Bautizamos Papa

BAUTIZAMOS PAPA

I'm doing a little blog because they're about ready to kick us off the computers here in the library....

This week was really interesting. On Tuesday we got a new companion. So we're in a trio. His name's Elder Flores and from what we understand he was put with us because he made a mistake and wanted to go home. But after a week of working with us, today he called President and said that he wants to stay in the mission! It was really cool to be there.. we don't know what made him change his mind but we're just proud that he wants to stay!

Oh yeah and Natasha got baptized!! It was really cool. The baptism was packed and we had a lot of people there participating in it! Natasha was seriously a miracle... she just got here from the states and it was really cool to see the blessings of the gospel in her life as she learned and accepted the doctrine of the gospel! Her and her family will be huge parts of the ward here in San German!

We're teaching a 19 year old Dominican guy named Juan, he's part of a program that's here representing a few countries as runners... like these guys run like 10 meters per second. Idk what that is in US terms but it's fast. One of the guys he lives with is the 2nd fastest runner in the DR. You could say we're hanging with the famous guys. They're like Olympic runners... But anyway Juan has a baptismal date for the 14th of May and he's super excited for it! It's super fun to teach Dominicans... One of them is a super tall Guatemalan!! They're all really cool.

Herbert is still allli alli... he came to church, we just have to get him to accept to be baptized this next week and we'll be golden!!

Lot's of good stuff happening lately, and it's been fun to work lately!

Love you all!!

Zack

T-minus 7 weeks HAHAHAHA WOOOOOO not trunky

 So here's Julio (recent convert of  Elder Corales) ready to baptize his daughter Natasha Gomez

 Cabo Rojo district meeting!

 in the hands of my companion

 Exchange with Elder Glissmeyer!

 selfie pa ti

 me and Nestor el viejito

Chuleta from the Chuletada after Natasha's baptism! (btw chuletas are really good)

Nutty week and a bee sting!

This week was crazy!! Seriously it was a nutty week. Everything I didn't expect to happen, happened. Fasten your seat belts.

Monday was a normal Pday. Nothing too special. I don't even remember what we did. Seriously this whole week has been a big mess in my head.

Tuesday we went to Aguadilla for the District Meeting, which is like an hour from hour house. On the way home, IT STARTED TO POUR. But pour like flooding the streets. Like the water on the freeway was like a foot deep and the Boricuas were going crazy. We got back to San German late because nobody seems to like to drive in the rain... I feel like that's a skill that's only acquired in Oregon honestly. But we got back and we went and taught Natasha and had a solid lesson. Then we had to take off again to go to San Sebastian for a meeting with President Boucher and the stake president.

Wednesday we went out and did some service with a member in the morning. All was good until we had done about half an hour of work and we were moving branches and stuff that was in a pile next to where we needed to work to put up the fence we were making. And all of a sudden I heard a bee so I ignored it but it followed me everywhere I went. I lost my patience and started to wave my arms around trying to hit it and kill it or something... honestly Idk why I thought that was a good idea... because then I heard like tons of bees hahhhahahaa and they started to sting me!! The others that were there yelled "stand still and they won't do anything to you!" Hahahahaa that was a mistake. They were already super mad and they started to sting everyone and then all at once we went running and screaming up the hill to the house and ended up standing under a sprinkler trying to kill the bees with the water. It was a real rough hour there as we were fighting with all the bees trying to hit them all with water before they got to us and could sting us. One bee got me good right on the eyelid.

Later in the day we had a super cool lesson with a couple named Angel and Michelle. They're super awesome! We talked about the plan of salvation and they understood really well. We took Hermano Olmo with us and man the man knows his doctrine!! Like Herbert, sometimes he looks like he's falling asleep in the lessons, but then he hears something he likes and boom he pulls out his Book of Mormon and the thing is marked up and down and he just goes off explaining in a way that helps everybody understand better. Olmo is amazing.

Thursday I woke up and my eye was so swollen I couldn't open it. So I started taking Benadryl and icing the eye, at like 8:30 I was knocked out in the chair at my desk, hahaha, the Benadryl took full effect! The day was kinda rough but we did get to teach Herbert. He was super excited to be baptized in that lesson and we finally finished teaching everything that he needs to know!

Thursday night my eye was open and a little less swollen, but Friday morning I woke up and it was swollen shut again! So I just said alright I'm done, and we went to the hospital. Everyone just stared at me weird as I walked in hahahaha but they hooked me up to an IV and started pumping Benadryl and an anti-inflammatory into me. And man that was literally the best 3 hours of sleep I've had in a looooong time. It was awesome. It just knocked me out

Saturday Herbert had his baptismal interview. He passed! But he has some doubts about tithing because he literally doesn't have money to pay a full tithe like he wants to. So he didn't want to get baptized. But on Sunday he came to church with a white shirt and tie!! It was super cool to see him in church all dressed up. We're pretty confident that he'll be baptized this next weekend with Natasha. It'll be cool.

On Sunday... Wow Sunday was a mess. Church was really good! After church we ate with Nestor and then left for Trujillo Alto for a mission meeting. We got there on time and it was a super good meeting! The spirit was super strong. It was just a big testimony meeting about Christ and the Atonement. But on the way home... We were passing Caguas at like 8pm- already like 30 minutes from Trujillo Alto going home, when the Cabo Rojo sisters call us and say, "Hey guys we're lost" and so we're like alrighty where are you? And they were SUPER LOST and we had to turn around and go find them. It was a mess. We got home at 11:30 after finding them and leading them back to the west side of the island. Goodness gracious. But it was a fun adventure.

I know that my Savior lives. He loves me and suffered for all of my sins, so that I can be clean and return to live with my Heavenly Father someday. His love is infinite. He suffered, he was crucified, and he was resurrected on the third day. He lives and leads His church on the earth today. As a representative of Jesus Christ, I testify that He is our Lord and Savior. He lives and loves unconditionally!

Love you all!

Elder Nelson

con el ojo INCHA'O (I got stung on the eyelid, hahahahahaha)

Us with the Olmo's in La Parguera today!

La Parguera

Man MIRACLES are awesome!

This week was super cool! Honestly we've been working just to see miracles. And it's paid off. It has really paid off. When we act with REAL faith, the Lord can work miracles in our lives. But if we just settle, then there's no faith and there's no miracles. NEVER STOP PROGRESSING. To build our faith, it requires that we take leaps of faith every day.

Man MIRACLES are awesome! Herbert Santiago, he's 82. But the dude is progressing a ton and I truly believe that it's because of the testimonies of the members that have gone with us. Honestly in every lesson I just feel like giving up because it always sounds like he's not going to accept what we teach him and ask him to do... but then when you least expect it, he makes some comment out of the blue and we're like, “YES THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO HEAR.” Example: We taught him the Sabbath day. But he wasn't really into it. He was like, "well I have my agency and I can do what I want. If I don't like red apples I don't have to eat them." And I was like oh crap he's not going to commit to keep the Sabbath day holy. Then at the end he says, "but I know it's right and I'm going to church on Sunday!" So that was awesome. And he came and he loved it again!

Second miracle. Julio is a recent convert of Elder Corales. He got baptized like a month before I got to San German. And now he's the assistant to the Ward Mission Leader. He helps a lot when he can to visit people and he's been a huge help with Herbert! But the best part of the week was on Saturday. We had a meeting about the missionary work and Nestor (the ward mission leader) says, "ok so who have we got preparing to be baptized?" And we mentioned all our investigators. Then Julio says "write down 'Natasha Gonzalez' please" and I was like WHAT but nobody else knew who she was because I had met her before. We were already going out with Julio to do visits after the meeting, so while we were out we stopped by his house and talked with Natasha. She was super sick so we gave her a Priesthood blessing and talked a little, and just ended by inviting her to church. Then in the car back home, Julio says "yeah Natasha told me she wants to be Mormon" And we just kinda sat there like struck dumb hahaha. On Sunday, she came to church and loved it and got signed up for a young single adult trip they're doing. But get this. She came to church completely healthy. She said that 30 minutes after we left, she was fine. She didn't have to take any of the medicine they had bought her. She couldn’t even talk when we were there, but she came to church talking like nothing had ever happened. The Priesthood is real!

So after church we went and visited them and taught the Restoration and it was a super solid lesson. She's super prepared and has some of the best help that anyone could ever have as someone learning more about the church. She accepted a date for the 22nd! Honestly there are miracles all over the place if we just have faith and work for them!

AND the zone has a goal of 22 baptisms in April. Which sounds kinda like a long shot considering we only got like 4 last month. The last week on March, the zone had 0 baptismal dates for April. Now we have 29 dates as a zone and people are pumped to reach the goal. It's been really rewarding to work lately. There's just been a lot of cool stuff happening!

I love the mission. I know that this is His true church. He died for us and was resurrected so that we too can be resurrected. I know that He is the head of this church and guides it through a living prophet. All the truths and ordinances we have today, were restored through living prophets. We truly are blessed to know the truth! Happy Easter!!

Love you all!

Elder Nelson

T-minus 9 weeks woop woop

Just realized it's been 3 weeks and I don't have a single picture with Elder Arteaga... I'll get it this week. Woop woop

Oh, plus I hope you've all gone to mormon.org by now and seen the video that came out recently about Christ, His sacrifice, and His resurrection. It's really cool. Share it please!

me and Elder Cook

me and Elder Lopez

We made some mexican food with a family yesterday. I don't remember what it's called but it was really good! The thing is, that it takes a lot of work to make just a little bit of food...

General Conference hits you in the heart!

GENERAL CONFERENCE ESTA BRUTAL hahaha no but really it just hits you in the heart!

This week was a week of small miracles, being able to teach some people that have a lot of potential. So here's an update:

Herbert Santiago: He's 82 and he's super smart and even though it seems like he sleeps in our lessons, he's always paying attention. We were super worried about teaching him the Word of Wisdom this week because he says he's a salve to the coffee... and he has a baptismal date for the 15th. But we taught it and then at the end of the lesson asked him "so... will you commit to it?" And then his granddaughter walks in and says, "Herbert doesn't drink coffee. He's gone a whole week without it!" LIKE WHOA WHAT A MIRACLE!! So we were able to talk a little more and he's really really wanting to be ready to be baptized on the 15th! I know that it was our preparation and concern for him that made it possible for him to feel the need to drop the coffee a week early. Still don't know why he did it, but it's an answer to our prayers.

Carlos Reyes: He's about 40 years old. I contacted him with Elder Corales about 3 weeks ago and we didn't have a lot of contact. He was really interested in the Book of Mormon. So the other day I just texted him and we got him to agree to come to the church for a lesson. And man it was powerful teaching the Restoration in the chapel to a man who's completely open to it. But he didn't want to commit to a baptismal date. Work in progress ;)

Jean Luis: He's a new 19 year old we found the other day. We taught a solid Restoration to him and he seemed to really think about the possibility of having an eternal family. He has a lot of potential as well!

Conference really in the end I think just made me love the mission even more... The strength in being able to testify that we have a living prophet on the earth is amazing. I've felt the truth in that statement as I've testified of in and heard the testimonies of others this week. I love being a part of the true church of Jesus Christ. I know that it may be hard at times, but for that reason the prophet and the apostles gave us direct revelation on how to combat the obstacles!! It's true and all we have to do is simply live the principles of the gospel.

It's been raining a ton here which reminds me of OREGON!

10 weeks hahahahaa WOOOOOOOO

Love you all!

Elder Nelson

Me and Elder Mancilla (greenie). Wendy's parking lot exchange, photo at 9 at night.