This week was a little crazy. We went Tuesday night to President´s house so that we could leave early in the morning Wednesday for a Leadership Training (Zone Conference) in Pachuca. We did divisions with the Zone Leaders in Pachuca Wednesday afternoon and Thursday after the Zone Conference in Tecamac we finally got back home to work in our area. This week will be about the same. Zone Tulancingo on Tuesday, Ecatepec on Wednesday and Aragón/Moctezúma/Vergel on Thursday. But I love it so much. We get to see so many awesome people and do so many cool things.
Zone Conference
Zone Conference
Today for P Day Elder Bringhurst and I rounded up some other Elders and played BASKETBALL!!! I hadn´t played anything but soccer for a long time so it was way fun. My jump shot stinks. We also went to McDonalds, and in the morning we listened to the MoTab´s "Spirit of America" CD while we were getting ready so it was like America day. Although I think we are going to eat beans for dinner because President always has beans for dinner...so that will kind of put a damper on America Day.
I put a couple pictures of the Zone Conferences on there, also of the two people that got baptized this week. One day we were walking past a huge semi truck that said "Carne de Puerco" on the side of it. Elder Bringhurst said "I bet there are a bunch of dead pigs hanging in the back of that truck." He was right.
Carne de Puerco
Ulises and the High Water
I think that you will enjoy the baptismal overall I am wearing in the picture of Ulises. It seems the floods were coming because they were some high waters. Ulises is the son of Juan and Aracely that got baptized about 3 or 4 weeks ago. He had a bad fall when he was a kid and his maturity is about 13 years old, but he is really 27. He waited a couple weeks to make sure he was really ready, but was really excited about it when he decided to do it. It was kind of a funny baptism because when I started putting him under water...he let go of his nose and water rushed in...he started to drown and I just lifted him up really quickly. He kind of coughed and choked his way out of the pila, but he got all the way under so we didn´t have to do it again. Other than that it was a really good service, the spirit is so strong in baptismal services.
Paulina
The other person that got baptized this week is Paulina. She is 12 so she makes me think of Melissa a lot. Her dad was baptized in April, but no one else in his family did it. They were 7th Day Adventists...and he wasn´t really convinced about going to Church on Sundays, but he said "I knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that was enough for me." His wife wouldn´t let Paulina or her sister Ximena get baptized and there was a lot of family strife. But after a couple months things calmed down and Paulina asked if she could be baptized. Her dad got to do it and it was so awesome to see how excited he was to baptize his daughter. I wonder if that´s how it is for God. Watching us go through life and just so excited when the things that need to take place for us to return to Him take place.
The shirts we were wearing in the picture were made for the zone. They made them for the Zone Activity. All the names of all the people in the Zone are on the back. As for how long I will have this assignment and be with Elder Bringhurst. We are thinking that we will be together until at least November, then one of us will be replaced and the other one will be here for another 3 months. So I will be in this area with this assignment between 6 and 9 months. I will be with Elder Bringhurst probably 6 months which I am excited about because he is the first companion I have had for more than 1 cycle of cambios.
We usually don´t have too many missionaries that want to go home. This one went home because it was too hard. He was from a really hard home situation where his family was really really poor. For me at least the first 6-8 weeks in the field were really hard. There was really only one time when I thought about going home...but I remembered the covenants I had made in the Temple, and the commitment I had made to the Lord and I stayed. But there are some who come without a testimony and without much preparation, when that happens there is a much bigger temptation to call it quits.
Every Sunday we go to pickup investigators with the Ward Mission Leader. We only pick up the investigators who are going to go for the first time because it is a weird experience going to a new place without knowing anyone-after that they have to go one their own. But sometimes they aren´t ready right when we get there to pick them up and we are late getting back to the chapel. They don´t pass the sacrament to the people who are in the hallways waiting to go in...so sometimes we just miss out.
This week I have been thinking about what it means to work hard, or to magnify your calling. I think to work hard you simply have to do what you are supposed to do in the way the Lord has prescribed. The other thing is that you must do it out of love for the Lord, and a love for doing what he prescribes. That´s it, it´s that simple. You just have to do what you are supposed to do. Follow PMG, be obedient, develop Christ like attributes. Find, teach, baptize. Sounds easy...but it´s not. Well, I love you all so much. I saw the picture of Melissa skiing and put it on my camera because I was so proud of her. That is awesome. Things must have changed so much while I have been gone, but it seems like I left home yesterday.
I also attached a picture of Beti and her kids when we went to the Visitors Center yesterday. She is going to be baptized this week. (From Peggy: For some reason we didn't get this picture :( Love ya´ll.
Love,
Elder Nelson
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