Week #43 - The Rock

Hi there family :)

Woo. What a week, what a week. I am so glad that I get to sit down and write to you for this short little time. I`ve been looking forward to emailing you all since last Tuesday! I love you all so much and you are all so special to me! Be on the lookout for the letter I sent you all! Read it together as a family ok? I`m hoping that it`ll make you all cry :) 

It`s getting a little toasty down here in Argentina! It`s actually really not that toasty, but the humidity just kills. Whenever I comment to someone that it`s hot they just smile and give me that look that says `oh just you wait you poor North American`. I`m scared. Ok, not really because I love the heat! I took my first (of many) cold showers at night a few days ago and I was just letting the water hit me I just realized how much I love and miss the beach! Ah! I`ve already mentioned to Heather, but I tap tap going on a uncle-niece date with Jane to the beach so we can both get our tan on :) Oh ya, and as soon as I got out of the shower and dried off I was wet again, but with sweat instead of water. Gotta love it :)

A few updates with the few investigators that we have...

Merry Christmas
Christmas Package arrived quickly

Alejandra (Fabian`s wife) is...progressing slowly I guess you could say. She just really doesn`t want to come to church because she stays up all night playing games on facebook and then sleeps in pretty late. We constantly tell her that getting up for church on Sunday is worth the sacrifice, but she doesn`t believe us. It`s going to require a lot of work and a lot of the Spirit to get her baptized here on the 24th when we have our zone baptism. Fabian meanwhile is just a champ and always tells us how good he feels and how he constantly has a picture of Christ in his head all day as he works. He has changed so much and it`s so cool to see. Alejandra always tells us that he used to be angry and nervous all the time before he got baptized, but now he`s super tranquilo (relaxed, translated Dad). It`s frustrating a little because Alejandra sees the change, recognizes the change, and wants the same change in her life. Well, my friend, go to church and get baptized! If only it was that easy. Interesting experience with her this week when we were teaching her she said that she had prayed and had asked forgiveness from God for not having gotten baptized. I stopped for a second (silence in lessons doesn`t really bother me anymore) and then BAM! Inspired question! `Hey Alejandra, why are you asking for forgiveness for not getting baptized? Is it maybe because you know that it`s something that you should do?` Looking back, I don`t think I would have had the boldness to ask that question just 3 months ago! I`ve grown! Woo! She just sat silently and gave us that look like, `hmmm...maybe.` She knows it`s right, we just have to help her get over her fears and doubts. Pray for her please ;)

Darìo (or Derek as we call him) is all set to get baptized on Friday! Woo! He`s such a stud! We teach all the lessons to him in english and he understands perfectly. I don`t know if I mentioned this last week, but it`s been cool to see how the gift of tongues has worked in sort of a reverse way for us with this particular investigator. Usually when we think of gift of tongues we think about the missionary being able to speak a different language. In this case, however, it`s reverse! Derek always tells us that he speaks so much better to us than he does in his english class, and I know that that`s no coincidence! Derek loves Coldplay (yes!) and he wants to learn how to play baseball. He`s told us before (we didn`t encourage him, because it`s against the rules) that he has plans to go live in San Diego about a year from now! How sweet would it be to be on the same flight as him headed to California! I`ve made Derek the promise that I`m going to hang out with him in San Diego in just over a year from now and I`ll teach him how to play baseball :) I love Derek so much. He chose me to baptize him this Friday, so looks like I`ll be suiting up in white again! I wish I could fully express to you all the amazing change I`ve seen in Derek. He told us the first lesson that he wanted to `re-do` his relationship with Christ and feel closer to Him. Well, he`s changed. He`s changed a lot and he`s told us that he feels so much closer to Christ and he feels so much better in general. The gospel is true folks, the gospel is true. Hop on board and start experiencing the amazing blessings that come!

This past week was kind of a tough one. I got through though, don`t worry! I had fasted yesterday to get some extra help with everything, and sure enough that extra help came through the Zone Leaders Elders Wilson and Moore. They`re life savers! They came to our area last night to do the baptismal interview for Derek, but they got there a little early so that they could talk to both me and Elder Hutchings personally. First off, we`re doing divisions this week! Woo! I`m leaving my area tonight and will be gone until Thursday. I`ll be with Elder Moore in their area and I`m stoked to get spiritually recharged. I`ve felt like I`ve been lacking a little bit of the Spirit the last few weeks, and I`ve been praying to get it back and I know that this is an answer to many prayers! Anyway, I was talking to the Zone Leaders about my current situation with my current struggles and Elder Wilson shared with me a story I`d heard before from my cousin Andrew, but had never applied to my current situation. It goes a little like this (brief summary because of a lack of time):

Just a dark spot on my camera
not a real black eye

The Lord commanded a man to push a big huge rock he had placed in front of his house. He told the man to just push as hard as he possibly could. So, the man got going on the task the Lord had given him. He pushed all day starting early in the morning and pushed until the sun went down at night. He pushed day after day after day and the rock never even budged. He was feeling somewhat discouraged and was feeling like it was impossible what he was doing. The devil saw the man`s struggles and discouragement and decided to taunt him by telling him that it was impossible and that he could never do it. The man started to believe the devil and was convinced that he was just going to put in his time and put forth a minimum effort, the time would pass and all would be well. The Lord appeared again to the man and asked why he had stopped giving his all. The man told that Lord that it was impossible what he was doing and that he`d never be able to move the rock. The Lord stopped the man and told him that he had never commanded him to MOVE the rock. He had simply commanded that he PUSH the rock. Over time, as the man had been pushing the rock, he had developed strong muscles that the Lord could now use somewhere else. It was essential that he develop these muscles so that he could fulfill the work the Lord needed him to do in another place.

Well, likening this to me now, I`ve been pushing a rock. This rock could simbolize a lot of different things, but we`ll liken it to my companion for the time being. I`ve been pushing him, pushing him, pushing him, and he hasn`t really moved. I`ve gotten discouraged and felt like my task is impossible. Well, I`m stronger now. I`m stronger and more capable to do the things that the Lord has planned for me. It was essential that I pass through this task so that I could grow and become stronger. Elder Wilson gave me a blessing last night and in that blessing he said that the Lord will have need of me in other tasks here in the mission field, and I`ve been strengthen and prepared as I`ve passed through this task. So comforting.

I love you all so much and I can`t wait to talk to you all next week!

Pushing a rock,

Elder Nilsen