Elder Thomas Nilsen: Week #87- Stomping Grounds

Dearest Family,

Well...I`m not in campo anymore. That`s for sure!

Here I am, writing to you all from the wonderful zone of Gonzalez Catan! Back here in my old stomping grounds (I started here in this zone when I first got here), but this time instead of being in Laferrere I`m here in Rafael Castillo Central serving as a district leader. It`s so weird to be back here! I don`t know how to describe it exactly. Last time I was here I was just a baby in the mission that didn`t know anything and now I`m here with a year more of experience and serving in a leadership position. It was a rough first couple days here in the area just with adjusting to everything and what not, but I think I`ve got the hang of things now. The hardest part of being here is not being with the members of 25 de Mayo :(

Speaking of 25 de Mayo...

Saying bye to that place and it`s wonderful members was the HARDEST thing I`ve ever had to do in my mission and in my life. Goodbyes STINK! So many tears were cried and I most definitely left a big part of my heart out there. I will most DEFINITELY be returning after the mission to visit those AMAZING saints. Oh how I miss them. Pulling out of that pueblo on the bus on Tuesday was heart wrenching. I was just bawling as we passed by all the buildings, houses, and plazas. I gave my all there. It feels good to know that I gave my all in that area. It just made it SUPER hard to leave.

Pero bueno...

My new comp is Elder Roque from Brazil! He`s sooo cool! I love him so much and he`s a super funny guy. We get along great and we`ve done some great work these first couple days together. The only downside to our companionship is that it`s not gonna last all that long :( President told us that we`ll only be together for a few weeks before Elder Roque will leave and I`ll get a visa waiter to train! I`m gonna have a son! Elder Whitlock would be so proud :) I`m finally giving him a grandchild!

The area here is pretty tranquilo...well, not really at all to be honest. I don`t get to walk around with my camera anymore in the streets. Darn. This is Catan!!! You just have to be a little more alert when you walk in the streets here and what not, but it`s a great area! Seriously though, don`t worry about me. This area isn`t as dangerous as my first area in Lafe so I`ll be perfectly ok here. I`ve only been robbed just once since I`ve been here, so it`ll alllll be all right :) Ok, just kidding. Haven`t been robbed yet so don`t worry! I`m just a goof! Anyway...humble people that let you in to their houses! That`s a big change from campo! We`ve got a lot of investigators and we`re working like crazy to be able to baptize some people before the end of this month! We as a zone are trying to break the record of baptisms in one month here in Catan and it`s looking like we can do it! The record is 27 and we`ve got lots of solid baptismal dates set for the last weekend of this month. Todos por 28!!!

Here`s an update on OUR candidates for baptism...

First off we`re working with a 14 year old kid named Nahuel. He seems pretty cool and he came to church yesterday. We went and looked for him in the morning and he was ready to go and seemed like he liked church. He just lacks a few teachings from us and he`ll be ready to go! Pray for Nahuel!

Next up is another kid named Axel. He`s 13 and lives with his parents Marcelo and Betiana who are investigators too. His parents need to get married before they can get baptized, but they`re super sweet and LOVE the church! We`ll be working with them to get them married and then baptized! Their son, though, is pretty tranquilo. Didn`t come to church yesterday because he was at his grandma`s house, but we`ll be getting him ready to get baptized here at the end of the month too.

We also are teaching a man named Ramon. He`s about 55 or so and all his family are members. His daughter (a convert of 3 years) just got back from serving a mission in Venezuela and is helping us teach him and get him baptized. He came to church yesterday and he`s such a great guy! When I first met him I thought he already was a member! We have a date set with him right now for the 19th of October, but he`s already come to church twice and he`s a smart guy so we can most definitely move that fecha up.

I don`t have a ton of time so I`m giving you just the brief overview, but please keep these great people in your prayers!