Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi family!! Can you believe Thanksgiving is this week? I can´t! While you are all eating turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, pie and all the other yummy goodness I will be eating................. Can you guess??......................RICE!!!! YAY!!! haha But our Thursday mamita is a really good cook so I will be happy! I´ve gotten used to eating rice now. If I don´t eat it I don´t get full. But I guess it´s a good thing eating the same everyday cause I don´t have cravings anymore!
Well one of the things on my list of things I am grateful for is that Guadalupe was baptized and confirmed this weekend!! Yay!! It was a great baptism! ( And my brownies turned out this time!) Earlier in the week she wasn´t too sure about it. She wanted more time- story of everyone- but she passed her interview! And then we went back a couple days later and she was stressed about everything with money and then everything about baptism. I guess she didn´t like that we visited so much and she felt overwhelmed and pressured. So we are cutting back on the visits! haha We went to pick her and her mom up for the baptism and I was in a short sleeve shirt and didn´t have my jacket with me cause the sun was still out but her mom ( did I tell you she has Alzheimers?) anyway she asked me why don´t you have a jacket in this cold? And then 5 minutes later she asked me again. And then again. I think she asked me about 10 times! hahaha it was funny! She is so cute I love old ladies!! 
But that was the highlight of this week. We had a cool experience on Tuesday! So we went to an appointment and no one was home so we decided to say a prayer and ask who we needed to find. So after the prayer I walked to a door and started ringing all the intercom buttons but no one was answering. And I started thinking why did I need to come to this door if no one is home? Bu then my companion said ´´well either no one is home or this is to draw away your attention from the door bells up there.´´ So I looked up and saw the door bells and rang the top one and a girl came out so we asked for her mom and she came out and we started talking to her and asked if we could come in and she said no. Then my companion asked her what she wanted most for her family and she gave us the contactee answer peace, unity, love etc. So I asked if she had that in her family and she started crying and said come in! So we went in and started teaching her and gave her a Book of Mormon! We only had a bout 15 minutes cause we were going to go do an activity with the seminary kids. But we made an appointment to go back the next day but when we went she wasn´t home. And we have seen her a couple times and we always ask if or when we can visit but she says she is busy maybe another day. So I´m not really sure what happened but I hope we can find her and teach her again because I know we were supposed to knock on her door. 
That is actually happening a lot here and I don´t understand why. We have people let us in, we teach them and then they don´t want to listen anymore. It´s kind of frustrating me. My faith is definately being tried here in this sector. It has been for the past 3 months! But I am learning a lot from it! And I know there is a reason I am here and that we are going through this low time. The Lord will bless us though he always does! 
Well family I love you all and am so grateful for everything you do for me!!! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!!! Have fun at the dunes boys!!! Don´t do anything dumb! Love  you!! xoxoxXo
Love forever and always,
Hermana Nelson

Jacque and Hermana Allen at Guadalupe's Baptism

November to Remember!

Hi family!!  How are you all doing?  I hope all is well!  So last Saturday the 5th was Kyle's birthday and he turned 21 (if you didn´t remember) and Hermana Allen's sister turned 21 on the 7th so we decided we wanted to celebrate their birthdays!  So Monday night we had a Family Home Evening at the Bishop's house and we bought a cake and we had balloons and candles and we made a birthday video for them!  (see attachment).  Just kidding it won't let me send the video but I sent some pictures..  I guess you will have to wait to see them until I get home. Sorry! 

Well this week has been a lot of contacting, a lot of rejection and not a whole lot of new investigators.  But that's okay it's all for our good!  Guadalupe is progressing really well!  Wednesday we went with the bishop to visit her and he was awesome!  I think she was worrying that she couldn't go to church or we couldn't visit her if she wasn't paying tithing..  But he told her she is always welcome at church and she relaxed a lot.  Then Thursday night we went with one of the Relief Society counselors and she was awesome too!  She shared her testimony and helped Guadalupe a lot!  Then Sunday we went to visit her as a zone.  When we go on visits as a zone two missionaries share their testimonies and then we sing a hymn!  So it went really well!  I always love hearing the missionaries experiences!  We had stake conference this weekend so she came to the adult session and the Sunday session!  She loved it!  Tuesday she is going to have her baptism interview and we are still working towards her getting baptized the 19th!  Keep her in your prayers please! 

Elder Uceda came to visit the mission this week and we had a zone conference with him this Saturday!!  It was AWESOME!!!  He is so powerful I loved it!!  He taught us about the importance of staying together with your companion because 95 percent of the missionaries who have gone home enhanceable is because they weren't with their companion.  And he talked about English being the language of the Restoration and the importance of the Latinos learning English.  He mentioned that a lot actually.  So when I have another Latina companion I am going to be better at teaching her English!  But after the conference some of the Latino elders in my zone just busted out in English and it shocked me cause I had no idea!  haha it was funny! 

We made a huge Book of Mormon as a zone for the stake conference and my companion made some gold plates.  I helped wrap the loose pages! haha It was fun! It turned out a little fatter at the bottom but oh well!  Everyone loved taking pictures by it though! 

Birthday cake to Celebrate Kyle's 21st Birthday!

Jacque and Herman Allen.  Celebrating their brother and sisters 21st Birthday!

Well family I love you all!  Thank you for all that you do for me!  You are the best family ever!!  Have a great week!! 

xoxoxoxXo

Love forever and always,

Hermana Nelson

Jacque with her Zone at Stake Conference

Happy November!

Hi family!!!  How are you all doing??  I hope you are doing well!  I am so tired and worn out cause today we went with our zone to hike to a volcano!  Well we didn't quite make it because it was freezing cold and raining!  Well not normal rain it was like a heavy constant mist.  We were all soaking wet and cold and we met some hikers up there and they told us we couldn't keep going because it was too dangerous and we were all wet and could get hypothermia.  So we turned around a came back down.  But it was so foggy you couldn't see anything anyway.  But coming down was the funnest because it was muddy and slippery and everyone was falling!  Except Hermana Allen and I.  The Elders were helping me though so I had an advantage!  haha

 

Well this week was a holiday, well the 2nd was the Day of the Dead but everyone had the whole week off and so no one was here.  The streets were all dead and so it was kinda a slow week work wise.  We didn't have too much going on.  We couldn't get a hold of Guadalupe all week but we called her Sunday morning and she was all ready for church and just about to leave!!!  OMG!!!  haha We are so blessed with her!  Thank you for praying for her!  She loves church!  We taught her last night about the Atonement because she needs to give up smoking.  It went fairly well but I think we have a lot to help her with to be able to give it up.  I know she can do it though!!  She is definitely prepared for the Gospel!

 

Saturday night we went to visit the Ases family after about two weeks and we invited her to church but she wasn't sure about it so we started talking to her and as it turns out she thought that we couldn't dance and she didn't want to sin if she went to church and then to a party or something! haha So we explained that we can dance and she understood and agreed to come to church!  And she did!  Her and Jairo and their little girl.  She sent her husband to the market for her so that she could come.  They sell fritado- a typical meal you can buy on the street here and so every morning she goes to the market to buy everything and she doesn't have a schedule and they are so worried about money that she works all day and it's hard to find them at home. Her husband doesn't want to listen to us at all anymore so I don't know really if they can progress. They need more faith but we can hardly ever find them at home to give them more faith!

 

There is a lady in the ward who is going through a lot of problems with her daughter and husband and she has been for a few months now so we would go about once a week to visit her and at first she had no hope at all that things would get better. She would just say but imagine all that I am going through and how I feel.  But this week we went again and I printed the talk from Elder Holland in the April 2008 Conference "None Were With Him".  So we shared a scripture, my companion gave her the idea to start a blessings journal and I gave her the talk.  We went back that night to bring her the notebook to start her journal and she looked so much happier!  And she told us that she read the talk about 5 times and knew she isn't alone and that she can get through this and be happy!  I was blown away by her change of attitude and was so grateful for conference!!  When I heard that talk for the first time I immediately loved it!  I don't know why because it's not like I was feeling alone at the time or going through a major trial or anything but I have always remembered that talk.  And so I thought about her and decided to print it off and it's exactly what she needed!  The Lord was preparing me over 3 years ago to be able to share that talk with her!  It was the highlight of my week to be able to see her with hope in her eyes!!

 

I love missionary work!  Thank you family for everything you do for me!  For all of your thoughts, prayers and love!! I hope you all have the best week ever! I love you!!

xoxoxXo

Love forever and always,

Hermana Nelson

 

Jacque Hiking Volcano

Jacque and her companion Hermana Allen

Jacque with her Zone

Pan de guagua and Colada Morada
Food they eat on Day of the Dead
YUMMY!

Camp Rock in Ecuador!

Hola mi familia!!! 
Happy Halloween!!!  What is everyone dressing up as this year?  I dressed up as a missionary!!  haha How is everyone doing?  It sounds like Porter is doing good!  I always have him in my prayers.  How was the Jason Aldean concert Bubs and Kyle?  I'm sure it was a blast!  Well this week has been so great!!  Last week we had changes and I am still here in Vargas with Hermana Allen from South Jordan Utah!  She was in this sector about 6 months ago for 3 weeks!  haha Her and her other companion opened this sector and then she left.  But now she is back and she is so excited to be here!  She is an awesome missionary and I am learning a TON from her! I love learning!! 

** Side note** Friday there was a ¨temblor¨ in Ecuador.  I don't really know what that word is in English.  Anyway I guess there was an earthquake in Peru and I don't know if it was a little one here or just the side effects from Peru.  It was stronger in other parts but we were standing in the street waiting for the bus and it just felt like a semi crossing a bridge while you were standing on it.  But i guess in houses you could feel it more.  But it was pretty cool and everyone is talking about it!  haha Just thought you might like to know!  Ecuador is rockin´ these days! 

Anyway back to the good stuff!  So we found a lady this week named Guadalupe and she is awesome!!  We taught her the Restoration and she love love loved it!!  She could feel the Spirit so strong especially while we were teaching her about Joseph Smith and the church being restored!  And the best part was she recognized that she was feeling the Spirit!!  It was my second favorite lesson ever!  The first is with the Barrera family when the Spirit was almost touchable.  Remember?  Anyway she accepted a baptism date!  Woo hoo!!!!  And we asked her to give the closing prayer and she started crying because she was so happy!  Loved it!  And........She came to church!!!  In a dress!  haha She brought her mom who is 80 something years old and has alzheimer- however you spell it.  They live alone.  Guadalupe is 60 and she has never been married, has no kids and has lived with her mom all her life. She said she always prayed to die at 30 cause she thought that was plenty of time to live but God has let her live twice as long and she doesn´t know why.  That was kinda interesting to hear but Heavenly Father has a better plan in mind of course, He always does!  So please keep Guadalupe in your prayers!  We can´t let Satan win with her!

Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting Bishop gave an amazing talk on Elder Oaks talk ¨Desire¨ and I loved it!  My companion and I had just studied that talk this week to share it with people and it was perfect to hear what he had to say!  He opened by asking two questions- What is your biggest desire in life and what is your biggest fear in life? And he just made us think a lot about what we want and what we are doing to get what we want.  So family think about those questions!  What is your biggest desire?  Is it the biggest desire the Lord has for you?  What is your biggest fear?  What are you doing to make sure it doesn´t happen?  If our desires aren´t in line with the Lord´s desires what do we need to change?  Set high goals and work together to achieve them!  Remember what Elder Oaks said something like desires dictate our priorities, priorities dictate our choices, choices dictate our actions.

I love you all! Thank you for being my family and for always loving and supporting me!!  I couldn´t be here without you all!  I love being a missionary!!!  Have a great week!!!! xoxoxXo

Love forever and always,

Hermana Nelson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!