transfer....Quilpué with Elder Saldivar

My new comp Elder Saldivar from Mexico

my ward mission leader esteban vargas and his family. the vargas muñoz family Raspberry Kuchen...soooooooooo goooood!!!
An awesome pastry shop here in Villa Alemena

hey family how are things going? i dont have much time at all today but thanks to those that wrote. so i am starting my 15th change this week. I will be going to the city of Quilpué. Its inbetween Viña and Villa Alemana. My new branch is called Los Aromos. Both Elder Tondevold and Elder Allenbach have been there. My new companion is Elder Saldivar i think is how its spelled. He is from Mexico and i relatively new in the mission. This past week we had a great mission conference in Quilpué. Elder Allenbach and I played our duet there and people loved it. All of the Urrutia family passed their baptismal interviews as well as Giovanni. I will be leaving the ward but am going to be here for the baptism on saturday. Well things are going great and this week should be really special. We are having a special mission conference with Elder Jay Jensen from the 70. The whole south is going to viña for it.
Last night we went by the Urrutia family to see how we were doing and they are so excited for their baptisms. They are participating in the ward activities and loving it. The mom, Aliette, told us last night thank you for everything. She said that we found them at the perfect time in their lives and that they have been truely blessed in their lives for knowing the gospel in their lives. They are really interested in the temple and want to go there some day to be sealed. It is moments like that one that make the mission what it is. The gospel truely changes the lives of people for the better.
Well i gotta get going. I love you all. Take care and have a great week.
chao
Elder Nelson

The Throw Down!!!!

elder Allenbach

A beautiful PINK sunset...they are so gorgeous here!

"heart attack on a plate"...a Chorrillana, at a place called "Sin Rival" which is one of the oldest restuarants here in Villa Alemena...it was way too greasy. (French fries, steak, sausage & eggs)
Hey family how are things going? Things are going really well for us here in Villa Alemana. We did our special musical number yesterday in church and completely threw down. It was so sweet. It was almost perfect; one of our best run throughs even though we were both so nervous. I think we are going to be performing it this week in our mission conference. We played the one called My Heavenly Father Loves Me. (Click on the title to hear the piano duet) We got a lot of complements on it.
Well the Urrutia family is doing great! We have been visiting them with different families from the ward so that they can get used to other members and have friends in the ward to support them. One family actually invited them to Family Home Evening tonight. Yesterday they went to church and then in the evening we went to a baptism in a different stake here in Villa Alemana. The parents loved the baptism and it actually brought the dad to tears during the actual baptisms. It was another couple that was getting baptized. Afterwards, everyone from the ward (Huanhuali) came up and talked to the family and the mom told them that they were planning on getting baptized on the 29th of May. She ended up inviting a bunch of the members from that ward.
This past week we also had interviews with President Gillespie and his wife. They went really well. I got my temple recommend re-newed and we talked alot about finishing strong. President told me that this was the time that I could get the most done and that the mission really relies on the older ones to step up and finish strong to help strengthen the mission. I am sure I will be grateful for applying these counsels. On Friday we went to Olmué. I went with Elder Watkins. It rained for the first time for all day. Last week it rained but it started at night. We got a whole day of workin in the rain but we did find some new people to teach out there.
Well this morning we had a zone activity and we all went to Limache to play soccer. When we got there, sure enough, Bermudez, the dog that has followed the missionaries around Limache for the past 5 years was there enjoying the game. Afterwards when we got back to the pension to shower, I decided to give the 4 dogs a bath. It was Sarnita's first bath and wasnt to fond of the freezing cold water shooting out of the hose. Here are some pics of it.... In this area it is kind of hard to find new investigators to teach so we decided to do an activity in the city center. We set up a table with a bunch of pamphlets and Books of Mormon and stuff like that and invited people to take stuff. I must say that we didnt have the results that we wanted but we tried it. Maybe a less crowded place would be better. We are going to really hit the family history stuff this week and see if we can get people interested in that too. Anything to find new people....
Alright everyone, have a great day and week! Enjoy that lovely spring weather up there! Love you all. Chao! Elder Nelson

May 10, 2010

100 days left!!

My last phone call home Mother's Day 2010

Talkin' to the fam on Mother's Day 2010
For Grandma Dorothy...pink tie to match ; )

hey good morning how are things going? it was great talking to you guys last night. This week has been a busy one for us. We have been going by the Urrutia family to help them progress. Even though we had a very powerful lesson on the importance of following our Savior, they didnt come to church yesterday. It was pretty disappointing. They are obeying the Word of Wisdom now though so at least there is progress. They all really want to get baptized though so the desire is there.
This past Friday, we had Zone Counsel in Viña. It was a good time and we focused on the importance of the baptismal service, retaining new converts, and helping members do missionary work. Next week we are going to have a conference where we will have workshops on each one. We are going to be teaching the baptismal service one. Elder Allenbach & I played our duet (My Heavenly Father Loves Me) for Hermana Gillespie and she really liked it!!
On Sunday we had a special Sacrament Meeting focused on the importance of Mothers. I played for the primary as they sang, Mother I Love You. Its called Madre Te Amo in spanish. It went well. After Sacrament Meeting, Elder Allenbach and I handed out our flowers (carnations) to all of the mothers in the ward. They all really liked them. We had ordered them earlier in the week and picked them up and put them in the church on Saturday. In the evening we had a baptism of one of the 8 year old girls in the ward. A lot of her family and relatives are not members of the church so we went to help out with the program and be there. After that, we phoned home and talked to the family. That was nice!
Well that is about all that is going on with me. Tomorrow we have interviews with President Gillespie and his wife. It should go over well. On Wednesday, interchanges with the assistants. It will be a fun time.

Well thanks everyone for writing. Hope you have a great week. Love you tons! Chao
Elder Nelson

Happy Mother's Day

Elder Allenbach & me after our haircuts

Hey everyone things are going great here. We had a really week in terms of our investigators progressing. The Urrutia family came to church again and are enjoying what the church does. yesterday my companion and I each played the hymns in Sacrament meeting which was kind of funny the first time we switched. People didnt really know what was going on. We had 10 investigators going to church which was awesome.
On Friday we had a mission conference of the interior. The zones of Quillota, Villa Alemana, Villa Alemana Oeste, El Belloto, and Quilpue. We had members volunteer to be investigators and the other missionaries had to teach them; once, the Restoration, and the other time, the Plan of Salvation. It was a really good conference and President Gillespie talked about how important the Atonement is. He did a little presentation on it and was really powerful.
On Saturday, we had an activity with Carlos and Allen Urrutia. They wanted to play ping pong so we went over and played with them. It was really fun even though they were no match for gringo skills haha.
That is really all that has been going on here. We are focusing on that family and are finding others to teach. This one girl that Elder Reid and I found while we were on divisions last change came to church yesterday with her friend. At first she was just sitting in on the lesson to be polite but after listening to what we were teaching she started having questions and has answered a lot of her doubts. She loved it in church and wants to go back but doesnt know how she is going to do it because she teaches classes in the catholic church. We will see.
this week we should have a good week with our investigators. Elder Allenbach and I are preparing a duet to play in Sacrament meeting on the 16th of may. It is coming along pretty good. Well I hope all of you have a great week and to all you mothers out there,....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!! hope its a special one!

Chao
Elder Nelson