And So It Begins...

Our First Letter!
Sunday night, July 25, 2010
Dear Family,
Well I made it in to the MTC and got my nametag. It says Elder Nelson, La Iglesia de JesuCristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias. It is sooooo cool here. I met my district and they all seem like really good Elders. My companion's name is Elder Warr from Meridian, he is really nice and I'm excited to be his comp.
It was a crazy cay, everything went so fast. I saw almost everyone from BYU, Jackson, Jeffrey....etc. I saw like 10 of them.
We got our books and met our teachers, then after dinner, we went to a teaching class. There was 3 fake investigators in different rooms and a group of 30 of us tried to teach them and hellp them realize the truthfulness of the gospel. P-day is Tuesday.
It is incredible how organized this place is. Sorry this letter is so short but we have lights out soon. Also they gave us special permission to write this letter so I'm not breaking rules. (Note from Peggy: That was because I told him to obey immediately and completely all the rules :)
The Spirit is so strong here, I was a little nervous right before we pulled up to the MTC, but this is where I need to be. I can already feel myself changing as the Spirit works through me. Also, for the plaque try D&C 18-14-16. i love you guys. I hope the Spirit will testify to you of the greatness and truthfulness of the work.

Sincerely,
Elder Braden Nelson

p.s. o yeah, our Zone Leader is Rick Millet, he was on my floor at BYU.


And then our first email arrived!
Tuesday, July 27, 7:27 a.m.

Hey Family,

Ok yes I got 2 name tags, one for church clothes and one for p-day with a safety pin on it.It is in spanish. No I did not have to speak in church although we have to prepare a talk every Sunday in Spanish becuase they randomly call on elders to give talks. I am on the bottom bunk because Elder Warr and I have a room all to ourselves. No I have not seen Jon or Janae yet, but there are close to 500 Spanish teachers here so I don't know if I will. My companion is Elder Warr from Meridian, Idaho. He is a way cool guy, he went to Utah State and his first name is Cameron. He is about my height...I will send pictures sometime but we haven't taken that many yet. I like him becuase we always follow the rules like going to bed on time and getting up on time without very much complaining. That is way cool that you got to go into your old house, I wish I could have been there. (See bnpfamily blog) This whole e-mail process is very stressful because there is a big red clock counting down in the corner. So right after you dropped me off they took me into this room where they gave me my name tag and my money card and took my picture. Then I dropped my stuff off in my room and left 2 seconds later to go meet my companion and district. Then we met my teacher Hermano Haight and Hermana Walters. Then we went to an opening orentation with the MTC president and couselors. Then we had class for 3 hours, and somewhere in there we ate dinner. The first day is so jam packed with things it feels like it is a week long. I can't believe I have been here for almost a week, we have been so busy that it has felt like a year. The first day Hermano Haight came in and only spoke spanish, and pretty much that's how it's been the whole time. He taught us how to pray in spanish and since you dropped me off I haven't said a prayer in english. It usn't as hard as you would think though, I think God is helping us. My companion and I set a goal to bear our testimony in spanish to 2 people a day who weren't in our zone and it is incredible how much you can learn in a couple days. Time feels so slow here, I think it's because we have to get up so early.

Part 2 (I think he was nervous about getting logged off before he sent his letter, so he sent it in two parts)

O yeah and a couple more things before my time runs out. I sent a letter, I don't know if you got it. I need to know the dates, all the dates of my Hep A and B and all the dates of my MMR shots becuase they weren't on the immunization record. Also, Kolby, I have been playing soccer almost every day and I'm not very good....but then again it is like 30 on 30 so there isn't much room to play. The gym is closed so no basketball for a while....bummer. But the temple has been closed for a month and is opening today so I get to go and I am way excited. Dad I met like 5 elders going to Independence. Everyone in my zone is going to mexico exceot 4 elders are going to Peru Lima North. Me and Elder Warr are going to Mexico City East, Elder Arnell and Elder Campbell are going to Mexico City North and Elder Bartolomei = Veracruz and Elder WIlliams = Villahermosa. There are no sisters in my district. Elder Bartolomei is our district leader. I am so glad I didn't have to do that, I just want to study. We get gym every day so my gym clothes smell soo bad, but o well. O also I blessed the sacrament in spanish, that was kinda scay but we just read off of a card so I guess it wasn't that bad. I love you guys, don't waste your whole summer in front of the computer...please. And Melissa and Kolby practive your piano..I love you.

Braden