March 18, 2013

Dear Friends and family:
buenos dias hermanos,

What a great week! So big news! My visa is here and I’m getting ready to leave soon. I’m being transferred for a few days down closer to the mission home area so when I fly out in the next few days I’ll be close! So I’ll be in Argentina in no time! I’m so excited! It’s going to be such a cool experience! I love Spartanburg! I’ll never forget this place. The people here are so cool! I love the branch and the people we are teaching, kind of sad to leave but I know the Lord needs me in Argentina right now! I love this gospel and I’m so excited to go teach such great people. I feel blessed to be able to have had time in Spartanburg teaching so much Spanish. One of my MTC buddies who is going to my same mission in ARG, is in Sumpter, SC right now and not teaching a ton in Spanish, but I only had 4 or 5 lessons in English this whole transfer and after we would teach them, we would pass them off as a referral to the english elders so I’m glad I got to do so much Spanish work here! It’s been over 75 degrees the past few days and I’ve loved it!!! No suit coat is so nice! Today is cold and raining so I’m back in the coat but that’s okay is guess! I decided I should probably talk more about my area in Spartanburg. So there are tons of little pockets packed with trailers and full of Hispanics. Mexicans, Hondurans, El Salvadorians, people from lots of places, and so we knock these areas and we find lots of people who hear the 1st lesson, and only a few who have us come back! But it’s very fun and cool. All of these pockets are spread across the stake of Greenville East, so when we bike sometimes we gotta bike long distances! It’s crazy but so fun. I’ve had a good time here and I’ve grown so much! I love this work. I need to invest myself more in it because it’s so important! I love you all!

Elder Nelson

Spartanburg Water Tower

Daily Planning with a bowl of cereal...of course! 

February 26, 2013

Hello Everyone!

Wow what a week! We had a good week, we found 5 new investigators and it’s been so fun being able to teach them. On Tuesday, a truck ran a stop sign and hit me head on while I was riding my bike haha crazy right, the kid that hit me was super apologetic and nice, and don't worry, the bike protected me and I'M OKAY ha! The truck wasn't going very fast and I just bumped my knee and shoulder a bit! But kinda funny, then Saturday my companion got hit by a truck. He got sideswiped while he was on his bike, he's okay too! Everything is fine just kinda funny! Pres and sister Holm told us to "STOP IT" ha. We had a good week of work. We found this lady who met with the missionaries in Ohio and she loved the church, but when she was about to be baptized, she lost everything and then was forced to move to SC with her sister and for 3 years she has been waiting for the missionaries to come by again. We saw her on our way to another appointment which fell through. Her name is Martha and she told us "You weren't here to find my neighbors you came here to find me!" I feel that is the truth! Very cool lady and we are excited to work with her. The Lord gives people exactly what they need and if we are always following the spirit and being righteous, we could be the means of the Lord giving someone exactly what they need. I love this work. The Lord guides it, not the missionaries, the Lord Savior, Jesus Christ himself. One of my goals for my mission I set last night was I want to always "Keep the Spirit of the Master in Deed and Thought". President Nash of the seventy came and saw us yesterday and he talked about doing as the savior would do. My goal is to do as he would do by always keeping my Savior in my thoughts and heart, and doing as Alma 5 directs, let Christ shine through my countenance. I love my Savior. I love this work.

Elder Nelson

March 11, 20013

Friends and family:

Hola Como Estan? I have had tons of fun this week! I have had great spiritual experiences and tons of learning opportunities. I love the 3 other Elders I live with! We are all pretty close as a group! Elder Ferrin is Companions with Elder Powell and elder Ferrin is a visa waiter also going to the Argentina Mendoza Mission. He’s cool, we have a lot in common and it’s been nice to be around a new fresh gringo elder too! We learn from each other. His comp is the District leader and so he took my companion on an exchange and so that left elder Ferrin and I, The two gringos, to go teach our lessons. So fun, we biked a lot that day. But all of our appointments fell through kind of sad, but we helped a guy change his tires on his low rider Chevy pickup! So we got to do some service and such, plus we go to share a little message about the savior and this gospel and we are going back to see him today hopefully! But he was cool, we spoke our broken Spanish to him and he spoke his broken English to us, so it was a good learning experience ha! I love sharing the message of the restored gospel. Usually, in my door approach, I say that we are missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of LDS, but recently I have been saying we are representatives of Jesus Christ ( in Spanish). I've found that phrase has so much power to it. We are not simply missionaries of a church, we are representatives of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we wear His name and declare the sweet message of this Gospel to His lost sheep or most importantly, our brothers and sisters. As I read this week in DC 33, in verse 3 it talks about how we are the last servants he shall send into his vineyard to work. It is, (like in the parable in Matt 20,) the 11th hour and the work is Hastening. As I read that and studied this concept, the importance of my calling and this work hit me like a bag of bricks! It takes me to the Chapter of John 21. Christ comes back to the apostles after his death. Christ found the apostles fishing again, where he found them three years earlier. Christ looks at Peter and asks him three times if he loves Him. He asks Peter if he loves Him more than all the fishing, Peter says Yeah Lord, I do love Thee. The Lord then says, "Then feed my Sheep". Elder Holland gave a talk on this in Oct. 2012. Dad you watched that talk so many times and I thought you were crazy, but as I begin to realize the reality of the 11th hour and as I began to put myself in Peter’s shoes. In my heart I hear " Jared, Do you love Me" and when I hear that, All of a sudden my worldly cares seemed less important and my heart came to be desirous to serve the Lord and do his work with all my might! I want to be able to say with my whole heart to my Savior "Ye Lord, I do Love thee" But I'm a natural man, and the cares of the world creep back in every so often, and I've got so much more to learn and so much more learning to do, but this week was a wakeup call! My work, my will, my desires must be in line with my Savior. "Not my will but Thine be done" I love you all!

Love, Elder Nelson

March 4, 2013

Friends and Family:


This week has been so good for me. Kind of slow but my confidence in the Spanish language grew so much this week. I know that Lord helps us with our desires. I thank him for this new found confidence! We have found many people who are willing to listen to our message, and we are teaching a lot. This week we have broken bike issues and stuff to do that has made it kinda slow in the field. We didn't go out a ton last week but I feel that this week will be so much better! I’m so happy. I love being a missionary. Even with our bad days there is still so much to love, I may not see it right in the heat of the trial but looking back, it brings a smile to my face! I can’t believe how fast time flies! Crazy I’ve already been here for 3 weeks. I love it. I decided if I had to stay in SC for the rest of my mission, I would be okay with that. The 4 of us in the apt took some Epsom salt Friday night to clean out our systems ha! Wow sat morning was real fun ha! Good bonding time that’s for sure! There’s not much to report on this week, but I’m doing great and this work is progressing! I love you all!


Elder Nelson

Elders Powell, Christoffersen, Ferrin and Nelson

Jared said they went to go see a potential investigator and this
is what their house looked like! :(

February 18, 2013

Dear Friends and Family;


Wow...I sure Aint in Spokane no more! The South is so different! Palm trees, waffle houses EVERYWHERE!!! High humidity! but I love South Carolina so far. I flew from SLC to Atlanta and then on to Columbia SC. Right as we flew in I met the APs, and President and Sister Holm. Very cool people. I love pres Holm! I stayed at the mission home for two nights (mom you would love that house, it’s totally one you'd love) and went thru some orientation stuff. We went to the SC temple and saw that, we did an hour to tracting on tue with one of the trainers. I taught my 1st 1st lesson in English. So much fun. but on wed i got my companion Elder Christoffersen who is really cool, he is from Wyoming and we are in the Spanish branch called the Spartanburg 3rd branch in the Greenville stake. Right now I’m in Spartanburg, SC and teaching the gospel to the Hispanics in the area. Our ward covers the whole stake we are in because it’s a small Spanish branch so we have 4 Spanish elders covering half of the area. So fun living with 4 elders! We taught our top investigator on wed night. His name is Carlos, he’s from Mexico and he’s progressing very well. We have knocked lots of doors and talked to many people! We have a car but the 4 of us share it so every other day is a car day or bike day! I love working here. I’m loving the people. it snowed on Saturday like an inch and everyone freaked out cuz snow is so rare, so church was called off the next day ha, so i still haven't been to the branch yet. We have had two member dinner appointments. I love Mexican food and they make authentic Mexican food. I love it! I’m trying to rely on the spirit more for help in this work. I’m still working on picking up the flow of things but things are great, i love you all

- Elder Nelson

Elder Nelson with President and Sister Holm
February 12, 2013

Elder Nelson and his group of New Missionaries
in the Columbia South Carolina Mission
February 12, 2013