A Much Better Week!

Letter Received July 26, 2010:

Hey Family:


Well, first off, I wanted to thank everyone for the letters.  It is really awesome to hear from everyone.  I really needed that.  It sounds like everyone is doing so awesome and sounds like family parties are starting to quite down a little bit, ha, ha.  It seems like everyone is in different places and not in Utah in anymore. (I know for sure that I am not in Utah, ha, ha, ha!)

I have had a better week this week, but it did seem a little long, though.  It seems that this week we have made some progress in finding some people and that we have bettered our teaching a little bit.  Especially me personally, because I really tried to focus on using my scriptures a lot more and it really seems that I have been able to connect a lot better with our investigators.  I have felt better about the work that me and my comp have been doing and he has been awesome and never gets disanimated and he has really put everything into perspective for me. He has been awesome to teach with and he has so much Spirit with him and he is so fun to be around because we are so much alike.

For this week it really seemed a lot better because we did an activity for our ward and it was awesome!  I am going to try and send some pics a little bit later.  It went really well and we had awesome numbers for attendance for the activity and it was cool because we were inviting everyone and it worked out really well.  Not only that, but we got some references, so that's cool, too. 

It was awesome to hear how everyone has been doing and that this week was so good for you guys.  I miss July time off year in Utah, that is for sure. But it is all good.  I think that I would like the lace-up Hush Puppies, but I am not hurting too bad for shoes.  I would love to get some more socks, because all of the ones that I had before you sent me more have holes in them now.  I don't really have much to say, but I love you all.  I would like to tell Jace how proud I of him and that I hope that he has a good time through the temple.  Love and miss you all!

Love,
Elder Nelson

A Discouraging Week

Letter Received July 19, 2010:

Hey:


Well, this week was okay.  It didn't really go all that hot for us.  Don't worry, I am fine.  I am just a little disanimated.  Everyone has fallen this week and I haven't been able to find one person this week and this sector is super hard for contacts because everyone here is pretty well off and very prideful.  They don't want to listen to what we have to say to them because they feel like they are doing just fine on their own.  We tell them that they can be more happy, but they look at me like how can you possibly give me more than I already have?  You are just this 20 year old kid that is from a different country that doesn't know anything.  It gets kinda frustrating and I am just ready to start this new week because I am hoping that it is going to go a lot better this week than last.

I am just kinda tired so after internet I am going to take a nap because I feel like I need to rejuvenate my batteries.  One thing that I do know is that the mission is a lot of ups and downs and all I know is that my time is going to come back up when I am going to have success and I have to do all I can and the Lord will bless me with what I need.  This week it just seemed that everything has been falling, because our investigators haven't been keeping their commitments and we can't find anyone and I feel like I am wasting my time knocking doors.  I am hoping that we can kinda change the way that we are working a little bit, but we'll see.

It sounds like everyone is doing well.  I do have something that Dad can help me with and that is I would like to have my line of authority.  That would help me a ton!  So, if you could send me that through email that would be great.  I got my package last week.  Its awesome!  Thank you so much for that!  Iis that tie from Jace's wedding?  I really like that tie! 

I miss you all a ton! How is Kyle doing?  Well, I am pretty much done and I've got to go.  I love you all and miss you a ton

Love,
Elder Nelson

Lois' Baptism and More to Come

 Elder Clark, Lois, and Me

Received July 12, 2010:

Hey My Family:

 Elder Clark, _________, Lois, Renne and Me!

Tthis letter is going to be kinda short but I think that should be okay because you are all on vacation, ha, ha.  This week went really well.  My comp and I had our first baptism together, so it was all good.  We are so happy that he got baptized because he was ready to get baptized from the day that we met him.  He was something that you would call a golden investigator.  We are really getting on a roll here, hopefully we should have another one that should be getting baptized this week.  His name is Matias, but he is thirteen so he has to get permission and his mom is not all quick to let him get baptized.  We are going to work with him this week and we will see.

Lois and Renne

The kid that got baptized this week is named Lois and he is awesome!  We also helped teach this kid for a ward baptism so we technically should have two baptisms this week but he is only 8, so he is a ward baptism. Oh well, it is all good!  Mom the shoes that I need are the lace up ones.  I am going to go to the office right now to see if they will have my package so we will see.

 Elder Clark, Lois, Renne, and Me!

The kid that you are asking about, Lexie, I think, is named Gonzalo and he hasn't been baptised yet.  We had kind of a do or die lesson with him and I told him that I can't come back unless I see him making some proggress and it was really spiritual!  He is really animated and he came to church this week and so we are going to see if he can get baptized on the 25th.  He is awesome but we'll have to see.

Huge Completo that I Ate Today!

You all sound like you are having fun in Lava, I wish I was in Lava, ha, ha.  It's cold here! But, it's all good, that is the mission!  I am doing super good and I miss you all a ton and I will talk to you all next week.  Hope all is well. Love you all!

 First Conference with President Humphrey

Love,
Austin

Happy Fourth of July!

Go America!

Letter Received July 5, 2010:

Feliz Dia de Indepèndencia o 4th of July!


Hey:

Well first off, I would like to tell you all a Happy 4th of July.  It was not really a deal here, like nothing, ha ha.  But Oh well, the things of a mission right!

Last Photo with Old Mission President Chavez

And I want to wish Craig a happy late Birthday.  I was looking at my calendar and saw that.  So yeah, happy birthday Craig!  Remember holale from Gabriel Iglesias!  Ha, ha!  But, as for me, I am getting along really well and working super hard now that me and my comp have come together.  We have been just contacting machines.  This week we found nine new investigators and it has been awesome!  We were really needing to find people, so that is exactly what we have been doing.  It has been awesome to start out fresh here, and the members are all telling me that they have seen a change in me in the last few weeks, that I seem a lot more happy and animated and seem to be more myself.  I wouldn't disagree with them because I really do feel a lot more animated and feel a lot more like myself and I feel happier.  Me and Elder Clark are getting along so well and working hard and I really think that this trasfer is going really fast because we have been super busy and just loving the mission life and finding out what mission life is all about.  I have been really been feeling like I have the Spirit with me a lot more.  Clark and I are finding all the people that God has put in our way and it really seems like something that I was lacking we my other comp in this sector because we didn't do a whole lot of contacts.  It seems like we were really lazy but I have really gotten out of that faze and am super happy! 

New Compy Playing in the Woods 

I am really focusing on my Spanish and I really want to speak better because my comp has recognized some of the errors that I do often in my Spanish and so I am going to really try and focus in my Spanish study.  This week not a whole lot has happened, kinda boring but i have just been up to the normal missionary work.  I am really excited to get my package and I miss you all a ton!  Poor Hailey, she is always having accidents, but I am glad that she is okay.  What are they doing having chairs with wheels?  That is a horrible idea!

Elder Clark, "Freeze, Sucka!"

That is about it for this week but sorry this letter isn't too informative but yeah that's pretty much it for this week.  It sounds like you all have been really busy enjoying summer.  It is pouring rain here, the streets are like rivers and it is so nuts.  I have never seen anything like it.  That is about it, I miss you all a ton and love you and think about you everyday.

Elder Nelson