Wearing My Shoes Out...

Hello Family!!


Well another week went by really fast. I don´t know where the time is going, but it is going fast. This week I was thinking a lot about how much I love you guys. I´m not homesick, because I Iove the mission too much to be homesick, but I was thinking about how much I would love to see you and talk to you. Emails are good, and letters are probably one of the best things that we get here in the mission, but nothing compares with a voice and a hug. You never know what you have until you are deprived of it, that is soo true. No I haven´t sent a package, nor have I received a package or letter from mutual. We really only get pouch about once every cambios. I will send a package soon...I just can´t find my SD card so I´m going to have to buy a card first. Although the pictures are good, you can never know exactly what I am doing or seeing or eating until I can explain it on the phone or in person. There is just too much to describe and not enough pictures.

Also, sorry for this letter, this keyboard is really old and doesn´t work very well. The keys are all sticky. Also in many of my pictures I am wearing my glasses because I take the contacts out to clean them every 2 weeks or so, but then don´t have time to put them back in again. So I end up wearing glasses for 4 or 5 days until I get sick of them. The air in Teotihuacan is pretty clean relatively speaking. I have 3 pairs of contacts left...so I think if you could send more I would appreciate it. If not then I will just wear my glasses.

Elder Ramos went to the MTC in Mexico City, and the temple too. He wasn´t endowed when he entered the MTC, so he received his endowment in the MTC.

That makes me really happy that the lady who cleans for Grandma is from Pachuca, that is part of my mission, and is only 40 minutes or an hour from where I am. The truth is that we really do wear our shoes out. I have never seen so many shoes that are just completely trashed, but that is that same as the culture here. Wear it until you can´t anymore, because there just isn´t very much
money for extra things. My shoes are still going strong. The shoelaces have broken several times, but I just tie a knot and keep going. I have only been using one pair of shoes so I can save the others. They still look pretty good, I shine them every day. There is one part where they are breaking a little, but you can´t see it very well. I think this pair will last at least until my year mark, and the other ones should last until the end of my mission.

Elder Ramos doesn´t really like to play sports....he likes museums and arts more. We are kind of opposite in a lot of things and sometimes it is frustrating, but I get along pretty well most of the time and I am glad to have him as a companion.

Well this week went by really fast because we were really busy. On Monday we went to check a reference from the Centro para Visitantes in Axapusco (ahapoosco). I had never been to Axapusco, and only vaguely knew where it was. It is about an hour from San Juan where we live. But Presidente told us that we need to go and check the references right away, so we went and finally after some searching found the house. Maria (65) was waiting for us. She had recently lost her husband and was really really nice. We taught the Plan of Salvation and she told us at the end that she knew that God had sent us to her that day. She went to church Sunday and was really excited. I felt the Spirit so strongly with her when we taught. God blesses us sooo much. There are so many people just waiting for us to find them that God has prepared for us.

On Saturday we went to Nezahualcoyotl to see a judge. That sentence scared Mom I think. But we went to marry an investigator and his less active girlfriend. They had been living together about a year. Jose Gonzalez, I think I have written about him before. Nessa ( the shortened and easier version of Nezahualcoyotl) is the most dangerous and most ugly part of the mission. There are aton of cars, a ton of people, a ton of smog and a ton dirt. It is just really dirty in DF. There is a judge there that helps missionaries with investigators that want to get married. He asks less than the others and asks less documentation. Jose and his wife have a baby that is just over 2 weeks old, and so the wife didn´t want to be out of the house very long. But the judge took forever to arrive and so she got mad. She almost ruined the whole thing by saying she didn´t want to get married anymore and just wanted to leave. But thankfully everything worked out and they got married and Jose was baptized yesterday. It was kind of stressful.

Joe, thank you soo much for your letter. The truth is that I just really don´t know what I am doing a lot of the time. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing things right, and sometimes I just get plain frustrated...with the work and with myself. But the truth is I don´t really have anything to complain about. God is always with us if we can just go to work. I could never imagine only teaching 1 or 2 lessons a week, I have a great respect for missionaries in the U.S. now that I have served in Mexico for awhile. We are supposed to baptize every week, and we taught 24 lessons this last week. And it is not cold. So I really don´t have much to complain about. Your experience really helped. I love you, and I appreciate how you treat my sister.

Darci, thank you for your letter. One thing that helped me a lot with Spanish was not being afraid of making mistakes. You are going to make mistakes, but God will help you. Trust in yourself, and you will do just fine. Also another thing that helped me was carrying around a paper in my pocket...and every time I saw or heard a word that I didn´t know I wrote it down, or if you see a word or phrase that you don´t know how to say in Spanish, write it down and study it later. I love you so much. Thank you for your prayers and letters. I have learned a lot from you and I admire you a lot.

Cameron, I love ya. I know things are pretty hectic right now, I was there once. Don´t ever get discouraged or let your work load stress you out too much. I was really stressed during my junior year, and the truth is that life is better without stress. Read the Book of Mormon everyday, don´t ever miss a day....it will help you soooo much.

Kolby, don´t crash. Everytime I see kids playing soccer in thestreet I think about you...and although I´m not very good I´m becoming a decent goalie. Practice your piano and read the Book of Mormon every day. When we truly understand and love our Heavenly Father there is no longer a reason to disobey.

Well, I love you all soo much but I am out of time. Melissa I will write to you next week....sorry I didn´t have time but I love you and think about you and pray for you.

I love you all more than I thought possible before my mission. Have a good week and say your prayers as a family everyday..and read the Book of Mormon.

Con Amor,

Elder Nelson