Feliz Navidad!

Hello everyone!
Hey how are things going? SO this week has been a good one. Christmas was fun. The people down here do things on Christmas eve instead of Christmas day so that night we went caroling with the Branch President´s Family for an hour or so and then back to his house for a dinner. The dinner was way good. There was tons of steak and pork as well as sausages called chorizo. yummy. There was also a bunch of potatoes and rice as well as bread. Elder Tondevold and I made Brownies to take over for them. The other elders that we live with came over for dinner too.
Christmas day was pretty relaxed. We played games in our pension with the other elders and then went to lunch at a members house. SO there is a family in our branch that doesnt have a lot of money and it is a single mom working 2 fulltime jobs to support 4 kids. She is really awesome and has taken her sister in to live with her so she can still go to school. We have been teaching the sister for the past few weeks now. Anyways, we got a box and stuffed it full of candy and some toys and took it over to them. They loved it. Later on that day, I got to talk to my family....finally. The guy who said we could use his house phone to receive the call wasn't even at his house when we told him to be and then our families ended up not even being able to call. After like 3 hours of going into town and then buying minutes on a cell phone and having a guy call around, we got the code to get out of the US and got everything worked out. PHEW!!!
Phone number they called us at in Chile 0115653636681

Okay, so now on to the good stuff. This past saturday, we had a baptism! Her name is Nayareth Rojas and has moved in with her older sister who lives in our ward. My companion baptized her and yesterday in Church, I confirmed her. It was a cool experience for me but I was pretty nervous! I hope everyone had a great and safe christmas! Take care and i´ll talk to ya next week. -Elder Nelson Nayareth's sister, family & us.

Little Rays of Sunshine

My favorite flower down here "Little Ray of Sunshine"

Hey Everyone!
How are things going? So this week has been a busy one. We had our Christmas Conference up in La Serena this past Thursday. We had to be on the bus by 6am so we got an early start to the day. The conference was really good. Pres and Hma Wilhelm spoke to us. Our special musical number went really well also. It was I heard the bells on Christmas day. They also asked me to play the opening, closing, and prelude. It was fine this time because it was all just christmas songs. But, we had a nice lunch and then a gift exchange. We all got mission shirts. I will have to take a picture of mine and try and send it next week or something. After that we had like a soccer activity. Friday was full of events as well. We had interviews with both President and Hma Wilhelm. Hma Wilhelms interview is about like our health and then memorization stuff....she also has us do pushups for her and then set goals for next time. I got44 and my goal is 60. she doesnt count them either if you dont go all the way down. So after that, we had an activity where we sang the songs that we had been practicing. We went to like a children´s home to sing to all the kids there and then had a santa claus give out gifts. IT was fun and the kids liked it. After that, we had our singing in the plaza with some of the members. It was a lot better than i thought it was going to be. They had mics and speakers all hooked up so we were jammin the whole plaza . Between each song the missionaries had to give a little minute long thing to introduce the next song. we had to write it by ourselves. i introduced silent night.
Well everyone is getting ready for Navidad down here. There are people who set stands up for wrapping presents and stuff and a lot of people have lights hanging up. its funny because some people have those lights for drapping over bushes just hanging on the side of their house...and its only like one square too so it looks kinda funny to see a patch of lights on a house.
Alright, well I hope everyone has a great week and a feliz navidad! Love you all and take care!
-Elder Nelson

Vote on our ties

Me & my companion Elder Tondevold from Murray, UT

play a game with people. We ask them to vote on whose tie they like the most.

So...who's tie do you like the most??

The first family I met in Limari. They are moving up north to work.

Christmas lights in the down town plaza of Ovalle
A little country town of Punitaqui, 30 min. from Ovalle

Well hello everyone. Things are going well down here in Ovalle. Just when you think it cant get any hotter, we get a nice little overcast day. It is wonderful but I am sure the clouds will go away before too long. So this past Saturday night the 4 elders in our pension(apartment) invited a bunch of the member young men and their friends to play some basketball. It was way fun and i can now dunk it with a mini ball. it was funny to see how they play. it is like unorganized churchball from the states. I am pretty sore today though still.
Earlier this week I went on intercambios (exchanges) to a small town about 30 minutes east of Ovalle. It is called Punitaqui. It was way hot there and kind of a little country town. Not much out there but it was fun.
We are still practicing Christmas songs for our mission conference this Thursday as well as to sing in the town plaza this Friday with members of the church. It should be fun. Yesterday at the practice with all the members the person who plays the piano for that never showed up so i had to play. I didnt know a couple of the songs but I winged it through them alright...
Well hope all is going well with everyone! Love you all and thanks for everything! Take care!
Con Amor, Elder Nelson

It's Hot!

A dog that greets us at our pension...we named her Luda.

Jaren's Christmas package from home finally arrived!

He has a mini Christmas tree, presents and pink walls!

elder smith (left), me, elder villagra (right).

they are both so funny.

elder smith said that he was going to smile like a

south american in his pic haha

Our zone.

Hey everyone!
So this week i gave my first haircut today to elder halverson. it turned out good but it did blaze a spot right above his ear but he doesnt care. We found Nayareth to teach. She is going to be baptized on December 27th. She moved in to live with her sister who is a member and they came to us at church last week saying that they wanted to start the discussions. It is pretty cool. So tonight I am going out to Punitaqui for intercambios (exchanges). so i will have been in every sector of the ovalle zone. Things are going well with my companion and I. We like a lot of the same things and found out that a lot of the little annoying things we do to family and friends are the same. Its a good time and we enjoy working together. I am playing the piano for the Christmas conference this month...its only 4 songs and i am able to practice them every day so its not that bad. We are also singing in the district conference for Ovalle. We had a practice yesterday with members and the lady complemented my singing a couple of times--haha...i was doing bass too. I dont think it was me she was hearing because I don't sing...SO on the funnier side of the week, we were walking down this big hill earlier on tuesday, and this guy who was probably like 22 was at the bottom and walking the opposite way we were going...anyways, he turned up to wave at us and took his eyes off the ground and hit a curb and did the goofiest looking fall i have ever seen! The first thing he did was look back up at us to see if we saw it. I gave him the thumbs up and just kept walking. He was laughing...it was funny. Well, just enduring this heat...take care everyone and enjoy the snow for me ;) Love you all! -Elder Nelson
P.S. Happy Birthday Uncle Neil, Uncle Andy, Uncle Byron & Erica! Hope its a good one :)

Crooked mouths & a new companion

Hey Everyone!
Hey how are things going? Things are good here. It sounds like Thanksgiving was a good time. I didnt even notice a difference down here.
So drumroll....I am still in Limarí, Ovalle. I do have a new companion. His name is Elder Tondevold. He is from Murray, Utah and has been on his mission for about 13 months now. He is cool and we get along good together.
So, yeah this week was full of contacting. So i dont remember if I told you this earlier but there is a superstition here that makes me laugh just about everytime I see it. It is called the "boca chueca"...not really sure how to spell the second word, but it means crooked mouth. If anyone is drinking a hot drink or ironing, they will come to the door with their mouth covered because they think if they talk and the cold air hits their mouth, it will get stuck. My comps like to have a little fun with these people sometimes and kinda make fun of them without them realizing by like cautioning them not to come out anymore. Its pretty funny.
So its weird to think that on the 13th of Dec. I will have been on my mission for 1/3 of a year already. The time really flies down here but the MTC seems like forever ago.
I am still working hard and learning the language. It its getting easier for me to understand people but speaking still is a challange at times.
I better wrap this up but I hope all is well and you are enjoying the cooler weather...its only getting worse each day and I would kill for a cool breeze. I'm getting quite a tan line where my watch is. Well today is still overcast and nice but we will see how long that lasts :) I love you all!
Love,
Elder Nelson

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! everyone! Things are going good down here in Ovalle. I cant believe that my first change is already over! It sure flew by. Only 15 more changes to go ;)
So I played the piano for the primary program yesterday in Sacrament meeting. It went well and the kids did really good. I thought it was going to be hard keeping them quiet and sitting still but they were really good. So Juan, the boy we baptized a couple weeks ago passed the Sacrament yesterday which was pretty cool. We found a family to teach this past week. I dont know if I told you about them already but we taught (did) a kid´s english homework for them one night so we went back and asked if we could share a message with them.
Another cool thing that happened was way back in the beginning of my stay here in Ovalle I went on splits with Elder Smith from another district and we taught this lady and she accepted a baptisimal date. She had me pray both times. Well my companion had to do the baptizimal interview so we went down there with Elder Smith and Villagra and she had me say the opening prayer again! She is getting baptized this weekend.
Well that is about all the excitement that has been going on. I guess I will tell you all where I am at next week but I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat some turkey for me and some ranch dressing too...(unheard of down here...) okay, love you all lots! Oh, happy Birthday Zach! Hope it was a good one. Thought about ya yesterday and how things are going. Hope all is well.

Love, Elder Jaren Nelson

My First Earthquake

So during the lesson, i had my first earthquake experience. It was only like 10 seconds long and just a little rumbling but it scared me because we were on the third floor of an apartment complex which is the highest building in our sector.

Happy Birthday Zach!

Hey Zach! Happy Birthday!!!

Here are some pics of the top of our sector looking over the other side away from the city. here are all the vinyards and orchards. Things are going good for me out here and my spanish is getting better. The members are noticing. I am staying busy and am always tired. Well it is good to hear things are going good up there and that gas prices are going down. I am sick of people telling me ganó Obama. (Obama won). Ya think? Haha. Hey Mom, tell Zach happy birthday this Sunday for me. The cards here are lame and don't come with any envelopes.

Take care and I love you all! Talk to you next week!

Hey! Dad....there are Jazz Fans in Chile too!

This guy i saw walking and we tracked him down from like a block away. He bought the jersey down in the feria (fleamarket) for 1 mil. (2 bucks)

First Baptism!

My First Baptism. Juan Cerda - 13 years old.

My new friend - Nacho

and....round #2 for smooth legs! All 4 elders in our pension decided to go for the smooth legs.

Hello Everyone!
Things are going good for me here down in Ovalle, Chile. It is really getting hot down here! This has been a pretty event-filled week. The highlight of it was definatly Friday night. I had my first baptism. His name is Juan Cerda. He is a 13 yr. Old boy. The other youth in the branch were a big part of him coming into the church. They are such a support for him. Well kind of a funny thing happened that evening during the service. I was conducting the music and the closing hymn was True To The Faith...anyways, on the part where it switches from the verse to the chorus by saying no! (or yes!) I didnt see the rest there and infront of everyone sung out NO! Haha... everyone started laughing and the young women were rolling laughing... Pretty embarassing if you ask me but its all good. So Juan was confirmed yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. Elder Schneider baptized and confirmed him. I was a witness for the baptism and then stood in with the Branch President for the confirmation. We were also asked yesterday to stand in with the Branch President for a baby blessing. That was cool. So our chapel that is in our sector is being remodeled as of earlier this week so we have to go to the chapel in the sector right next to us. At first, it was going to be at 5 in the afternoon until 8 . It was changed Saturday night to only 12 noon which is better I guess but we wont be eating lunch until like 4 now. It was kinda of funny telling people when doing contacting that our church would be at five in the afternoon and seeing their faces...haha.
I am out of time now but i will have a good story for next week. Talk to you all later! Love you all! Thanks for everything!

Yeah! Pictures from Chile

City of Ovalle, Chile

Another gorgeous view of Ovalle.

Cheap political signs for Marta Lobos.

Workin' feet......ouch! blisters

Elder Schneider, Me, Mission Pres. Wilhelm & wife

at our Mission conference 10-29-08

First mission conference in La Serena, Chile

We are having our first mission conference in La Serena on Wednesday 10/27. (About 45 miles north of Ovalle right on the coast) I am nervous because they asked me to play the piano for two groups who are singing.
Things are getting more normal. The food here is really good! The members love to feed the missionaries and feed them good! Lunch here is bigger than 2 dinners normally in the states. The weather here is so nice. 80's in the daytime and 50's at night. The sun is strong here and just drains the life right out of me. I am sleeping really good. I have blisters on my heels from walking so much and hope they will soon turn into calouses. My spanish is coming a long pretty good. People say I speak good. We have a mamita that does our laundry. She folds really good!! My companion is pretty sweet. He has a lot of great stories from other companions and other areas and goes home in May. Take care, Love Elder Nelson

Jaren's with his Mission president and wife

Me with President Gerardo Wilhelm and his wife on the day I arrive in Vina del Mar.

First area - Limari

This is Jaren's first area. Limari is just under the OV of Ovalle. He is 5 hours north of the Mission home in Vina del Mar. He and his new companion

Elder Schneider are the only missionaries in Limari although there are 12 missionaries in Ovalle.

He made it!

This is where I am....Limari, CHILE
My plane headed south.

So about 9:05 am while I was at work...in came an email. "Are you there mom?" Jaren's first email from Chile. I was so excited. He had 90 minutes of email time and we were able to talk back and forth. You gotta love technology compared to old fashioned airmail letters.
So...here's the news.
"Tue(10-14) we spent at the Mission home in Vina. I love it here. It is so beautiful. The mission president is strict but very cool. His wife speaks no english at all. He says it's Spanish from here on out. My first Chileno meal was rice and a beef type dish. We played a game that told us where we would be going. At 11:oo pm we boarded a bus and had a 5 hour bus ride north to the city of Ovalle (o-vi-yeah) and we are in the sector of Limari. I didn't get sleep for about 36 hours and have never been so tired in my life. There are 12 elders in Ovalle but only my companion and I in Limari. My new companion is Elder Schneider from Michigan. People here are crazy about Flan and Mayonase. They put mayo on everything. They talk REALLY fast and they slur their words together and add "po" to the end of everything which doesn't mean anything except "um". The bread here is so good especially hot from the oven. Lots of potatoes, chicken and potatoes with mayonase. They don't have dressing here so they put oil, salt and lemon juice on salads. That will take some getting used to. We take a cheap taxi down to the center of the city to do our shopping. Monday is our "P" (preparation) day. We have until 6 pm then back to work in the evening. The town loves new missionaries. They want to talk to me but I don't understand them. I think that dogs are an abomination in South America. They're gross and they bark constantly (this coming from a big dog lover!!) We are walking everywhere and there are a couple of hills that get us tired. Well, tell everyone that because the mission home is 5 hours away that mail could take a month to get to me so to use my email address. I won't be able to email them back directly and will have to send answers through mom. Just don't make the emails too long so that I have time to write too. Tell everybody HELLO....til next week. CHAO! gotta go...love ya!!

While we're waiting for our first letter from Chile...

Yeah!! we got to have a really long 30 minute phone conversation with Jaren during his layover in the Atlanta airport. They are traveling on Delta from Atlanta to Santiago, Chile. During thier layover, 5 of the Elders went to get a bite to eat and decided to get some Chinese Food at Panda Express. When it came time to pay for their food at the check out, they found out that a very kind lady had paid for all of the Elder's meals. He was really touched by such an anonymous gesture of kindness. He sounds really great and was nervous but very anxious! It was great to get to hear his voice and catch up on what he's been doing in the MTC.
We are anxiously awaiting our first letter or email from CHILE!

Finally...On my way to Chile!

We were so lucky! At lunch today we got to talk to Jaren while he waited for his plane at the Salt Lake Airport. It was wonderful. Funny thing...he hasn't changed, he sounds just like Jaren. He loved being out in the world again. He said his last night in the MTC was just like Christmas Eve. They even got up early (4:30am) to drop his companion Elder Sorenson off at the travel office. At the airport he bought a slice of Pizza at Sbarro...he said "it was like Heaven to eat real food again".
We get one more chance to talk to him tonite while he's in the Atlanta airport on a layover. He'll travel through the night tonight and arrive in Santiago at 8:30am in the morning. Then the real fun (hard work) begins.
Thank you for all of your support and letters to him in the MTC. Check on the side of the blog under his picture for how to send him letters FREE to CHILE on dearelder.com

Flight Plans

Hey Everyone!
Here is our flight plans. We are actually leaving on Monday the 13th... a day earlier than expected! We check in at the front desk at 10:00am and the following are our flights.
There are 21 elders going to the Vina del Mar mission!!!!

Delta Air Lines Flight #696
LV: SLC 1:45pm
AR: Atlanta, GA 7:25pm

Delta Airlines Flight #147
LV: Atlanta, GA 10:10pm
AR: Santiago, Chile 8:35am (OCT 14) Yeah!!!!

Ten, nine, eight, seven....

Hello everyone! Well, the MTC experience is almost over. October seemed so far away when I got my call in April but, it finally came. Ten days til I leave for Chile. The highlight of my week this week will be getting my flight plans. We will get to call our family in the airport during layovers. Thanks everyone for your letters. Just a reminder that I will not be in the MTC after October 13. Mom will put information on the blog about how to send letters through the weekly pouch....it's still FREE. Well...not much to say now. I should have lots of interesting news in a couple weeks. Take Care, Love Elder Nelson

Six Weeks

Hey Everyone!
How are things going? Things here are good. I have now been here for 6 weeks! Well the oldest district in our zone left early this morning so that means that our district is now the oldest. It's kind of weird to think that we're the oldest ones here now. Seems just yesterday I had my orange "dork" dot for being new. This past week President Hinckley's son Elder Richard Hinckley spoke to us at our devotional. He did a great job and gave us his own list of B's for missionary work. We are now fully into teaching in Spanish now. Yesterday we taught the First lesson again. I feel we did pretty good but again, it will be nothing like the real thing in a month or so. Well take care everyone! I think about you all alot! Thank you so much for the letters! They're awesome and help keep me going! Take care! Love, Elder Jaren Nelson

New things

New companion - Elder Sorenson (Lake Oswego, Oregon) he joins Elder Bastian and I because his companion left for Madrid Spain. He's going to Texas. So, because of that we got moved to a New dorm room. We have some New Spanish teachers, Hermano Rosales from Mexico City, and another teacher from northern Chile. They speak really fast! We are in 100% Spanish mode now - YIKES! We have New work at the Referral Center. We contact by phone those who have called in to request a Book of Mormon or more information about the church. New laundry time - 6:00 am...no one's around and I can get all the washers and dryers and finish really fast. New feelings...a little bit of homesickness. But I'm OK now.

Sore throat, smooth legs and my first MTC haircut

Hi friends & family,
I went to the Doctor this week because I've had a bad sore throat that won't go away. I thought it might be strep but it wasn't...yeah! but no basketball til it's gone. I'm proud to say that after all the good food I'm eating I have not gained a pound.
My ear is picking up the language a lot better than my tongue. I can understand for the most part when my teachers & investigators here are talking but I am sure that the Chileans will speak a totally new language to us. I've learned about 3 1/2 yrs. of High School Spanish in 13 days. We've exceeded what I learned from high school about 5 days ago.
Last week our devotional speaker was Elder Dallin H. Oaks & his wife. We went early and thought we had the best seats in the house, 2nd row-center, and then we got told that we were in the choir seats. We ended up sitting 5 rows from the top.
Two elders from my district left for Madrid Spain MTC so now we have another companion Elder Sorenson from Oregon!!
So last night I shaved my legs! Nothing has felt so good. I got it on video. I got sick of my dress socks matting down my leg hair so Elder Skidmore took the initative and got me to do it. He did it and said it solved the problem. Mom, I got my first MTC haircut yesterday...WOW is it short. I kinda like it that way. I got it right after lunch and didn't have time to shower. The lady did vacuum my head but it was still falling on my shoulders and down my neck all day...GROSS! Well, tell the dogs HI. I miss them tons. Love to all, Elder Nelson

Jaren's life at the MTC

So we're trading memory cards. Here are Jaren's first pictures from his life at the MTC. He also sent a video clip. He loves it and is doing great.

Jaren's first companian - Elder Bastian & Elder Nelson
The District Group. Jaren is the new District Leader.
They go to the Provo temple every Tuesday. Jaren loves the food at the Cafeteria there.
Jaren in class....learning Spanish!
Spanish is hard work!
The classroom.Jaren's study desk in his room.

Jaren's closet.

P-day

So a big surprise popped up on my computer screen at work...an e-mail from Jaren Nelson at the MTC. We were all pretty excited to get our first letter on Monday...let alone one the following day. Tuesday is Jaren's "P-Day" or Preparation day. It's their day during the week to take care of personal things ie. writting letters, laundry, grocery shopping (when he gets to Chile) etc. We're so excited to share his very first e-mail letter.

Hey friends and family! So I have nearly completed my first week here in the MTC. I have learned so much already it is amazing. We have been taught how to pray and bear our testimonies in Spanish as well as introducing ourselves as missionaries and stating our purpose. My Branch Presiden'ts name is Pres. Johanson. He is a really cool guy. I was called to be a District Leader for my district. I was overwhelmed at the thought of leading this great group of 11 of us. It took me a few nights to finally get a good night's sleep. I just couldn't slow my mind down enought to fall asleep or stay asleep. I am adjusting to the schedule now though so I am not so tired in class anymore which is nice. The food here is great but is kind of a trap. If not careful...gaining 2 lbs. a week can add up. Today is my "P-Day" so I had the opportunity to go to the Provo Temple. My companion and I ate at the cafeteria afterwards. It was so good! They were serving Pork chops and mashed potoatoes. The rest of my day will be study time and laundry. This evening there is a devotional for the whole MTC. There is a rumor going around it might be an Apostle...we'll just have to see! Mom, a lot of missionaries are getting same day email from a place online called dearelder.com. You might try it and pass it on to others. Well please tell everyone THANK-YOU to everyone for supporting me whether it has been by writing or attending my farewell last week. Love, Elder Nelson.

1st Letter

So I opened the mailbox on Monday afternoon at lunch and what should be sitting there but that long awaited "1st Letter!" My heart started thumping and tears started coming. Would he be loving it? What had he been doing in these past few days?
Good news! He loves it!!! He loves the food and he has a cool companion, Elder Bastien from Colorado. He has 2 other elders in his room, one from West Jordon, UT and one from So. California. There are 8 elders in their district learning spanish. 2 are going to the Dallas, TX spanish speaking and 2 are going to Spain. The letter was short but just what we needed to assure us that he's really excited and loving what he's doing!

Headed for the MTC...."The Drop-off"

We left for Provo, UT on Tuesday afternoon, Aug 12th after Jaren had been set apart as a Full-time missionary by the Stake Pres. Phil Wightman. He has been a mission president in England. He told me that all missionaries catch the "homesickness bug" but he's never known of any to die from it.

Weighing luggage....whew! only 35 lbs. Good thing...maximum is 50 lbs. and I'll have 12 pounds of learning material given to me at the MTC.

That night we ate at "TUCANOS" a Brazilian restaurant in Provo. The food was amazing. They had a huge salad bar and a huge pasta/hot food bar. The waiters brought 15 different types of meat on skewers. They sliced the meat off at the table. They also brought grilled pineapple around. You had a wooden piece that was red, yellow and green. You put the green side up if you wanted more meat and red when you needed a break. We had a great time. Thanks for the referral Brett & Barb!

Well, after waiting 4 long months, August 13th, 12:30pm has finally arrived. Time to go in and get started learning how to be a missionary and how to speak Spanish!
He got his name tag, meal card and new address. All missionary moms get the privledge of putting on their missionary's badge. Surprise! The pocket was sewn shut...but they were prepared with a whole basket of seam rippers!

See the orange "Dork Dot". That means he's new. It'll come off soon. It's official and it's in Spanish!
Well, this is it. We went into a chapel for a new missionary welcome and short devotional. We sang "Called to Serve". They assured us they would take very good care of our missionaries. The time was coming to say goodbye for 2 years. After a short video they asked the families to say goodbye and exit to the left and the missionaries to exit to the right. They say it's like ripping off a bandaid. Just do it fast and it won't hurt as much.

Lots of BIG HUGS & TEARS!!!!!!!! As Jaren exited out his door, he turned and gave us a great big happy smile and a wave and that was it. It was a quiet ride home.