One Year Older and Wiser Too!

Hi family!!! How are you?? Sorry Mami my emails have been short lately. I will try to make this one longer! Thanks for the pictures! It looks like the boys are having fun on the elk hunt! I hope they get somthing this week! I´m glad we have more work going!! Aww how sweet of the boys to go visit Grandma and Grandpa! What did they do for their service project?  How did Chaylee answer her date to Homecoming? I hope she has fun! Make sure to send me pictures! Of course Kellen was nominated for Homecoming King! haha Congrats Kellen! What in the world was Josh thinking??? A 19ft. jump? Who was with him? It sounds like he is the same ol´ Josh! I will keep him in my prayers! Take him some cookies and balloons for me! I was just wondering if Jed was still taking violin and how it was going? haha He was air bowing for half of the year? hahaha oh Jed. Guitar lessons?? Lucky! You will have to teach me when I get home man!! How is the temple coming along? I haven´t heard anything about it since the groundbreaking. How was Dad´s birthday? What did you guys do? I´m sure he was up hunting for his actual birthday.. What did you buy yourself Papi?? haha You got my email right? I hope you had a great day!!

Well Estefan is doing well.. We are waiting to get permission from his mom.. We want to teach him the lessons with her there but it´s hard to find time cause she works. And she wants his dad to be there and give his input on the baptism. The problem is he is married to someone else and travels for work so he is never around. The other day we went to talk with Estefan and  his mom and when we got there neither one were there. ( We teach him at his grandma´s house who is a member because she takes care of him while his mom is at work). Anyway we waited and his mom showed up frantic because she couldn´t find him. She called her daughter who said she was at home and he wasn´t there. So everyone was freaking out trying to find him and we felt helpless cause we couldn´t so anything. Well finally a neighbor of theirs drove by and said Estefan was outside waiting for someone to come home. As it turned out the daughter wasn´t actually at home, she was outside with friends and didn´t know Estefan was there. So needless to say we didn´t get a chance to talk. They said they were going to come to church but didn´t show up. So we are still praying an hoping things will work out. 
We set a date with Soledad for the 1st of October! She is so sweet and so prepared but there are a few complications. She is taking care of an older couple who can´t be alone because of health issues and she is only there on Sundays. It is only for 3 months but she said she was going to try to get someone to take over while she is at church but she didn´t come so we will have to push back her date. But they read everyday and pray and they are so excited about it all. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and about Adam and Eve and how is was necessary for them to eat of the fruit and she was blown away that we aren´t children of sin, that we are children of God and he loves us. I never realized how many people have that idea and it´s sad! 
We haven´t been by to see Judith this week. We went last Saturday and it was the most frustrating lesson. We were trying to get her to come to church and she kept coming up with all these excuses that she can´t because she has to be there for her daughters to make sure hey do their homework and clean the house... they are 16 and 14. But she kept saying how we all need to be like little kids and when someone says let´s go they don´t ask questions they just go! So we asked if she would come to church with us and she straight up said NO! So we decided not to visit her for a week, go back one more time and if she doesn´t want to read, pray or go to church we are going to drop her. 
We are also teaching a 10 year old girl Natalia. She has been coming to church on her own ever since I´ve been here but her mom doesn´t want to give her permission. But we went this week with our district leader and talked with her and she said she would come to church and see what her daughter is doing every Sunday and she said we could teach Natalia the lessons with her. So we taught them about the Restoration and she said she would come to church. We went by to pick them up and she said she still had to shower and she would meet us there. We all know that wouldn´t happen and it didn´t. I think her and her boyfriend were fighting. So we still have a lot of work to do with the mom. She has had a rough life. She has been on her own since she was 7 and she has a lot of resentment( is that a word?) in her heart. So keep her is your prayers! 
So this week I am going to complete a year in the mission! Is that how it´s phrased in English? haha Anyway I can´t believe how fast time goes by! I still feel like I am new and have no idea what I am doing but that´s okay! I was thinking about what I have learned this past year and I came up with a top 10 list of things I have learned/gained so far! They aren´t in any certain order.
1. A greater appreciation for my parents and family. I love you!!! 
2. A greater understanding of the Atonement.
3. A greater love for the scriptures.
4. A love for the people in Ecuador.
5. A greater ability to recognize the Spirit.
6. More sincere prayers.
7. A blind trust in the Lord.
8. The ability to pick my self up when I fall and to keep going even when it´s hard.
9. A knowledge that we progress more in times of trials.
10. The ablilty to recognize a need to change. 

Of course there are more things I have learned and I will continue to learn but thank you to everyone for encouraging me to serve a mission. It was the hardest and best decision I have ever made and I will be eternally grateful. But it´s not over!! I still have 6 months and I am going to enjoy every second!! Thank you for everything! I couldn´t be here without you all! I love you!!! Have a great week!! 

xoxoxXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson