April 29, 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

Thanks for all the updates! I love hearing for you all! So ya wanna know more huh? Well I felt like I needed to tell more. ha ha! So every day I wake up at 6:30 and do some sort of workout. I shower, cold lots of times and I get ready for the day. At 8 I go right into personal study and right after that companionship study. Here we prepare for lessons we will teach that day. Then after comp study we go right into Spanish study and then after that, I do my 12 week training program with elder Jassman. Then we have member lunches. Dinner does not exist in Argentina ha, the main meal is lunch, right before everyone takes a little siesta for about 4 hrs ha! After lunch we go out and work till 9, then at 9 we are back in the apt planning and getting ready to crash at 10:30. So always a really full day. There is a lady named Paula who we are teaching, she is a single mom with a 9 year old daughter named Venus. They are so cool and so ready to be baptized. They have been to church once so far and they had a great experience. So exciting! They didn't go yesterday though because Venus was sick and didn't feel like she could come, so that pushed back their date for baptism because they need 3 assistances before baptism, generally. Elder Jassman and I made it a goal to find more new people to teach through the members. We have some good plans for this week. This week is the last week of the transfer and so there is a small chance elder Jassman could leave next transfer but not likely, but who knows. Living situation gets interesting at times. We get 700 pesos per month which is lower than any other Arg mission because of car fees from this mission or something not sure just a rumor, but prices are high and at the end of the month everyone is always fighting for food somehow ha. At times our apartment will run out of gas, so the stove doesn't work and no hot water, so for the past few days we have had no money for gas and no gas so cold showers and no food haha fun fun fun stuff!! I love it, I feel like I’m camping haha. It’s funny because here we clap at doors, nobody knocks doors, they stand outside their fence (Everyone has some sort of fence or gate usually) so we stand by it and clap and wait haha. The milk is different here and the cereal too, but it’s so much better because the milk has more taste and the cereal flavor is enhanced, so good. Hand washing clothes is fun. I have crusty socks every day but no problem. The branch I’m in is small and interesting, way different than the states but solid none the less. More active members would help it a bit ha

Kind of interesting, this week I have felt a strong desire to learn in all things. I want to learn about cars, woodworking, planting, plumbing, electrical, cooking, farming everything I want to have experience in. I have felt like I need it. So Dad, don't be surprised if I come to you in 19 and a half months and say "Teach me all you know!" I just don't want to be helpless! haha

Today we hiked a mountain and had such a good time. We didn't take a train we just free climbed it. Some parts were pretty steep and exciting. We could look on one side of the mountain and see our whole area and the other and see Cordoba Capital. It was way cool. My camera is being weird so ill figure out how to get pics maybe this week or next. It was a very hard climb but very fun and cool!

Love you all!


Elder Nelson

April 22, 2013

Dear Friends and family,
I love this work. My motivation comes from my love for the
Lord. I love him so much and he needs me now to do his work. Its not an easy work. its the hardest thing I've done, but its what the Lord asks of me. My testimony of the Plan of salvation has grown this week. I have come to understand maybe a little more about the pure love God has for his children. in Nephi i cant remember where it talks about if those who are evil know how to give good gift to tier children, how great are the gifts a Loving heavenly father gives to those who simply ask. he is literally there for us in all times of life. I'm so grateful. the work here is going good, we had a solid 4 investigators in church yesterday who loved it so progression is being made here. the people here are so wonderful i love them with all my heart. i bore my testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday and my love grew for them even more as i was doing it. i love Cosquin.


Elder Nelson

April 15, 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

Woah, What a good week. This whole week was have been working and fasting and praying for miracles, and oh has the Lord blessed the people here with miracles. I love this work. Every day gets harder and harder but every day I love it more and more. As each day gets harder I find out more and more why I’m here and I’m so thankful for such a blessing I have received of having this mission call. The importance of this work grows on me every day. As my knowledge of the atonement and the plan of salvation grows, the importance of this work increases for me. In my studies I have developed a deeper understanding of just how great the atonement is. It’s such a deep study topic and I feel as if I’ve only touched it. This week has been great. I went on a few exchanges this week and it was fun to get to know the other Elders a bit more. We have been teaching a lot and finding a lot. I’ve really noticed the importance of the spirit in this work and I have really felt more of a desire to follow it. Only the Lord knows the needs of others and who is ready to be taught. We have found great people to teach and we have had a few get to church which is great! It's fall season in Argentina and so it’s pretty warm. Crisp mornings and cool nights! We walk a lot so I have been so exhausted after every day, but I love it! So so much I love being here. This transfer is flying by so fast. We are getting new cell phones today, kinda cool, so Elder Jassman and I are going to head out to Cordoba Capital to the mission home to get them. Kind of a fun little trip! We are working hard and doing all we can for this branch, such good people live here and it’s so good to have many willing members to come teach with us. I wish I would have been more willing when I was a youth to go and help the missionaries. I love this work, I love My Savior 

Elder Nelson

Elder Jassman and Elder Nelson Helping a Sister with her house




In the country near a city called Bialet Masse

April 8, 2013

Dear friends and family,

Oh what a great conference we had this April. I love hearing the voices and counsel of the Prophets. I gained so much more from conference this time being on a mission. I love the prophet Thomas S. Monson and he has been called of our very Father in heaven to give us counsel for our lives filled with constant darkness and confusion. I love it.

Argentina is great. All of us in the area love it. I love the area. There are these things called alfajors and they are fantastic! We spend lots of money on those stupid but yummy things. They are basically a chocolate covered cookie with things like peanut butter filling. It’s so good! We all love them. There is a drink that is from Cordoba names Pritty. It’s kinda like mt dew but a bit different but its super good! The coke tastes better here. More sugar and so obviously its better ha! jk but I love this country. My testimony of eternal families is growing. Elder Jassman and I have a goal to find two families a day to teach, and we baptism families in this mission! I love this and I know that families are ordained of God and that only the gospel can truly keep families together forever. I know I am here to prepare to be who I need to be my own eternal family some day. I love this work and my heart is falling deeper in the work every day. I love the people! The lord trusts me with these people so I must show them my love and devotion to helping them come unto Christ. I love my savior and my testimony of this work is grand!

Elder Nelson









Sister Salas, Elder Nelson, Elder Jassman, and President Salas







Sister Salas, Elder Nelson, Elder Jassman, Elder Shaap and Prsident Salas

April 1, 2013

Oh my I love this country. I walked off the plane in Buenos Aires and I felt like I never wanted to leave. Then going into Cordoba made me wanna stay even more. I love that I’m actually finally in Cordoba!
(From Jared's personal message to Mom and Dad)

Dear Friends and Family!

I’m safe here in Argentina! I love it here. Very different than the states but it’s so cool! We got into Buenos Aires at about 7:30 am on Tuesday and then we were taken strait to another airport to fly to Cordoba, We flew to Cordoba and we met the aps and President and Hermana Salas. Very cool people. We then went to the mission home and did some legal work to get us all officially visa residents. Then the next day we found our trainers. My trainer is Elder Jassman from Alberta. He’s a cool guy. We like working together. I’ve had some interesting lunches with members. I had cow kidney and blood sausage but its great! So fun being here I love the people. I’m in the city of Cosquin in Cordoba. It’s in the mountains and it’s very pretty. I love the accents here, so different than Mexicans. There is four elders for this area. The other two are named Elder Gilman from Eagle, ID and Elder Cuevas from Paraguay. Elder Cuevas is deaf but he reads lips a little bit. He’s a funny guy. I love the people here. Everyone is Nuts about the pope! Even members talk about him a lot. The branch is small but strong. Very cool members. There is a few recent converts that are super excited about the temple. One of them is Carlos, and he goes out with us all the time he’s cool! I love to work. The work here is harder than the work in South Carolina, either that or I didn't work that hard in South Carolina ha! There are soccer fields everywhere and people love the Argentina National team. Different kind of culture and style of living but yet, lots of things are similar to the states. I hear the same music you would hear in the states all the time. I love this gospel and i know the Book of Mormon is the book that can solve all of mans problems in life. Building a testimony on this book is how people stay actively engaged in the church. I love you all!

Elder Nelson

Elder Nelson and Elder Jassman

The Apartment 

The Study Room

Deck

The bathroom 

Eva Peron in the cien..rare