Week 92

Monday, July 29, 2018

Hey Mom, 

I don't have a lot of time as you can tell. This past week was awesome. IN short, we didn't reach our goal as a zone. But if we did we would have gone up to the volcano again haha. We failed to mark enough dates for baptism. I am good today. BUt actually this past week I have been wondering what else I could have done to share the gospel with others. And as I was reading your letter, I felt the love that you were talking about and prayed for that I would feel. And that made me think. That is what God wants all of us to feel. All of His children. SO this week I will be better at making sure that people feel His love in every moment they can.

And you know me. I have a hard time knowing if I am pleasing my Father and Savior or not, and pleasing you guys. But reading you say what you feel about me and fulfilling my covenants just brought peace and a feeling that I am doing my best. I am fffffffaaaaaaarrrrrrr from perfect, and every day I am realizing more and more of my weaknesses. But it is wonderful to know that at least I am improving. Love you Mom. Sorry it wasn't a whole lot today. Tell everybody that I will email them next week. Hope you have an awesome time this week and remember who you are haha. Love you Mom

Love Elder Nelson

Week 91

Monday, July 23, 2018

Hey Mom, 

This past week was a very good week. Transfers happened as you know and it has been a good change so far. I am excited to see what else is in store for us this transfer. He has been out a little over a year.  We do divisions every transfer once with every district leader. We are always on the same island for divisions because President doesn't want us to do divisions any more on Brava. 

This week is pretty packed. We have another division on Wednesday, some district meetings and then we have a zone challenge to handle. We are tying to mark dates for baptisms this week as a challenge. It wiçç be pretty fun. 

This past week though was a very interesting one. We had transfers and every dupla, I kid you not, was changed up. SO that means for about 4 days, our house in sao filipe was attacked by 6 elders, then 5 then 6 again then 4 until Saturday, then it was just me and my comp. I was so happy for when that day hit. It was awesome. This past week we also had a ward activity setup and it was awesome! It was about the book of mormon and it was powerful. We had some investigators come to that and some less actives. It was fixe de mais. Other than that, we just had a good week working hard and having a great star to the transfer. 

My thought comes from what I've experienced this past transfer. When there are people divided, particularly  the leaders, the whole group is lost. The more the leaders are unified the more success there is. So, always work in unity. The more you are unified the more peace and love that fills inside of you and the more you are happy and content. The Savior said Himself that contention was of the devil and that we should avoid contention as much as possible. But if we are disagreeing in our hearts, it is the same principle. Just my 2 sence. Hope you all have a good week. Love you Mom. 

Love, Elder Nelson

I am happy too. And yes I did! It was a good birthday. Now it is just a sprint to the finish line. 4 months, 400 meters to run. Lets go. And hey, the pictures I have from the last 2 transfers got wiped because of a stinking virus. So pictures will have to wait until the next week. Sorry again. And hey, did you know that Andrew talked to one of my comps this past week?

It is kinda weird but I am excited. And his name is Gricius haha: But hey, I gtg. Love you Mom. Have an awesome day. I will write everybody next week due to the limited time today- Have an awesome week. Love Elder Nelson!

Week 90

Monday, July 16, 2018

Hey Mom, 

I am ok. Today was transfers day and it has been crazy. I am kinda stressed but other than that, everything is going well. This past week was a week full of excitement. We had divisions and just loads of stuff to do before the transfer ended.

But, now it is time to relax and just enjoy the fact that I am still here on Fogo. My comp left and I am getting Elder Sailors. He was my DL for some 3 transfers and it will be awesome to serve with that guy. I am pumped. The whole zone is changing too. Not one dupla stayed the same. It is very intresting. But I am excited none the less. 

The divisions were sweet. I went with elder Ramirez and elder Dilling. One in Cova Figueira and the other in Patim. They were sweet divisions and the elders are awesome elders. Sadly they both left this transfer but who knows, hopefully I will see them again. 

I think that is it from me. My spiritual thought comes from some stuff I am learned this last week. When we are going through a rough time, it is normal. But in these rough times, we should be praying to the Lord for thanks for the opportunities that that challenge is giving us. If we do so, the love of the Lord will be in us and we will be able to face the challenge with more hope and love. It is a very cool experience. Hopefully you guys do the same. Love you mom

Love Elder Nelson

Week 89

Monday, July 9, 2018

Hey Mom,

This past week was fast and then slow. Had some ups and downs. But overall, a pretty good week. This next week though is the last week of the transfer. So we will see what will happen. 

On Tuesday, we went to council. We left in the afternoon, so we hardly worked. We took the plane this time. I hope to never take the boat again. But council was pretty good. We talked a lot about what we can do as leaders to help the next generation of missionaries become better leaders than us. It was really productive. Then we came back on Thursday and worked that day until today here in São filipe. Those days were pretty slow, then picked up, then slowed down again. Então, hopefully this week will be better. We have cool people marked for tomorrow. I believe that God will help us as long as we pray for it. 

As for Brava and Fogo, it is a 50 minute boat ride. Brava and Santo Antão both don´t have airports. IT is so that Cape Verde is able to get more money from the visitors and tourists when they come. Pretty smart. 

Something I´ve learned this week is that the Lord answers prayers when they are specific. At the council when we were making our zona plans, we prayed for specifics on direction and guidance so that the plans could help the zone improve. And that was one of the councils that I felt that the Lord was truly guiding us on the plans. So I am super excited for the month and beyond. It should be a very powerful start to the transfer and a good way to finish the month. 

Love you Mom. Have an awesome week! Love Elder Nelson

well just so you know, I have 135 days left hahaha, so only 19 weeks hahaha

Well you got about 125 for that day haha. But the time is flying by so fast. 

Ok, I am outta here. Have an awesome week. Love you mom

Week 88

Monday, July

Well, this past week flew by super fast. I can´t believe it is already July. I still think sometimes that it is in the middle of February or something. Anyway, This past week we had zona conference and interviews with Pres. and Sis. Amo. 

The conference was awesome. We did a division with the assistants and with Brava. Brava was actually the whole week cause it is a bit hard for them to come and go back in a 2 day period(Because they are on a completely different island and need to take a boat). But it was a blast. We were able to complete twice of the work as we normally would due to the divisions. Then with the conference they talked about talking to everybody, listening and how to give good invites and plan wisely. It was really inspired. Now I just have 3 more zone conferences, which is a bit weird. 

But now for interviews.  The interviews were pretty good. Pres came to our house and made it seem that he wanted us to move. We will see, a lot of good memories are here. Then he talked a lot about the zone and it was really good. Other than that, not much else happened. This week is council and we will be back in our area Thursday. So practically another half week. Time is just flying.

So my thought comes from a video that Pres. Amo shared at the conference. It is about how the missionaries found people. Watching that made me want to leap for joy, because there are so many ways to share the gospel- So this week, pray for ways to share the gospel. The Lord will amaze you with the countless opportunities He has put in your way. Love you all and hope that you have an awesome Fourth of July!! I will be there next year haha. 

Elder Nelson

I am just emailing today. Nothing too much else is happening today. And transfers are in 2 weeks Almost there. But that sounds fun. And where is Andrew working at today? LAC or copytec? 

They are going better, but I am finding myself more stressed than usual. Idk why, but I just am. SO I am trying to figure out what I need to do to not be stressed. And I am most likely staying. My comp dies next transfer and in my interview with pres. Amo last week, I  know that we won´t be staying together for one more. And so unless Pres Amo wants and the Lord needs me somewhere else, I will stay and get a new comp. And I am good. I am tired but good. But other than that everything is suave. 

Week 87

Monday, June 25, 2018

Hey Mom, 

How are you ding this week? What fun things happened this past week? How was church? Any body new moved in the past little bit? How are the extended family on both sides?

Hope everything is going well back home. This past week has been pretty good. We got a division in, some good district meetings and some funny instances yesterday. 

So we started out the week with a good family night and good food. We played a couple games and it was a fun time. Then we had a division on Wednesday and it was a blast. I was with elder Price, a kid from Washington state. He is pretty cool. We talked a lot and we had loads of fun playing this cape verdean card game Bisca. Its a sick game. Then to end the week, we got some funny experiences yesterday. 

As we were walking away from a compromisso, a dog came out of a house and chased my comp. Super funny. He got chased for like 10 seconds. His face was priceless. Then, like 2 hours later, In tripped on a stair and almost face planted. And the best part is that a member was watching. It´s moments like these where you know God has a sense of humor. 

But my spiritual thought comes from an experience I had this week. Satan has a lot of power when we speak. But when we don't speak, he has got nothing over us. We need to watch what we say because if we don't, Satan will use what we say against us. 

Hope you all have a good week. I will see you next week. Love Elder Nelson

Pops, 

That's cool with sand hollow. Did you go on some cool hikes as well? Hope that it was a good stress relieving weekend. And where do you donate plasma at? And how do you join? 

Thanks for defining the differences of the power and the Priesthood. So then with sisters in the church, whatever calling they have, do they act under the power of the priesthood or the authority? I would think its the authority, or the leading authority of the ward, branch, mission or whatever. And that makes sense about blessings and the authority. So then the blessing if is given without a lot of power, is it still valid? Or is it just when the authority is not there? 

Well I will pray that you will reach your goal with the weight. When I get home, I want to try to help you in whatever way I can. So be prepared haha. And maybe a little, and I know my hot temper didn´t help a lot. I think I was just wanting to prove to others and especially you, that I can do things on my own instead of depending on others to give me the answers or even help. But now things have changed haha, I think. 

Thanks dad for all the support and help you have given me before and on the mission. Sorry for being a pain sometimes haha. You were a great dad. Have a great week. And my feet size are 10.5 inches, so a shoe that has 11-11.3 inches is perfect for me. And my European shoe size is 41-42. Hope that helps. Love you Dad. 

Sweet Dad, thanks. I will also find some scriptures as well to help explain to some other missionaries. And that is fun on the hike. Now I feel like I can climb mountains, like literally all day long. And when I get home. your legs will be like jelly all day every day hahaha-. Love you Dad. Hope a good week waits for you as well. And where is Mom? I got about 10 minutes left before I got to go

Well I got to go, but I love you mom. Hope you have a good week and are blessed of the Lord. Love Elder Spencer Nelson. And I sent the shoe size to Dad, but my feet are 10.5 inches long and are size 41-42 in european size. Hope that helps 

Week 86

Monday,  June 18, 2018

Hey Mom, 

How are you this week? How was sand hollow? Hope everything was fun for you guys. This past week was pretty good. Probably one of the better ones since I´ve been back in Fogo. 

Highlights: I went to the Mosteiros District Meeting. It´s on the other side of the island. But it was pretty good. I got to see Elder Ellingson again, and it was pretty good dm. Then we came back and Had a long day Tuesday. But the next day was better. On Wednesday I went with elder Larsen to Ponta Verde. He is our DL and he is really cool. We walked alot, so when we got back that night, I was dead. But it was all good. Pretty fun division. Then the next few days passed by super slow. But they passed. Weekly planning was good and we had a good time with church and leaving with members this past week. I will admit that we did watch a bit of the world cup, but only because it was Brazil and we were at a members house. So not my fault haha. 

But something funny that happened was that we helped some women wash their clothes and put them on a cord to air dry. It was pretty fun, cause we proved them wrong, cause they said we couldn't do it, but we did. 

But then something spiritual was last night. The family night ended early, so we still had about 30 minutes to proselyte. So we went out and we did a few contacts. And can I just say, we found some pretty cool people. Yea they were contacts, but they were pretty cool people. Marked a return date, so I am pretty excited. SO never give up. The Lord will always put in our paths the people we need to see and help return back to Him. 

Hope you have a good week Mom. Love you lots. Tell hi to everybody for me. All the aunts and uncles and grandparents. Love Elder Spencer Nelson

haha I saw it. Thanks for the support. And has dad been gaining weight the past little bit? 

That's good. Hope he and you can reach your goals. That´ll be awesome. And I didn´t. Dang it. Did you already order shoes? 

Ok sounds good. I will get that for you. And my tie has ended. I love you mom. Have an awesome week. See you in like 5 months haha

Hey Dad, 

How is my good old pa doing? How was sand hollow? How is your work treating you? How are your studies? Like gospel study? Good? Good. 

This past week was pretty good. We had a good division with Ponta Verde. I went with E Larsen to Ponta Verde and it was a lot of walking. But it was still good. Ate some pretty good food this past week. And things are getting better with me and my comp. 

How that everything is good with you. And I just have one question for you. Have you been gaining weight? Cause in the sand hollow picture, it looks like you´ve been gaining some pounds. 

Anyway, love you Dad. Hope you know that. I am excited to get home and build a better bond between us. I kinda want to know more about your mission, like the experiences you had, the miracles you saw and the peoples lives you've changed, and your early life, before and after the mission. Have an awesome week! Love Elder Spencer Nelson