Blood Moon

Well this week was something else. We had a lot of success and our numbers were really good! Anyways here it is- 

Tuesday: we drove basically all day. We left at about 10 to take Elder Florez to Cayey in order for him to be taken to the middle of the island to Utuado where it rains like every day. That's the rain forest if there's anything rain foresty on the island. And then all the like 15 missionaries that met there, went out to Taco Bell and talked and had fun and stuff. Then we continued driving (Borries, Beecroft and I) for like another hour and a half to Guayanilla where we picked up Elder Clavel. Then we drove home. So it was like a total of like 5 hours of driving. But it was pretty fun. Then Borries and I went and talked with Daniel (the super cool guy who is now an investigator) and it was awesome because he basically believes everything we do which made teaching him really easy. And he's super interested in just making the world a better place and stuff and he's cool.

Wednesday: we went out to Patillas and had a really good day out there. We got a new investigator from an old reference we had, and then had a big lunch with Hermano Martinez and his wife. Then we went and visited with Anthony, who works in a surf shop in Patillas and is super cool. He's totally a skater/surfer dude and has so many opinions and is just really fun to talk to because he talks about some weird stuff sometimes. Patillas is turning into one of our more successful areas, but it's hard to get out there a lot because you have to get a ride with a member to go out there.

Thursday: we spent basically the entire day doing service. At like 11 we went to the Gutierrez's house and cleaned up their patio and stuff and then they gave us lunch, which was also really interesting food. Then at like 1 we got picked up by the other Hermano Martinez and he took us to his house where we helped him clean up a huge tree that he cut down in front of his house. (this was all 4 elders by the way). And that took us until about 5 but we got it all done, and he was super thankful because he really needed the help and it probably would've taken a lot longer without us. Then we went home and showered and went over to the church where we taught the Young Men and Young Women about the missionary life. Then the young men forced us to play basketball with them which I had ZERO energy for.

Friday: we went out to Las 500s where we had an even more successful day. We got 2 new investigators and one of them is like a 50 year old guy and we got there and started teaching and he basically took over. He had the whole first lesson basically memorized. He taught us. So that was super cool and super easy for us and he really wants to learn more. Hopefully we can teach his family too next time. Then we went to a lady who is also super cool. She actually contacted us and told us that she wanted to learn about us. So we went over and started by answering her questions about missionaries and then she said "okay. Teach me". So we taught her and she was totally accepting and wanted a Book of Mormon so we gave her one and she was so excited because it was all free and she was willing to pay for it too hahaha. But she's super cool.

Saturday: we got up and went over to clean the church at 8am with all the ladies from the branch. And Hermano Gutierrez. He's a funny guy haha. But that took about 3 hours and it was kinda fun/not really. Then we went home and ate lunch and did some studying and then we really tried to go out and get work done but literally everything was falling through. There was just nobody home and nobody willing to talk and it was rough. So we ended up going over to Jeila and Angel's house and sat around and talked and then they fed us and we shared a good message with them and it was a pretty good time, even though we really didn't get a lot done. 

Sunday: was kinda the same way. We had church and it was really good and we had 38 people there. The talks were good and we had a good lesson and stuff and then we went and took the sacrament to a member of the ward who isn't physically able to come to church. After that, we went home and ate the food that Hermana Roche made for us (and it was really good. Chuletas are super good). And we went out and tried to get stuff done. But again, people were just not really willing to talk and stuff was just falling through all over the place. Por ejemplo (for example): We have (had) an investigator and apparently his pastor told him he's not allowed to investigate other religions and so he can't talk with us anymore. So I got dropped for the first time hahaha. It was kinda really awkward because he doesn't want to stop talking with us but his pastor said so. Sooooo idk. That's basically how our day went. Then we went home and sat outside from like 9 to 10:45 watching the Blood Moon and taking pictures and stuff. I got some cool shots. 

So that was my week! Even though we had a few days where we really got almost noting done, our numbers were surprisingly good for the week and looking back, it was a really successful week.

And now this week is General Conference and we are pumped to be able to listen to all the leaders of the church. And it'll be super interesting since 3 Apostles have died since the last one, so things will be changed up a little. 

"The yearning you feel for something better is a yearning to come unto Christ" ~ Henry B. Eyring. This quote is really cool and super true. The scriptures say that all good things come from God and as we try to change our lives to come closer to those good things, we are ultimately trying to bring ourselves closer with Christ even if we don't realize it at the time. 

Hoping that all is good at home! You're all great :)

Love,

Elder Nelson

Blood Moon last night

Selfie from last night watching the Blood Moon. The flash was rough to deal with.  The glasses are technically Elder Florez's but he gave them to me when he left, soooo I wear them sometimes and tell people that I got glasses.

September Zone Conference

September 2015 Zone Conference

Survived the First Transfer

This was a cool week. We had the opportunity to visit with a lot of members and less active members who are having health problems and stuff. And it was the week of Stake Conference in Caguas and that was super good.

Monday: was P-day and again I can't remember what we did but we had a super good Family Home Evening (Noche de Hogar in Spanish) with some members and a less active youth in the branch. It was really simple and fun. We just shared and talked about the Plan of Salvation and they all really liked it because we made it more interactive and stuff. It was cool.

Tuesday: We had our last District meeting of the transfer, so we took pictures and talked and stuff and took guesses about who will be transferred and such. Then we all went out to Wendy's for lunch because nobody wanted to cook and it was really fun. I really like our district that we had this transfer. It was the biggest one on the island, with 12 people. Most districts only have like 8 or 10 people in them. Then, we had planned to go out to campo, but it was pouring rain so we scrambled over to the house where we teach the ‘3 ladies”, the ones who talk a lot. We got there and they gave us towels and one of their sons was there and brought us Sprite and she gave us candies and it was fun. And we were actually able to share more of a message this time because the first time, we couldn't really get a word out with them. But it was good. The rest of the day was pretty normal. Lots of people not home/not answering.

Wednesday: we went out to Patillas. Patillas is the next town over, in the middle of our 3 towns that we cover. It's more campo, there's not really a lot to do there. But we went out and had a list of names of less actives and old references that we wanted to find. As we found the houses, none of them were home or wanted to come out and talk with us. So that gave us the opportunity to do a lot of contacting. And I actually like contacting. Going off of the instruction we got from President Boucher at Zone Conference, we just began contacting their neighbors. 3 or 4 on one side, the same on the other. And although we got shot down a lot, we found some super cool people that we really want to go back to visit. One guy is like 85 and was out doing yard work and wouldn't let us help him because that's his exercise. He spoke English and was super cool. He said that if we ever need anything that we can call him. And then he just took my planner and wrote all his info in it. Then we found another guy who's cool and seemed interested. As we walked back through the main part of town we walked past a Veterans Council place, something like that. And some guy came out and started talking to us in English so we talked for a while and he was super cool. When we asked for his name he said "ya know Latinos have a lot of names" and then continued to list off like 7 of his names. Then he said "but you can call me Pete". Just a super funny and cool guy. We also got fed by a less active out there even though we did not at all expect her to be receptive. It was a really good day.

Thursday: we had just another normal day back in Arroyo. Nothing really special happened, mostly all of our people fell through. We had a few set appointments and it was pretty disappointing to have those fall through but we're going to try and pick them up again this week. At 7 we went and played basketball at the church with 2 less active youth. They're working on coming back and really like us. And they're good. Or Borries and I are really bad at basketball. Idk. But it was really fun and I got some much needed exercise. Then we left for Salinas, where I had an entercambio (where we swap companions with the district leader and his companion for a day) that night. It was a super fun night. I was kinda nervous because Elder Rodriguez is from Guatemala and speaks Spanish mostly and I'm just a greenie. But I got there and prayed and started talking in Spanish and he told me he was super impressed. Also Elder Kemsley (Elder Borries' trainer) told me the same thing. I really like talking in Spanish.

Friday: I woke up at like 6 because there's a random alarm in Rodrguez's room that went off and I was super confused why the District Leader wasn't getting up on time and then the real alarm went off and it all made sense. I was somewhat mad that I woke up early. But whatever. We got up and had a really good study session and talked a lot about our district and what might happen at transfers and stuff and my Spanish just seemed to be flowing. And it was that way throughout the day. I was super surprised. I don't think Rodriguez likes Elder Kemsley's cooking so we went to McDonalds hahaha. And we just talked a lot and got along really well and I was super happy with how things were going. Then we had a lot of appointments fall through. But then at like 4 we found a member and then Pascual (their branch mission leader) came and picked us up and he made me sit in the front seat with the other three elders in the back. And we talked and he likes me. We went to dinner at a member's house, I believe it was a member. And I shared Mosiah 23: 21-22 and it went really well and Kemsley and Rodriguez both said it was really good. And then we had another lesson and continued to get along really well and I had a ton of fun.

Wow I have a lot to say this week

Saturday: was a pretty normal day. We had a few lessons and then had to leave at like 5 for Stake Conference in Caguas, like an hour away from Arroyo. And that conference was good. It was the adult session so there weren't tons of people but it was good. They talked about missionary work and families and stuff. Really good talks and I understand a lot of the stuff people say now.

Sunday: was conference again. We left at 8 am to drive to Caguas again and conference was again really good. They talked about tithing and families and President Boucher gave a really good talk about how Puerto Rico is in a drought of both water and the gospel. And there's a plan to bring water back and also a plan to bring the gospel back but both things need the help of members. Both sessions of conference really emphasized missionary work. Both were very good. After conference Borries introduced me to people he met while serving in Humacao (oo-ma-cow) and they're all really cool. I think I would like serving there at some point. But I do really want to stay in Arroyo for a while. Then we came home and had a lesson and met with another member family and they fed us. And while we were there, an investigator (one of the 3 ladies) called and told us to come over because he had Alcapuria for us to eat. So we went and ate and it was so good. They're like 8 inch rods that are like an inch thick and have a little ground beef in the middle of like a fried coating. I have no idea what the coating was but it was so good. I ate like 9 of them because Evelyn just kept giving them to me. 

AND TRANSFERS. The only one moving is Elder Florez to Utuado, in like the middle of the island where it actually gets kinda cold. And they split our big 12 person district into 2. Beecroft is our DL and our new district is Arroyo (so our house) and 2 sisters from Guayama. The other two sisters are with Salinas in that district. So we're pretty happy. Everything is good out here!

The church is true. This is the Lord's work and the gospel is spreading and I love being a part of it!

Love you all!

Zack/ Elder Nelson

 my district this transfer

Picture of the coast when we visited the local, and very small, lighthouse that wasn't worth taking pictures of

Sick companion is no fun!

September 14, 2015

This week was rough! Tuesday we had a really good Zone Conference in Caguas that lasted all day. There were a lot of good talks and lessons and Sister Boucher is such a good cook. She cooked for all of us and it was amazing. President Boucher gave a really good lesson/talk. After the conference, most everybody has like a 15 minute interview with President and that was actually pretty cool. He's a great guy and is really concerned for the mission and how his missionaries are doing. So that was Tuesday. Not much happened.

Wednesday, Elder Borries and Beecroft woke up sick. We got like halfway through companionship study and Borries like fell over so I told him to go to bed. He slept for like the next 7 hours until I woke him up for Branch Correlation meeting and a lesson. And then he still sounded super sick. So we came home and he slept some more and that basically takes us to the next morning. Not much going on.

Thursday, Borries again woke up sick. But it sucked for him because Thursday was his one year mark, as well as Elder Beecroft's (who was still sick as well). So they tried to do studies, but ended up both going back to bed. They sounded horrible. So both days now, I was stuck in the study room with really nothing to do. So I began to read Our Heritage, and I finished that in those 2 days that I was stuck inside because of the sick Elder Borries. It's such a good book. I would recommend it to anyone. It's amazing that I could feel the spirit on nearly every page I read. There was always something new to learn and always good reminders of the restoration of the gospel and the process of the pioneers coming across the plains and all that. It was so good. So Thursday after I finished Our Heritage, I started to read Our Search for Happiness by M. Russell Ballard. For anyone who doesn't know, it's basically written so that anyone who reads it can gain an understanding of the things we believe in. And it's also a great book. I haven't finished yet, but it's good. Entonces, tambien on Thursday Borries and I went out and got a huge calzone to celebrate one year and tried to do some work but he just couldn't physically handle it. So another rough day.

Friday he woke up and was feeling better, thank goodness. So we went and did some service. We painted a house. But it was kind of interesting because painting their cement houses is a huge thing here in Puerto Rico. But you have to scrape off the old paint before you paint over it. And that is a big pain. So we were scraping and after like 2 hours of scraping the owners of the house just said forget it, so we started painting over it all. If anybody questions it, it was their decision haha. So we did that and then we went out and had like 2 lessons and then went to the Youth activity that night. It was outside, at like 30 minutes into it, it began to rain super hard and there was thunder and lightning. But we just stayed out in the rain and continued to play the games and stuff.

Saturday, we had a branch activity which was actually really fun. It was a BBQ and there were lots of games and stuff and a kiddy pool for the kids (obviously the kids since it's a kiddy pool). But anyways, at like 1:30 it started to pour and there was super loud thunder and a lot of lightning. So we basically just all sat under the pavilion and talked and had a good time with some of the investigators and less actives that were there. It was a fun activity. And it continued to be super stormy for the rest of the day, which was a downer.

Sunday was our best day of the week. We had a really good church meeting with some good talks and lessons. And we had 2 less actives there. After church, we took the sacrament to Hermano Bidro who is an amputee and has some other handicaps so he can't get to church easily. Then we went over to Jeila and Angel (Jeila is recently reactivated and her husband is in the process) and we just had a really good time with them. We talked and talked about our families and stuff and then at random points, Angel would ask super random gospel questions. This was actually really cool because it kinda proved to me that he's really interested in coming back to church. So we were able to answer some of them, but we were able to set up a time to come back and teach him more about the questions. He only went to church like 4 times after he got baptized like 7 years ago, so he doesn't know or remember much. So it'll be cool to teach him everything over again with his wife. They're just such cool and funny people. That was the best part about our Sunday.

So we had a pretty slow week, but even though it was slow, my testimony has been strengthened so much. By reading those two books, I have not only come to a better understanding about the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but my testimony has grown as well. The Holy Ghost has testified to me that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. That through him, the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored and we now have the fullness of the gospel on the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that if we read it, we can come to a knowledge of all things, as Moroni prophesied in Moroni 10:5. I know that that is true. I know that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who watches out for us and knows of all the stress and trials and good things in our lives. He has our best interests in mind, and often will do things or even put people in our lives who can help us to come closer to Him and overcome the trials in our lives. I have seen that in my mission, that often people are placed in our lives or the lives of other people so that we or they can be helped, healed, and their lives can be changed. I'm so thankful for the knowledge I have that this is the true church and that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can all put all the bad things in our lives, sin, trials, sicknesses, behind us. I'm so thankful for that. I know that this church is true and that it changes lives. It has changed my life.

I love you all! Keep pushing on, there's always someone who has been through the exact trial you went through and knows exactly how you feel.

Love,

Elder Nelson

Huge calzone to celebrate Elder Borries one year mark

A good week!

September 7, 2015

Monday (Aug. 31) was just P-day and I really can't remember what we did, so it probably wasn't that exciting.

Tuesday was sooooo cool because we had a district meeting and an elder who is a Zone Leader and served in Arroyo like a year ago came down to Arroyo with us after the meeting and went out with us and showed us all the people that he used to teach and talk to, and everyone that he had ever really had a conversation with. Then we did some real contacting, which was super successful. I was a little shaky, just adding in my 2 cents every now and then. But Elder Witt is so good at it and can just talk to anyone and as we went down this street just talking to people, he was like- alright Elder Nelson it's your turn. And I kinda panicked but then I was like alright whatever so I just went for it and started talking. So I started talking and it worked and these ladies came out and loved us and loved talking to us and were super interested in us and the missionary life and stuff and then I did another house and they were super receptive so Borries and Witt called me the good luck charm. It was fun and we got a lot of potential investigators from that, and so far they have been quality potentials that are turning into new investigators.

Wednesday I don't really remember what happened. We had a lunch appointment and it was so good and we just talked a lot. The Perez family makes some really, really, good food and feed us a lot. We had lunch and ended up staying at their house for longer than we wanted because Elder Florez got so distracted with stuff and toys and the newspaper. Ohhhh and then we went and contacted a reference that Witt gave us on Tuesday and he's SOOOO coool. He's a K9 cop and was in the Army for 11 years and is super ripped and speaks English and has ATVs and a nice car and truck and he's just such a cool guy and we talked to him and we started talking about his schedule (it's going to be really hard for us to find him because he's always on call and his work covers like the entire bottom half of the island) and he talked about his family and how he does everything for them and we were like wow he's perfect we need to baptize him. We just both felt that he is going to be really receptive and stuff and he's so cool and I just wanna teach him again.

Thursday we had weekly planning that actually took longer than usual because we had so many people and investigators and contacts to talk about. Hopefully all of our planning pays off, we saw it pay off on Sunday. Then we had some lessons and then played basketball that night with a neighbor boy.

Friday we had a successful day and got a new investigator and get this, we went to an investigator's house and his dad came out and started yelling at us and telling us that everything we believe is lies and we're stupid and not welcome there and then to finish it off he goes "ustedes son hijos del diablo!" hahahahaha he called us children of the devil and it was so funny because we just stood there and had no idea what to say and then we left and both said, yeah we are totally going back there hahaha. It was awesome. Then we went to mutual (YM/YW) and it was the first one the branch has ever had and it was fun, we played basketball in our church clothes and we got whooped by the 4 youth we were playing against.

Saturday we stayed in for most of the day because Borries was sick. Then at like 4 we had some lessons and talked with Jayla and her husband and he said he would come to church. So we hoped and prayed and fasted for him to be able to come to church.

Sunday Jayla and her husband came to church and we were pumped it was awesome. If all the members show up next week, we could have 45 or more people there. That would be flippin awesome. And we also had a lesson with these 3 ladies that we contacted on Tuesday and man they talk so much! They just talk and talk and talk but it's fun to talk with them. 

That's basically the week we had, it was awesome and we had super good numbers when we reported them last night.

Love you all and everyone at home is in my prayers!

Love, 

Elder Nelson

Week of Storms

August 31, 2015

Well this week was exciting! We had storms and some success and it was just pretty weird, but here are the details!

Monday: was just P day. We went shopping and then then we stayed home all afternoon (if I remember right) and played cards. We play Skip-Bo and Phase 10 a lot in our free time, like before bed and stuff. So Monday wasn't very eventful. Everybody was kinda freaked out because we were supposed to get such a big storm on Tuesday, but we didn't do anything to prepare since we're in a cement house and have no belongings to really worry about. Then we went to Family Home Evening with an older couple in the branch. They're so nice. They fed Borries and I some fried chicken and french fries and then we talked and shared a message and then they called us their kids and angels and it was really nice and they both got really sentimental with us. I think everybody really likes Elder Borries and I.

Tuesday: We were supposed to get a huge storm. But we woke up and nothing had happened. So we got ready like normal and then at like 10 am it started to pour super hard. So we changed and went outside and danced around in the rain and the puddles. It was fun and childish but was very necessary. After that, we went out to our district meeting and it continued to rain really hard. Afterwards, we went out to Taco Bell and ate and hung out there while the rain let up. Then it finally let up and it was basically done. So it wasn't quite a hurricane, but was fun. We got home around 2 and went out and worked and didn't really have any success because people were dealing with puddles and water and leaks and stuff, so we went off to our dinner appointment with an investigator. Her name is Margarita and she's the grandma of the Cora family (who are like our best friends). Everybody says that she won't progress but we got there and we talked and she showed us that she had read all the way through the middle of Alma. We were stunned. Like last time, she was in 1st Nephi. So we are hopefully going to commit her to be baptized this week and set a date for late September.

Wednesday: We had absolutely no success. We went to a couple houses to try and find people, some contacts and potential investigators, but nobody was home. So we were walking home when we found Moses (or Moises if you're speaking Spanish) and he is always drunk. That's the thing with him. He lives next to a bar and is always there. But he waved at us and came over and said that he wants help with his drinking and that he will come to church on Sunday. Well, he didn't come. We called him Sunday morning to wake him up and he didn't answer so he might have been hung over idk. That was Wednesday in a nut shell.

Thursday: We were again prepping for another storm, so everything we had planned got cancelled before we could even show up. Except for our lunch appointment with a less active family. We went over and had a really great lunch and then shared a message and invited them to come to church again because the branch is growing but could really use their help. So then the wife gave the closing prayer and in the middle of it, began to cry while she gave thanks for the missionaries and for The Book of Mormon in her life. So I think they'll come back soon and be strong. They didn't come to church though, so we'll see what happens this week. Then at like 8:30 pm the storm really moved in and it began to pour. The power went out and it was out all night and the wind was so strong and loud and it rained so hard.

Friday: The storm continued on Friday, as we woke up with no power still and dark clouds all over. So we got ready and stuff but had absolutely nobody available to teach and it was raining on and off so we ended up spending a lot of time at home because nobody had power. Then at like 3 when we had literally nothing to do we went and got lunch and then went down to the Malecon (the pier) and watched the big waves- which are super uncommon for the south side of the island. And then Florez and I decided it'd be fun and a once in a mission opportunity to sit on a bench at the end of the pier and wait for waves to soak us. And they did. We got soaked. In our church clothes. And it was fun. And totally worth it. The waves were so big. Then we went out to some rocks and basically did the same thing. It was a rough walk home though, completely soaked. Then we tried to work some more once I was showered, but had no success so we went home and sat on the roof and played cards and ate chips. And then President Ramos came by (what an awesome guy) with a lantern for us and some KFC since we still didn't have power at this point. It was a good night.

Saturday: We really didn't have any success with what we had planned, until we went to a member's house to talk with her. She's 91, but has tons of energy. And while we were visiting with her, like her entire extended family came by. Like her daughter and granddaughter and their kids and it was just awesome because we've been looking for them so that we can teach them. Some of them are less active and others aren't members. And everyone always says that these people are super unreceptive to missionaries and stuff but they love me and Borries! They're all so friendly and invite us over and it's just great. Seems like with all the unexpected people, we have the most success. That night, we went over to Jayla's to see how her talk was coming for Sunday.

Sunday: Church was good mostly because Jayla gave a really great talk. She was super nervous but when she got talking up there, she was really comfortable and happy and it was so good. She did an amazing job and I could totally feel the spirit and understand her talk. I think she's basically reactivated, but we just have to talk with President Ramos. Then we went off to a surprise birthday party for the Cora's 13 year old daughter. And Puerto Ricans go all out. It was cool. So we stayed there for a while and made some friends and they had like a real DJ and he played 'Watch Me' with the whip, if you know what that is. It's a song that says "watch me whip, now watch me nae nae" whatever that means. And there's a dance, and I know it and so does Yalishmar, who's the youngest girl in the Cora family. So we did the dance and everybody loved it and laughed their butts off and then soon all the 20 kids were behind us with the other elders and they were all doing the dance even though some of the elders struggle with it. Hopefully I can get the videos sometime. And then some parents did it and it was just so fun and everybody loves me and yeah it was great. Then we went out and worked and just had a normal Sunday. 

Also, like last P day we all ran out of money on our Mission Cards, so we have kinda been living on really no food for a week. But we survived.

That's really it for this week. I love all you guys and I hope everything is good back at home or wherever you are!

Love, Elder Nelson

Some answers to some of Mom’s questions:

We cook a lot of rice and beans and chicken. But Elder Borries is actually a really good cook and makes some good stuff for us. 

The humidity is pretty bad. Like it's hot. I sweat a lot. But then when we get to sit down and stuff it's not bad. You just kinda get used to sweating.

We have a washer in our house so we can really do laundry whenever we want. And then we have some racks and fans and we just hang dry everything. It's not too bad.

I don't really have much else to add. But President Boucher was not able to bring my mail from the office. So that was lame. Hopefully I can get it this week. Could you also add to my blog that people can send things to 

Urb. Arroyo Del Mar

Calle Caribe #108

Arroyo, PR 00714

Because it's actually really reliable and that's what everyone does. That's my house address. 

 Washing the car in the rain in the first storm.

 Big wave.  Usually on the south side there's no waves

 Cool wave

 me and Elder Florez under the wave

 at the ocean

waves crashing on the pier

Huge wave caused by the storms last week.  Not sure why picture is so dark, but it's super uncommon to have any waves on the south side of the island where I'm at.

A hard week, and rabbit for dinner!

August 24, 2015

This week was pretty hard.

Tuesday: We had a district meeting in Arroyo because apparently none of the other missionaries have keys to their respective buildings, I have no idea why. But it was good. Then we went out to Campo (which is like the neighborhoods outside of the center of the city) and we were super unsuccessful. We had awesome lessons planned and could've added like 3 new investigators if we had been able to teach those lessons. But nobody was home. We planned to teach a less active but she wasn't home because she works crazy hours apparently. So it was a really unsuccessful afternoon, especially when our dinner appointment got cancelled. This was extremely disappointing because we don't get fed a lot, like maybe 3 times a week. And we have 2 set meals with investigators and these ladies cook some mean meals. Like man they are so good. But, we didn't get to eat dinner with her on Tuesday. So we ended up coming home and visiting with people in our neighborhood. We ended the night by hanging out with the Cora family, who are like the missionaries best friends. They're so fun and just easy to talk to. Always a good way to end a bad day.

Wednesday: We went out to another small town that is in our area, but doesn't get a lot of attention because we don't really have many ways to get out there. This was also a somewhat unsuccessful experience. As you can tell, we didn't have a very great week. We had a list of a bunch of less actives to try to find in the area but when we found the houses, they either weren't there or they didn't exist. One address was completely bogus. Like we found the area it should be in, but when we asked neighbors, they said that the house doesn't even exist and they've never heard of the people we wanted to talk to. And then in a different area, we found a house of a less active but the lady living there said she had never heard the name and that she had been living there for like 15 years. So basically the references were bologna. Then we came back to our neighborhood and had appointments lined up, but either the people had to cancel when we came by or they weren't there. We just have a really hard time finding people home.

Thursday: It was a pretty laid back day, because we spend like half of the day doing weekly planning for the next week, talking about all of our investigators and less actives and how we want to teach them. We did some work and visited with some people after planning, and then got picked up by President Ramos (our Branch President) and he took us out to his house in Guayama. We had to get special permission from President Boucher to do this since it's out of our area and that's really sad because it was super fun. Oh and he took all 4 of the Arroyo elders. We got there, and he lives on a hill in what looks like the middle of the rain forest. But it's not technically the rain forest it's just really green. Anyway, those are unnecessary details haha. He cooked rabbit for us. Rabbit. And it was good. It was actually a really, really good meal. He has like a rabbit farm with like 20 rabbits and some of them are gigantic and were kinda freaky. It was a fun night and he has a really cool family.

Friday: We went back out to Campo to try and visit the people we couldn't get to on Tuesday, but again missed some of them. But we did get to teach a lesson which gave us a new investigator. Then we found some people who were a really old contact but we were able to set up a return appointment for them so that was cool. Then we went to dinner at Laura's and that was the best part of the day. She made some really good rice and beans and some kind of meat and it was just really good. But right when we got there, Borries introduced me and her grandson Javier came running up to me and gave me a huge hug. And then after dinner he was combing my hair as I shared a little thought with them. He's a funny little kid. But a really nice family. Then we came home and I packed up to go on an exchange in Salinas (which is like the next city over). 

Saturday: I was with Elder Nielson on Saturday (funny huh) and it was an interesting day to say the least. We only got to go to like 3 lessons because we went to our first lesson and we were there for wait for it....... 2.5 hours. SHE TALKED SO MUCH. She talked about politics and racism and German Jews and all kinds of random stuff. Neither one of us could get a single word in. She just talked and talked and talked. I was getting kinda annoyed so I tried really hard to get a message in. We wanted to commit her to read the Book of Mormon, so I had to kinda raise my voice (not in a mean way) and ask like 4 times if she would read the Book of Mormon. It was so hard. Luckily she spoke like 4 languages and talked in English. But it was crazy. Then we went to 2 more lessons and they went really well and after we were done, Elder Nielson told me how impressed he is by me and my Spanish and my willingness just to go outside my comfort zone and talk. Like my Spanish is getting pretty good. I'm beginning to be able to understand all the different dialects which is awesome. So Spanish- it's getting better. I'm really able to express myself pretty well now.

Sunday was cool because we had 2 less actives come to church again. I was really tired at church though so I didn't understand much of what was going on. I did give some good input in our Priesthood lesson though. We went out and tried to teach some lessons after church, but most people weren't home. We did find one guy though, who is a contact that they've had for a long time but are never able to find him because he's always drunk. But he came up to us in the street and asked us if we could help him with his drinking and then we set up an appointment with him for next week. So that was good, hopefully we can actually find him and help him.

But really the mission is going well. It's hard and we've kinda gone through a dry spell but it's forcing us to find new ways to work and get in contact with our investigators. My Spanish is getting so much better and I can see it improving every day. Now that I can understand more, I can feel the spirit in the lessons better. I love the spirit that I can feel in our lessons and especially in Spanish. As we've visited with people, a common thread in everyone's lives is that faith is so important, especially when we have trials. In 1 Nephi chapter 3, we love to share this story because Nephi prays while he has trials, but he doesn't pray for Heavenly Father to change the situation. He prays and asks for the strength he needs to change the situation himself. He had such strong faith and that is a great example that we have found to share with people.

Anyways, that’s about it.  I hope everything is going well at home!

Oh, and there's supposed to be a tropical storm/ hurricane coming over Puerto Rico tonight and tomorrow so that'll be exciting. I really hope it hits hard because that could be so fun. Maybe give us some opportunities for service.

I didn't get many good pictures this week. Hopefully I'll get more this next week

Love you all,

Elder Nelson

Elder Borries sleeping

the ocean is pretty