Week #70 - Be Like Nike

Well hello there!

Wanted to start off this letter with some fantastic news...

I got the Heidi/Jesse wedding tie back! YESSS!!!

Had to trade away a pretty good tie for it, but doesn`t matter at all. Got the tie back and I think I`ve decided that that`s the tie I`ll wear home. I started the mission in it and I`ll end it in it tambien. Heck. Ya. Boom shawka laka.

I`ve never typed out boom shawka laka before...kind of fun. You should try it sometime :)

Fun fact about Elder Nilsen: this past week I bought q-tips in Argentina for the first time. No...that does not mean that I haven`t been cleaning my ears, don`t worry. It means that my q-tips that I bought before my mission to bring on my mission just finally ran out. Other fun facts in this same theme: I`ve never once bought shampoo on my mission (big bottle of Head and Shoulders still going strong!) and I`ve never bought lotion since I`ve been in the field (my 2 bottles I bought back at the MTC are still going strong too!)

Ha...I`m such a goober huh? 

This week was pretty good. SUPER slow to be honest with you. It`s probably because we weren`t in our area for a whole day and then another day we didn`t go out and work because my comp got super sick. Days when you can`t go out and work are the WORST. I was so bored! I like to work. Whoa! Did Thomas Lyman Nilsen just say that? :) Yes....it`s true. I like to work. Not being able to work kind of sort of stunk.

Had our zone conference this week! It was awesome! Had to catch a bus from our area here at 3:30 in the morning (ugh!) and we got to Chivilcoy at about 5. Crashed there on the cold, tile floor in my suit (complete with shoes! forgot to take them off!) and tried to sleep a little bit. The sacrifice of sleep was worth it though because conference was es-eye-see-kay....SICK! I love hearing from President and from other mission leaders and getting inspired from them. Conference`s them was about working with members and getting as much out of them as we can. Just recently our key indicators here in the mission changed a little bit so that we`re sort of forced to work closely with our members. (Side note here: please be nice and work with the missionaries! We really do appreciate it! Be patient with us..we`re just kids!) I learned a ton and now it`s just a matter of putting it all into practice here. Our area is kinda bleak right now, but it`s gonna boom here sooon! Just a matter of faith!

Oh! P.S. Iris`s son, Luciano, came to church for the 1st time yesterday! Woo hoo! I think he liked it. We taught him on Saturday night and one of the things we had learned in zone conference was the importance of promising specific blessings to investigators, so what did I do? I promised specific blessings to Luciano! He`s got an English test tomorrow and it`s not his strongest subject. I promised him that if he 1) read the verses from the BOM we left him, 2) prayed, 3) went to church, and 4) studied english that he`d get a 9 on his test (grading scale here is from 1-10). So...he came to church! Woo! We also had an investigator named Angelina come to church too! She`s like 80 years old and is the aunt of our relief society president. We`re gonna start working with her here this week!

Ok...back to what I was talking about...

After conference I got to have an interview with President for a few minutes and it was so great! I love talking with him and receiving his inspired counsel! I love the blessing I have to serve under his leadership! I sustain him with all my heart! Anyway...we talked a little bit about me and how I just need to have confidence in myself with all I do. As I`ve been serving here in 25 de Mayo I`ve been able to see a little bit that I do lack some self-confidence in some things that I do. President told me that he still has no idea why the Lord sent me way out here, but he said he thinks it has a lot to do with overcoming this little weakness I have. I just  need to take up the Nike method (go nike!) and JUST DO IT! I can`t be worried about my personal weaknesses and whether or not I fail or not. I just gotta do it. End of story.

So...that`s what I learn this week. Just do it. Be like Nike. I`m thoroughly convinced that the Lord is a fan of Nike because He wants us to just do it! :)

I love you all so much and I`ll be talking to you all next week! Make it a great week!

Like Nike,

Elder Nilsen