GOOOOAALLL!!!

(*Paul Hill is Joe's brother who is in the MTC and going to Fiji)

Helloo Family,

So first of all, visas are not looking good right now, although they are getting better. The Mexican consulate is being really slow right now, in fact she's on a 2 week vacation right now. It's more than likely that I will either be temporarily reassigned or stay in the MTC for a couple additional weeks. I think that Mexico is the only place they are really having visa issues. But I don't care, I will get to Mexico when God needs me to get there. There is a reason for everything, including this.
Also, yeah getting that letter from *Paul was weird. He just happened to be in the district of someone who had gotten one of my letters, and it just so happens that I was standing right there when he opened it. I see Paul probably 4 or 5 times a week. The MTC is split into a bunch of different buildings like BYU. There are something like 20 buildings. It's nice because we get to walk outside when we are going places, and we usually study outside during MDT (when no teacher is there). The MTC provides everything. Goals, balls, flags, everything. I have played frisbee a couple of times but we're not allowed to play ultimate so that stinks really bad. Usually when we play frisbee we just toss it around. There is also sand volleyball and softball and 4 square. You can also run around the playfields if you want. As far as acronyms go, I don't really know what you mean. All of the buildings have a real name, like the Dan Jones Building, but then they also have a number assigned to them, 1M through 21M. TRC = Teaching resource center, it's where we go to teach lessons to volunteer investigators. It is the pinnacle of what we study for each week, it's game day Friday's, cause that's when we go teach. The TE is where we go teach teachers, for practice.
So far it is still just me and Elder Warr in our room, and I hope it will stay that way. It is nice being able to go right to sleep at 10:30. The haircuts here leave much to be desired...Elder Warr got a haircut that looks like Will Smith's flat top from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. It is way funny, but it is his fault because when he went in he told them to "surprise me." No I don't like pop, I will just have to get used to it when I get there. Also, I will send Darci letters as soon as I have her address, until then it will be very difficult. But I would love to hear from her so if she would send that to me soon I would appreciate it.
A ton of things happened this week so we'll see if I'll be able to fit them all in. Last Wednesday we went to the RC (Referral Center) to make calls following up on people that had ordered things from the church like Books of Mormons and DVD's and things. It is probably the best place on campus except for the TRC. We were supposed to be done calling at 4 pm, but the other Elders in my district told me to make 2 extra calls. So I did. On the second call this lady, Macarena (haha...I know) picked and sounded like she had been crying. I talked to her for a while about what was going on in her life and what she knew about our Church. She said she had some major issues with her son and didn't really know what to do. She was Catholic but didn't really go to Church very much. So I taught her the first lesson and she let me send missionaries over. I also challenged her to get baptized if she could find out for herself if the things I was telling her were true, which she said she would! I get to call her back tomorrow, so we'll see what happens but that was one of the coolest things that has happened to me since I got here. It's crazy how tired you are after things like that. It is physically draining to feel the spirit and teach and respond to people with the spirit.
Also I see Casey all the time because he is in my Zone, which means his classroom is 3 doors down from mine. But a bit of bad news, for some reason they are taking my district and combining it with another district, so they are moving us out of the zone. Therefore, I will no longer be in Casey's zone. They are taking our teachers away from us also, which is probably the worst part because they were the best teachers in the MTC. You think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. That will be the worst, but I know that it wouldn't happen unless there was a purpose for it so I'm trying not to complain too much. But...the good news of the week is that I got my first goal!!! Someone's shot hit of the left post and off the goalies hands, so I was there to kick the rebound in. It was the best. I love it when the South Americans play, because they yell things in Spanish, and although I don't really know what they mean, it makes the game seem way more legitimate. Well I'm running out of time, so I guess I will just say I love you all. I am so thankful for Christ. The Atonement is so much more than I thought it was. It cleans us from our sins, but more than that it allows us to throw all of our trials, infirmities and weaknesses at it. It empowers us to become so much more than we could ever hope to be without it. Every single thing, everything is in someway connected to the Atonement. Well that's my thought.

Love you

Braden

The Lord's Focus- To Progress, Not Impress

Dear Dad- 8/10/10
That's awesome that Cameron got up. Tell him that skiing is more fun when you don't sit down. I'm jealous though because I would love to go skiing. It hasn't been that hot here though. Actually, it's been raining alot so we haven't had that good of skiing weather.
Melissa must be getting braver, hopefully she'll be skiing by the time I get back.
I love the MTC because there is really nothing to do here except study. No TV, no internet, no nothing. So it just kind of baffles me when people don't study because they honestly have to look for something else to do. If they could see, just for a minute, how much this gospel could mean to people, I think they would work so much harder.
Everything is going well here. I feel like Spanish is coming easier than I thought it would. The days go by so fast, but I am getting so much done. It's crazy how much you can get done when you get up at 6:30 am. Thanks for everything.

P.S. I almost forgot I had this thought the other day, so I wrote it down.
The Lord looks past us, never at us. He does this not out of disappointment, but hope. He looks past us, all of us, all of our shortcomings. He focuses not on what we are, but what we can be and the direction we are going. He cares that we progress, not that we impress. Men judge so quickly because we see each other as dots on an infinite plane. When viewed as such it is easy to consider another small, reproachful, insignificant (person). But every soul is great in the sight of God. he sees us as lines in an eternal plane. He sees where we came from and where we are going. That is why God doesn't judge, that is why His son Jesus Christ could atone for us. Christ sees us for what we truly are. This is His atonement.
Tell Mom to put that on the blog, that's my thought for the week.
Love,
Braden

Braden also sent a letter to his "siblings" as he calls them. But it is ALL in Spanish. I can't translate, but the "siblings" understood it just fine. He is really enjoying the language, although he did write that it was good that Melissa "translated" a new food. We think he meant 'tried'. One of the letters was his testimony of Joseph Smith in Spanish. Muy bien!

English is So Boring!

(Note: TRC is the Teaching Resource Center and the RC is the Referral Center)

Dear Family- August 10, 2010

The TRC is the best place besides maybe the soccer field and the RC. We have taught two lessons, the first lesson (the message of the Restoration) we taught it our first week in English and last week in Spanish. Usually missionaries don't teach in Spanish in the TRC until their 4th week, but Hno. Haight said he thought we were ready. Everybody was so nervous. All week we practiced for it by preparing a bosquejo (lesson plan) in Spanish and bearing as many testimonies in Spanish as possible. The mood in the room right before we went to the TRC was super tense, but I think being pushed so hard humbled us. When we got there, it was a miracle. Words just came out of my mouth, I was using tenses that I wasn't very good at. I know we were blessed with the gift of languages. It's not that we were saying things that we had never practiced before or saying things that we didn't know, but God gave us control over those principle of the language that we had practiced. I'm sure to the people we taught (natives from Mexico) thought we were pretty bad, but I felt the Spirit. It doesn't matter how bad your language skills are, if you can invite the Spirit then God will do the rest. We even invited them to be baptized in the first lesson, when they came to know the truthfulness of the Gospel. I don't like teaching in English anymore, it is so boring. I love having to rely on Heaven's help for Spanish. Not that I shouldn't rely on God for English it's just we are compelled to be humble when it comes to Spanish.

We haven't really gotten any food/culture lessons, they save that for your last week. But there are 4 Elders in my district leaving tomorrow for the Peru MTC, they are soo lucky. I really only get hungry in the morning. It's really hard to read at 7 in the morning, but other than 1 hour of soccer a day we just sit in class for 12 hours a day so I don't really use that many calories. I thought you would like to know that I have only gained 27 pounds mas or menos, but even that is debatable because I was wearing my suit. By the way that was a lie....sorry. I have only gained 1 pound, if that. But I loved the fruit snacks and thank you so much for the package. Now I can go to gym without smelling like a dead cow. Melissa thank you for the pillow case, I use it everyday. I like the cactuses. Yes I will use the phone card, I haven't really looked at it but I'm sure I can figure it out. My companion and I get along well, he and I are both pretty easy going so it works out. I took pictures of the whole district with our teachers yesterday so I will send those home maybe next week or something.

I am having trouble thinking of words in English because all I hear is Spanish. Brendan (Hunt) is going to change a lot when he gets here. There is just so much to say when it comes to the Gospel that I'm sure he will change.

This last week in the RC ( I can't remember if I told you this already so I'll tell you again) I called a lady from Jamaica, NY. We talked for 35 minutes about Christ. She had received a bunch of materials from us and thought that our Church was the real deal. But for some reason she wasn't coming. She said that all truth could be had through the Bible, so even though I tried really hard I couldn't get her to kneel down and ask God if the Church is the only true Church. It was very frustrating, she just didn't understand how important have the plentitud del Evangelio del Jesucristo (fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ) on the earth today.

It has been raining here a lot. We had two thunderstorms and 1 other rainstorm this week. It was awesome. I started setting new goals this week to try to push myself harder. I am reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for 30 minutes a day out loud so that my pronunciation and sentence structure will get better. It is kind of weird when people walk by and I'm just reading to myself but I know it will help. We had a testimony meeting for our district before the 4 Peruvians left (in Spanish), and it was soo cool. Sometimes even people who you think have no clue have the most awesome testimonies in the world. Vivieron por la gloria, murieron por la gloria, y gloria sería la recompensa eterna. (They lived for glory, they died for glory, and glory be eternal reward) That is what I shared and bore testimony about because for the Sunday night movie we watched the Joseph Smith movie. Now is the time for glory, everyday God gives us opportunities to glorify him. What have we done with those....that is the eternal question. Well time is running out. Love you all.

Braden

The Great Apostasy

8/3/2010
Dear Family
This is the coolest diagram that we learned this week. All of the divots are apostasies, whereas the large divot is the Great Apostasy. Catholics believe in an unbroken chain of priesthood authority, thus making the Great Apostasy non-existent and the restoration unnecessary. Our job as missionaries is to prove that the Great Apostasy happened. Each of the prophets is the prophet of that dispensation.....sorry the fire alarm just went off and we had to go outside but I think I'm deaf. There wasn't actually a fire, they were doing work on the stairs and there was too much smoke.
Anyways I just thought that diagram was way cool. Either the Catholics are right or we are right. Also, its not that the Catholics are (wrong is crossed out here) bad, they did the best they could with the light they had. They didn't have a prophet so they "were kept from the truth for they knew not where to find it." (D&C 123:12)
Anyways, I love you guys, I hope everything is going well.
Love,
Braden

Somos los Mujeres!

Hello Familia! Tuesday, August 3, 2010 7:53 AM

Lightning struck? That's crazy, I wish I could have seen it. We have had 2 thunderstorms since I got here. No I don't want my flip-flops i already have some. Thank you for depositing my paycheck. No I do not have FHE, basically everyday except Sunday and P-day we are in class from 7 in the morning until 9:30 at night with breaks for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and soccer. We play soccer everyday and it is soo much fun. I usually play striker/midfield...sometimes defense. I just play wing on one side and run up and down the field all day. I have 1 or 2 assists and like 7 shots on goal but I haven't gotten my first goal yet. When I do it will be the best day ever. Yes everything works just fine as far as clothes go, I could use two more athletic shirts and 3 more pairs of athletic socks because I usually smell pretty bad by the end of the week in gym. Casey gets here tomorrow, that's awesome, he will be a noob. All new guys are noobs until saturday or sunday. We call them chapuseros. My spanish is coming along pretty well, we are teaching the first lesson in spanish in the TRC (to fake investigators) this week and our teacher doesn't speak English anymore so all I hear is Spanish. I usually feel pretty confident about my spanish until I speak to a nativo (native speaker) and then I am really humbled. I can write it way better than I can speak it.

So there is this Elder in our district named Elder Denna. He basically is really funny The other day we did something well as a district and so he yelled "Somos los mujeres! Somos los Mujeres!" (mom says: rough translation: "We are the women!")....what he meant was somos los mejores (mom says: or "we are the best!") , but it was way funny. One other thing Elder Draco Malfoy is in the MTC. That's not his real name, but he looks exactly like him. I will try to get a picture covertly to send because he looks exactly like Draco Malfoy.

Elder Warr and I have been bearing our testimonies in spanish to 2 companionships a day every day except p-day and we're not allowed to pray in English anymore. Reading the scriptures is way hard because they are written in vosotros form, which no one uses anymore becuase it is familiar and everyone uses ustedes which is formal.

Yes we have been able to go to the temple. We go on tuesdays at 9:45, and it is way crowded all the time, but I love the Provo Temple and it is one of the few times where we are not supposed to do anyhting except sit there and listen. I have been trying to memorize 40 spanish words a day, and I have been learning 1 tense a day which is hard but I know that when we set hard goals and give everything we have the Lord will take care of the rest. We have been given 2 years to set aside everything else and work our guts out for the Lord so that he can bless us and so that we can bring souls unto him. My favorite quote by Steve Prefontaine says "To give anything less than the best is to sacrifice the Gift." What more can I say? We are talking about a gift even more speacial than running, the gift of salvation to the wandering soul, the gift of eternal life.

Everything is good. I am learning soo much and everyday I wake up ready to learn more and more and more. Sometimes it is frustrating because I can't teach what I want to teach or say what I want to say because I am limited by my language skills, but I know the Lord will provide. That is one thing i have really come to appreciate here is the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If anyhting in the world was ever impossible, the Atonement would have been it. It was a miracle. But Jesucristo accomplished it so that we can be together as a family forever. He did it so that everyday when I mess up and do things wrong I can fix it. For God so loved the world....that means to me that God is truly interested in the the minute details of our lives. That brings so much comfort to me. One last thing before time runs out. I can't spell very well anymore. I always spell things half spanish half english. Sometimes I will be writing in my journal and i will put in a spanish phrase or two without realizing it. It is way cool but kind of annoying at the same time. I love you guys so much, Kolby whne I come home I'm going to school you at soccer, and practice your piano both you and Melissa. Cameron I hope you had fun at the temple and realize how important that work is. Mom=, Dad I love you, and Dad everyday I admire you more and more for serving a mission. It is not always fun and Glory. I love you guys

Braden

Not a Fake Investigator

The Stover Hall Men at the MTC

Wednesday July 28, 2010?
Hey-one last thing (or a couple) I forgot in my e-mail. Dad, what did you end up doing with my savings account? Also I forgot the pin number to my debit card...even though I told mom I wouldn't. Oh well. O yeah and what did everyone decide on switching rooms and beds thing. I had one more thing but I forgot.
Earlier this week we taught one of substitutes as a district, Hermana XXX (names have been changed to protect the innocent). But this wasn't practice. she told us a bunch of things that were going wrong in her life and we asked questions to help us get to know her better. When she left so we could prepare a lesson plan, a feeling of dread filled the room.
She is 28, getting older, wants to get married, just broke up w/her boyfriend w weeks ago and she isn't sure if her educational path is right. Also her parents live in Colombia. it was way scary because she was a real person, not a fake investigator like usual. But as soon as we prayed, the Spirit came. We taught with the Spirit because we had nothing else. We felt real love, because we only wanted what was best for her. It is incredible how God allows us to see others as He does. We are all His children and He desperately wants all of us back. I can't wait to get to Mexico because I am already starting to love them. We taught her with the Spirit and it went really well. I am constantly amazed at the incredible things we can do with (the) Spirit. I love you guys.
Braden

Elder Ostler, Elder Nelson, Elder Sontag, Elder Young Elder Travis Tingey and Elder Nelson

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 ?
Dear Melissa,
Hey! How has your week been? Have you ready any books lately? This week I have read so much. We wake up at 6:30 awe have class all day except for breakfast lunch and dinner until 9:00 at night. Crazy, huh? but it's worth it, because when we have rules and responsibilities God can bless us for obedience. Since you have my scriptures, you can look up D&C 130:20-21. Basically it means when you follow commandments and parents and Bishops and prophets, God can bless you. I know that is true.
The food here is not that good, but it is better than nothing. I wish I could eat lasagna and spaghetti all the time, but I can't. Will you do something for me? Can you try one new food this week? Just one, and you only have to try it. But I know if you can do that God will bless you for obeying Mom and Da. Just try one, then tell me how you feel afterwards. Also please rub Chika's belly for me. Thanks. I love you. Good luck in your swim meet.
Love,
Braden

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