love My Life!!!!

Hio familyo! Howo areo youo doingo? Myo Spanisho iso reallyo comingo
alongo huho? hahahahahha Dad cracks me up! I read one of his letters
he wrote trying to practice his ¨spanish¨ hahaha so funny!!!! I will
give you spanish lessons when I get home dad! 

(FYI - I sent Jacque copies of the letters Dan wrote home while he was on his mission.  This is what she is referring to!)

Well the new mission
address is:

Misión Ecuador Quito

Calle Robles E4-515 y Ave. Amazonas

Casilla: 17-03-078

Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

I`m pretty sure you doin`t have to write the Casilla number or
Pichincha, but whatever you want to do! So how is everyone doing? It
sounds like everyone is having a fun summer!! Things are going great
here! We met President Ghent this week! He is soooo tall! But they are
really great, I like them! They are from Cali, they have 5 kids all
married except one is on a mission is Brazil. So they are here alone!
The Sloan`s had 2 daughters with them.. Anyway it will be fun working
with them! Roberto, Gabriela and Dina got baptized this Friday!! It
was a great baptism! The only one from their family that came was
Dina`s mom.. Roberto and Gabriela`s mom said she couldn`t come cause
she had to work. The reason we had it on Friday was so that she could
come... So that really made us sad. I love these people but they
really test my patience sometimes! They have a very different culture
and I jsut don`t understand but that is okay because I still love
them!

So the other day we were contacting and we met this kid who is about
15 or so and he said he didn`t believe in Christ! That made me so sad
and my heart jsut hurts for him. I don`t know how you can`t believe in
Christ. He thinks He was just a normal person and he believes the
Bible is just a book. We made an appointment to go back and visit him
but when we got there he didn`t want to see us. We are going to go
back again but I am just so sad for him.
On a brighter note! We were contacting last Monday and we started
talking to this family and we set a date with them right there in the
street! It was amazing and I know we were supposed to find them. The
daughter, Johana, was moving to an appartment on our street so we went
to see her a few days later and she says she knows she was supposed to
meet us; that we are two angels sent to her. She is a single mom with
a 7 year old boy and she just has such amazing beliefs! She is
basically LDS just not baptized! yet! Anyway It turns out her parents
aren`t her parents, they are just friends. Her mom passed away 7 years
ago and her dad lives in Spain. We haven`t been able to meet with them
but we are going to soon! Johana didn`t come to church though.. We
went by to pick her up and no one answered and she hasn`t answered her
phone. I wish I had a cell phone so I could call her any minute I
wanted to. I will never take a cell phone for granted again. Anyway so
I`m not sure what is going on.. She said she was leaving for vacation
this week but she wasn`t going to leave until Sunday night so she
could go to church. Maybe she ended up leaving. Anyway that`s the
scoop on her.
The Yèpes family is doing well. He had to have an interview with the
president so they won`t be able to be baptized for a few more weeks..
His brother didn`t come to church, I`m not sure how interested he is.
His mom has been traveling cause her sister in law is sick so she
didn`t come to church either. But Jose and Elizabeth are doing well!
I love this gospel and I am so grateful for my testimony of it. I
really don`t know how people live without it. I love being a
missionary and I love all of the experiences I am having. Thank you
for all that you do for me. I couldn`t be here without you and your
support! I hope you have a great week!! xoxoxoXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson

So the other day we were contacting and we met this kid who is about
15 or so and he said he didn`t believe in Christ! That made me so sad
and my heart jsut hurts for him. I don`t know how you can`t believe in
Christ. He thinks He was just a normal person and he believes the
Bible is just a book. We made an appointment to go back and visit him
but when we got there he didn`t want to see us. We are going to go
back again but I am just so sad for him.
On a brighter note! We were contacting last Monday and we started
talking to this family and we set a date with them right there in the
street! It was amazing and I know we were supposed to find them. The
daughter, Johana, was moving to an appartment on our street so we went
to see her a few days later and she says she knows she was supposed to
meet us; that we are two angels sent to her. She is a single mom with
a 7 year old boy and she just has such amazing beliefs! She is
basically LDS just not baptized! yet! Anyway It turns out her parents
aren`t her parents, they are just friends. Her mom passed away 7 years
ago and her dad lives in Spain. We haven`t been able to meet with them
but we are going to soon! Johana didn`t come to church though.. We
went by to pick her up and no one answered and she hasn`t answered her
phone. I wish I had a cell phone so I could call her any minute I
wanted to. I will never take a cell phone for granted again. Anyway so
I`m not sure what is going on.. She said she was leaving for vacation
this week but she wasn`t going to leave until Sunday night so she
could go to church. Maybe she ended up leaving. Anyway that`s the
scoop on her.
The Yèpes family is doing well. He had to have an interview with the
president so they won`t be able to be baptized for a few more weeks..
His brother didn`t come to church, I`m not sure how interested he is.
His mom has been traveling cause her sister in law is sick so she
didn`t come to church either. But Jose and Elizabeth are doing well!
I love this gospel and I am so grateful for my testimony of it. I
really don`t know how people live without it. I love being a
missionary and I love all of the experiences I am having. Thank you
for all that you do for me. I couldn`t be here without you and your
support! I hope you have a great week!! xoxoxoXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson

Happy 4th of July!!!

Hi family!! How are your 4th of July celebrations going? There is a
family in our ward who the wife if from the US and he went to BYU so
we celebrated with them. This morning we went on a hike to see the
cross on top of a mountain.. In her mission she always went to visit
the crosses.. not sure why but anyway she wanted to go so we went with
them! We didn´t make it all the way to the top because we were tired
and out of time but it was really pretty to see the city from up
there! Then we went back to their house and had a BBQ and said the
Pledge of Alegence and sang the national anthem and it was fun! So we
got to celebrate a little!
Well Roberto didn´t get baptized this weekend because he has to have
an interview with the President so he will be getting baptized this
Friday and we are hoping with his sister Gabriela and cousin Dina. We
went to visit Gabriela´s mom with the bishop this week and he got her
to let go of the First Communion thing but she said she had to talk to
her husband so we are going tonight to see what he said! I know it
will all work out! The Yépes family may be getting baptized this
weekend also! They have to have their interview and if everything goes
well they can get bpatized! If not the next weekend.. But they are
doing well! We have a few other people that we are working with but
they don´t have dates.. Soon though!
Well President and Sister Sloan left Saturday and President and Sister
Ghent are here! We are going to be meeting them this week! I hear he
is super super tall! I´m sad the Sloan´s are gone but it will be fun
working with the Ghents. The traning is going well! I don´t know how
well I am doing as a trainer but we are having fun together! It´s also
hard speaking in Spanish to her because just talking about life is so
much easier in English and somethings I just can´t say in Spanish. But
I know I need to be better at talking with her is Spanish so she can
learn. I really don´t know how Hermana Rodgers and I got by with our
Spanish! haha That´s just proof that the Spirit really is the teacher!
Well that´s pretty much all that is going on right now.. Sorry this is
short but I love you all and I am so grateful to be here serving. It
has changed my life and I know I will always remember what I am
learning here. I love Ecuador and the mission and I love the Gospel!!
Thank you for everything! Have a great week!! xoxoxoXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson