Be Hungry

Dear Family,                                                                                                                 

The Christus in the Mexico City Temple Visitors Center with the Family Perez

What a week we had. I think I will start with the questions. We do have stake and ward and regional conferences. The last regional conference Elder Bednar spoke. But that was way back in November when I was still with Elder Llanos. He actually gave the same talk he gave in General Conference about light. 

My pants are doing fine. I think they will probably last until the end. I still haven’t opened the shirts you sent me because all the shirts I brought are still in reasonably good shape...although they are a little more yellow than when we started. I have been saving the socks and the shirts for my last 6 months...or maybe for when I go home. The socks I will probably have to start using because I have developed holes in several pairs...but I will be fine until the end anyways. Everything we bought seems to be holding up really well. I am still using the same pair of shoes that I have used all along (so I still have a pair of brand new shoes waiting to be used). I don´t know if I have been gentle or if we just struck gold when we bought that stuff but I´m fine. Also...I could buy anything I need here except shirts. There is a distribution center in the temple which is about 10 minutes from my area so I bought my new triple there and if I ever need garments I could buy them there. They sell really good shoes for about 60 bucks...so it would be better here than there I think. But I will let you know if anything makes fault. 

On the way to Zone Conference in Tulancingo

Independence Day in Mexico (September 15)

Pyramids of Teotihucan on the way to Tulancingo Zone Conference

I have a good (well, not good) story for this week. We have been teaching a 20 year old named Eduardo who has been progressing really well. The first time we taught him we gave him a Book of Mormon and he prayed about it. He said he felt something in his chest that he had never felt before. He always talked about the changes in his life that he was seeing as a result of the gospel. He was really excited for his baptism this week because he was excited to "become a new person." He passed his baptismal interview with flying colors and was just really excited to do it. Then he didn’t show up to sacrament meeting...we called and called but he didn’t pick up. Finally he showed up with his friend Gibran. They said they wanted to talk to us. So they started telling us about how they had stayed up until 2 in the morning talking about the baptism and if he was really sure and if he thought he would fail after making a covenant with God. At 2 in the morning they decided to say a prayer to ask God if this was something that he should really do...he didn’t feel anything so he took that as an answer. Like mom said....nothing good happens after midnight. He told us that he was no longer interested and thank you very much for being my friends and teaching me but I no longer have interest in anything. I was pretty devastated. As we were emptying the pila I just thought and thought and thought and just got more and more and more frustrated. I couldn’t figure out what we had done wrong...how we had failed. There was nothing that we could have done, that we should have done, that we hadn’t done. And when I thought that I remembered D Todd Christofferson´s conference talk about the currant bush. What I realized is that we had gotten comfortable having success and that I had not been progressing very much as a missionary. I realized that slowly but surely Satan had been whispering little lies, "you are a good missionary, you don’t need to get better because you are having success..."and on and on. I had listened because it sounded good...and I just kept listening until God had to hit me over the head with something like this to wake me up. But I am grateful that it happened. I am grateful that God allowed me to see what was happening so that I can now set goals and make plans to become better. It´s funny how sometimes we see ourselves as something that we are not. But I am infinitely grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has the vision of a currant bush...nothing less. It hurts...but I know that that is what this whole mission or life thing is for. We must overcome our faults...and sometimes we can´t see those faults until someone hits us over the head with them. If the mission didn’t hurt it wouldn’t be worth it...and I am willing to pay any price to accomplish the will of Heavenly Father. As I teach and teach I begin to see how God teaches us..and how much more effective He is. I love this gospel and I love the opportunity that each of us has to always strive for more. To always be hungry. I read this week that "Success, is not everything...it is the only thing." And it is true...but success as God sees it and not as we do. I love you all so much. I hope you are all being happy and successful. Look for the blessing and you will stop seeing the afflictions. I love you all so much...

Elder Nelson 

P.S. The pictures are from our trip to Tulancingo to do Zone Conferences this week..I love the one of the Pyramids.