My First Area: Jardin del Valle

dear lex and family:

happy birthday this week. i wish that i could have sent you something but by the time that you would get it it would be like  a month.

it's good about your job and the pie party. i am glad to see pictures of home and the pie party.  that's cool about the snow. the first day of the actual mission i got here and it poured rain so i was totally soaked, but, oh well, that's the mission for you. ha ha. that's sweet that you get a company truck. what kind is it? do you still have your car? if so, that is a lot of cars at the house, ha ha. but yeah, sounds like work is hard but good for you. good to hear that everyone is doing well. i missed the pie party that makes me sad that is the only thing that i look forward to during thanksgiving. oh well, that is what is going to happen on Christmas. i have some bad news about the call on Christmas, i only get a half hour to talk on the phone, so that sucks bad! but i guess you got to go with what you got. i don't have that many pictures yet so i will send some another day so that you can see what the area is like.

my first week i have been exhausted by the time that i hit my bed. i am like already asleep when i am walking to bed. it's so crazy! we got right to work right when we got here. i flew from santiago south to concepcion and then drove north half the way back on a bus for four hours to jardin del valle around talca. we are in the ghetto, the ghetto! think about the ghetto of ogden times like ten! all the houses are tiny and every house is connected to the next and they are tiny. our house is small. i have 3 guys that i am living with. my comp, which his name is elder murillo, is from logan and his parents are from el savador so he is dark skinned and speaks spanish so well that all the people think that he is a local and i am the only gringo.

i got sunburned when we were doing service digging holes for trees and so i am like a tomato. nobody can understand me and likewise i can't understand them. this language is not the same one that they taught me in the mtc, just like in the best two years. every house has a fence with a gate with spikes on the top and you have to yell halo pronounced "alo" outside the gate for the people to come outside and so that's interesting. everyone here is evangelical and catholic and i have had so many doors slammed in my face. there are dogs everywhere that, like, are all diseased and they all want to eat me. they are everywhere and the people here drive crazy. i am so surprised that i haven't been run over yet! i almost got hit by a bus last night, if i wouldnt have jumped out of the road he would have hit me. we have been working hard we have nine investigators right now that all have soft baptismal dates and a lot of them seem like they really will get baptized. but yeah, we'll see. the ward here is really tiny. everyone here calls me elder nuevo cause i am new, so yeah, that is like my only name not nelson, nuevo.

our house is tiny and we don't have any furniture we only have those white plastic chairs with a white plastic table and i haven't had any time to unpack. right now i have been living out of my suitcases cause by the time we get home i am exhausted. the plane ride was long and i didn't get a wink of sleep for some reason but oh well. but anyway, my sector is huge! i will never run out of work here for sure there is so many people. we're not allowed to play soccer so that sucks, but we do get a lot of time to email so that is good. the food here is not good. so far i am struggling so bad with that and everything here is really expensive and we get like no money. but o well, i guess. i am trying to eat all the stuff here because if you don't like clean your plate they get offended easy so i hope that it works out that way.

a couple things that i would really like is i need a scripture bag that has a shoulder strap and can strap around the waist only because my back and shoulders are killing me so that would be amazing if you could, but yeah, if not i will find one here. and to let you know about packages they get sent to the mission home then to us so it takes like three weeks for a package to get to the home and we don't get them from there for like three weeks so if you are going to send stuff for christmas then probably need to do it this week. but that's pretty much it about chile for now let me know if there is anything else that you want to know. its good to here from you all thanks for everything i miss you all tons good to hear that everyone is doing well.

love elder nelson

Safe Arrival in Chile ... So Tired and Nervous!

Letter Received 17 November 2009:

Dear Family:

Well sorry I didn't get to call you back as I planned.  Everyone was crowding around security so we had to get in line.  I tried to call from Peru but, yea, it didn't work.  But they wanted to have us write you and they will send them tomorrow to you.  But it is crazy here.  It is nothing like I pictured it would be.  I haven't met my trainer yet but that's coming soon and they tell us that we are going out to work tonight, so we'll see how that goes.  I am so nervous right now, I can't even explain.  That was the longest plane ride of my life and I only have slept, like, literally two hours in the last two days.  I wish I could have called you back but at least I got to talk to you when I did.  It sounds like P-day is going to be on Monday so expect that.  People drive crazy here!  There are little houses centimeters away from each other, it's crazy.  But everything is good so far.  Love you guys.  Can't wait to tell you more.

Elder Nelson

Elder Nelson with President and Sister Chavez

 

We received this map with the email.  We assume it means Elder Nelson's first area is Talca.

Travel Itinerary - Leaving the MTC!

You will depart from the MTC on 16 Nov 2009.  You must report to the Travel Office at 3:00 AM ...

LV:  Salt Lake City, UT  6:00 AM 16 November 2009
AR:  Los Angeles, CA  6:55 AM 16 November 2009

LV:  Los Angeles, CA  12:00 PM 16 November 2009
AR:  Santiago, Chile  6:15 AM 17 November 2009

LV:  Santiago, Chile 8:00 AM 17 November 2009
AR:  Concepcion, Chile 9:05AM 17 November 2009

Less Than a Week Till I Go!

Letter Received November 11, 2009:

hey, how is everything going, family? i got your dear elders yesterday. first off i want to thank you lexie for you letter it helped me so much. thanks. but that's awesome that you got hired on at a company that is close and on top of that i just want to say that is the answer to our prayers. i told you that you would get one if you just hung in there and look what happened. sweet! so, any who, ya i will probably will  be sending a package home with stuff for you to send to me when i get there.

but any who, life at the mtc: you know how we taught the newbies last week? well, it went so good they asked us to do it again this week for our last p day. sweet huh! so still the only elders to do that, so that's cool. but i am definitely ready to leave the mtc but not ready, if you know what i mean. i am actually excited to pack, ha ha. who is ever excited to pack other than missionarys? ha ha. but i am glad that my zune is comin!

but any who, we had a good testimony [meeting] where i bore my testimony probably for the last time to this district and it took me about twenty five minutes which was probably too long but oh well. that is something else that i am going to miss is my district.  here most of them are a good guys, some of the other ones are kinda annoying but i still love them.

but any who, that's pretty much all the news here not much just finishing stuff up here. not anything new. what has been goin' on there? what have you all been doing? its good to hear that everyone is doin' well. but any who i have to go, i will leave enough  time so that i can check this tonight but ya so i got to go but will check at like five fiffteen. love all you guys cant wait to talk to you.

love,
elder austin nelson

Flight Plans and Being the Oldest District

Letter Received November 9, 2009:

Dear family

Hey, how is everything going?  I just thought that I would write you and send you a copy of my flight plan info so that you could see the times and what I need to do.  Plus, I get a five hour lay over where I get to call you guys.  If you could work out that Lyndsay and Justin and everyone be at the the house so I can talk to everyone at like 8:30 that would be awesome.  So, if you could send me a card with at least that much time plus I will be calling from LAX, cool huh?  Well, any who, yeah, I am definitely worried about packing and being within weight.  But, I can't wait to be able to call everyone.  I know some Spanish but I am not knowing how I am going to understand the Chileans, but we'll see, ha, ha. 

Both Tyson's cousins are here now and Clarke is feeling homesick way bad, but we have the same meal times so I am helping him with that.  I love talking to Clarke cause he has so much MTC to go and he is like I don't know how I am going to do it.  He is like I have been here for three days and it feels like forever.  I told him after the first week they start to fly, which is true.  Think, almost two months of my mission is over.  But it does feel like forever away from you guys.  But I know that I am blessed because I am here and I know that you will be blessed for your sacrifices.

Well, I have like become a celebrity among the newbies.  They keep coming up to me and talking to me about when we taught in front of them.  I have to admit, it is kinda cool to have a lot of people recognize you.

There is not much to report since I wrote to you like two days ago.  I have to teach class today (well, tomorrow, but it will be today, Saturday, when I send this).  I have to teach present subjunctive Spanish to my district.  Crazy, huh!  I can't wait to be able to come home and spit some Spanish with you guys.  Plus, me and Tyson will both be able to speak it.  That will be sweet!

But, any who, it is definitely cool to be the oldest district here because like everyone doesn't boss us but they ask for advice, which is cool.  But, I am definitely excited to go to Chile.  I have made a lot of friends that I want to see after the mission, like Tyson's comps, they are bomb, and some of my district and some of the kids that are from Utah Valley that are from my zone.  Well, I need to get to bed, I wanted to send you my flight plans so you could plan.

Love,
Austin

(Note:  Elder Nelson leaves for Chile on November 16 and arrives November 17)

Opportunity to Teach New Missionaries

Letter Received November 4, 2009:

dear family

i got all the emails and thank everyone for writing to me. it was so good to hear from every one. well, i will start out. there is not much going on here. pretty much all the same typical mtc stuff. we are pretty much just reviewing every thing now. we have gone over all the spanish principles and are not just trying to learn it all any more. something cool that is new, they have newbie devo tonight where they do an example of teaching and its for all the new missionaries that come in. normally they have the teachers be the missionaries that teach it, but this week is the first time that they let any missionaries teach it, and me and my comp and district are the first missionaries to have to teach all the new elders and sisters. that's cool, huh! well, this sunday we have to usher for the sunday devo and that's really cool cause some elders in my district have to say the prayers in front of the whole mtc, so thats cool. but there isn't much new going on here, that's pretty much all the exciting stuff. but any who, that's cool about the zune just make sure that you send a speaker with it cause otherwise i have no way of listening, and a charger please and thank you much! but ya um i am pretty much out of time. i will write some letters if anyone gets my emails befor six i am going to check this at four fourty five, so if you can write back today do so. ha ha. love you all, i am going to leave just enough time to check this. i love you so much, can't wait to talk to you.

love and miss you all
love your son and brother

elder nelson

First Pictures from the MTC

Pictures Received October 30, 2009:

Some of my district by the fountain at the Provo Temple.

Two of my roommates:  Elder Hadfield (left) is the jokester and Elder Wilhelm (right) is my new District Leader.

Elder Stevens (left) and Elder Fuimaono.  Elder Fuimaono is from Samoa and is one of the funniest kids I know.

The three amigos:  me, Tyson, and Ethan.

 

The best two Elders I know!

Me and my companion, Elder Christenson, at the MTC sign.

My companion's cheesy map pic.

My cheesy map pic.

Oops!  Not ready for the pic.

 Me and Elder Church, he is a baller.

Me and Elder Harris.

My first awesome set of Zone Leaders.  Elder Starkie (left), Elder Gibby (right), me (middle).

 Elder Gibby is a surfer boy from Cali.

Elder Starkie is a bomb singer.