Translating already!

Jan. 28 2014

Dear Family,

Yes I did get the package with soccer shoes, two vests, and cardigan! Thank you so much for that!! And I have a question, where did you get those KIND bars? (Just FYI….they are DELISH healthy protein bars…..that actually TASTE GOOD…..Sam's club is cheapest place to get them)  Those are good!! Also, I think this is the last thing, I need to buy asmonex next monday. I can get it at walmart, there's a pharmacy. What do I need to do? Do I need to take anything, or should everything be there and good, or what? Thank you for sending me so much stuff, sorry I'm so needy haha...

This week was challenging. E Diaz and I do not get along as well as I thought we would at the beginning (danget), and I feel like we're both very easygoing people! I feel like E Diaz is so focused on getting numbers that he skips the part where we're supposed to care about people and teach by the spirit, so that's been a really weird transition. And I almost feel like I'm losing my personality around him because I can't be myself! I try to have normal conversations with him, talking about something I learned in psychology or med anatomy, or something I like to do, just a normal conversation, and he acts so uninterested! Doesn't say anything, doesn't show any sign that he's listening, so I just don't say anything anymore. He only talks about 5 things. 1. Girls (not in a good way) 2. poop/farts 3. getting huge and the way his pants fit him 4. his last area and the food they ate there 5. the disobedient things he's done. It's RIDICULOUS. Mom, you'll probably laugh that I said he talks about poop too much. You can say it, you were right (YES!  I LOVE it when they recognize that parents may have been right). But it's gross, and that's all he talks about!!! So really, our relationship is pretty much he talks about that stuff, and I try to act uninterested and tell him I don't want to hear it if it's not mission appropriate, and he usually says it anyways. And I thought having a native comp would help with my spanish, but really, the only spanish he's taught me are buried spanish slang words, that you shouldn't say even if you weren't a missionary. Honestly, even though E Diaz helped jump our numbers up, and we have the highest numbers in the zone right now, I would consider him a disobedient missionary. He's played call of duty on his mish, he's done all sorts of stuff. So that's been tough. If the rest of my mission is like this, it's gonna be the longest two years of my life.

With that being said, sorry about the complaining and whining. But the good news is, Obdeli is progressing!!! Last week or two weeks ago we gave him the baptismal date of Feb2, this sunday!!! We met with him twice last week, the first time E Diaz led the lesson and really it was just rote presentation of the first half of the plan of salvation. The second time, I had us role play his lesson in comp study and we thought of some questions that we could ask him to help him feel the spirit, and the lesson was AMAZING!!!! We taught the plan of salvation from the atonement, and the spirit was so strong the whole time!! He definitely felt it, and we kept him involved, it was a great lesson! At the end of the lesson, we asked him how he was feeling about baptism. He said he's been praying, but doesn't feel like he's received an answer. I pulled out Moroni 10:4-7 to talk about the Holy Ghost and how we could feel that good things are an answer, and then E Diaz pulled out Alma 32:15-19 and talked about how sometimes God asks us to act out of faith, and that was really powerful. Probably the most powerful part in the whole lesson. Obdeli definitely felt the spirit. We encouraged him to keep praying, and yesterday at church we talked to his dad to see how he's doing, and he told us that Obdeli was fasting yesterday about it!!!!! And we haven't even taught him about fasting!!! It's insane! I don't think he'll get baptized this week, but we're hopeful about in the next two weeks!!!!! That was the highlight of the week!!

I'm sorry that I really bagged on E Diaz, there are some moments when I really do appreciate him. He has a lot of scriptures memorized, and he has baptized alot of people, so sometimes he has really helpful input.

So as for all the branch changes, really not much changed haha! The branch mission leader and the first counselor in the branch presidency got switched, so now we work with hno Carvajal. He's really cool too!!! Also the relief society pres got released, and they brought two families from the english ward into the branch, the Verdus from spain, and the Gomez from Columbia.

Yesterday at church there were all the stake representatives there, and only two of them spoke spanish, so they asked me to translate for everyone in sacrament meeting!!! I sat in the back corner of the chapel, and everyone else had on a headset, and I spoke into a mic and translated into english!! Translating is so much harder than just speaking and understanding because you have to use both languages simultaneously. It's like talking to someone and texting at the same time(rubbing your head, patting your stomach…:), just in two different languages :) But that was really cool, and I'm grateful for the gift of tongues!!!

I finished the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mish this week!! It's crazy to me how much I learned every time I finish, and then I start again, and I'm only in 1 nephi, and I have already learned so much agaiN!!!!! E Hughes, from the MTC, said that one time he read the book of mormon and just put a little red x next to every time it mentioned Christ, and he said it was amazing how many x's were on each page. I think i'd like to do that sometime. I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know that because I've read it and felt the power that comes from applying it in my life!!!

I found two new investigators this week! I was on exchange with E Jester, my zone leader, and we went to teach a former, Norbia, and a contact, Jackie. They both invited us back! Jackie is actually friends of the Morales in our ward, so we're gonna bring hno morales on a team up with us soon, convert everyone! :)

Other than that, not much happened this week. Like you said, lots of snow, and the temperature has been ice cold, except for today. Today it's hot. The weather in New Jersey changes way way way more than the weather in Utah, don't even complain about anything there! ;)

Love you all, good luck with the house!! It makes me sad too that you're moving, but everything will be alright because God has a perfect plan for each of us, and he knows where he wants us to be and what he wants us to do and who he wants us to become! Just walk by faith and put your trust in him, everything will turn out perfect!!  Love you all!! Have a great week!! :)

Love,

Elder Tanner Nelson :)