Becoming

Pachuca Zone and Presidente Hicken

Dear Family,

Thanks for the phone call...it seemed like it went by really fast. It was really weird to hear your voices, like it almost wasn’t real. I guess it’s because that I get so caught up in the work that I forget and don’t think about home very much, but then when I heard your voices it all came crashing back. It kind of scared me a little bit because it made me think about what it will be like when I have to go home, but the good part is that I still have 14 and a half months here in Mexico.

Don’t worry mom, I’m not beating myself up, but at the same time I didn’t come on a mission to just waste two years and be mediocre, I came to have the kind of success that the Lord wants me to have. I guess I have come to be somewhat of a perfectionist on the mission. Nothing is too much for the Lord, no sacrifice, no trial, no price. It is all for such a small moment and then we will relive these 2 years the rest of our lives and the eternities.

There is a quote that I like a lot from D Todd Christofferson in the last conference (the currant bush talk).
"The final judgment is not just an evaluation of the sum total of good and evil acts-what we have done. It is an acknowledgement of the final effect of our acts and thoughts-what we have become. It is not enough for anyone to just go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances and covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ are not just a list of deposits to be made on some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father wants us to become."
I will become what He wants me to become, no matter what it takes. I guess I’m a little bit of a fanatic these days. But I don’t care, that is how we have to be, that is the plan prescribed by Him for our salvation. I’m not shooting just for the Celestial Kingdom, but the top tier. I think I’ve always been competitive like that, and I guess that’s why I beat myself up sometimes, but it’s just who I am.

"I do wonder (and I forgot to ask you) what is people's biggest hang-up about joining the church is there in Mexico?" Well, the biggest reason is Satan. The real question I think would be ¿what is Satan’s greatest tool in stopping God’s children in their eternal progression? Well, I think Kolby got it right. There is really two reasons, 1 because people are really attached to their religion and two they are lazy. People here worship the Santos and the Virgin de Guadalupe, which supuestamente is the Virgin Mary. They are idols, and it is really hard to give up idols. They have so much faith in their Santos that the flaxen cord becomes chains, and they can no longer accept the restored gospel. This has a lot to do with the fact that 90 percent of the Catholics here are what they call creyentes. They never go to church, never pray, have never read the bible in their life. They believe in the Santos and that is enough for them. They have never read the bible, so when we show them where it says they should not worship idols they can’t accept it. Also, people are too lazy sometimes to do their commitments, so they never develop a testimony of the truthfulness. So I guess the biggest reason is ignorance and a lack of education that leads them to not be able to understand.

I attached a couple pictures of the latest baptisms and a tour of the apartment. It goes in order, entering the house the entrance room, then the kitchen and then the bathroom and then the upstairs landing/living room, then the bedroom and then the closet room. Also a view from my bedroom window and the mesa that I use to study everyday. You will notice that the bed that is mine is made and that the house is more or less clean. When I got to Pachuca it wasn’t clean because missionaries had been living here 15 years and there was a ton of stuff that they left behind. Thank you mom for teaching me how to clean. Right now I am sending this e mail and starting another one to put more pictures.

View from my Bedroom


Entry Room in our apartment


Study Desk (note the mask from Teotihuacan)


Note my bed is neatly made


Laundry Day!

Well, we are just going to work really hard this week. We are going to change some lives and change ourselves. We are going to be obedient with absolute exactness and we are going to have fun. I love you all. Grandma thank you so much for your letter, I am writing one for you right now but it might take a month or two to get there. Love ya bye.

Elder Nelson