Letter #31

hello family! Glad to hear from you all once again!

It seems that the days in between writing get shorter and shorter! It is very different how crazy fast the time flies! 

Well it has been a really good week! I have done a bit of fixing up in this sector, it was kind of left dead by the last elder that was here. I didnt have a single investigator, but we spent some time and we had a few in church and a few progressing. The tuesday after i got here we went in to ambato, about 30 minutes away in bus to do some leadership training. It is very cool and ironic, Elder Ross and Elder Bustamante are my zone leaders here. Elder Ross is from england, and he doesnt have much more time in the mission, but he was in my sector where he trained Elder Peralta, so in missionary terms we say that elder peralta is my father, and elder ross is my grandfather. Kind of funny that my sector here in pelileo has a history of the bloodline of elder ross like that. Elder Ross is a way cool guy, and i am getting along with them great. I call them every night at 10 to give the informants of how our district did that day, and so i talk to them quite a bit. It is funny because quite a few of the techniques in planning, teaching, and other things that i do come from elder ross, and so when i was giving my training this week to my district, he was there and kept saying "thats my grandson!" It is quite ironic that he is my zl, so i think we will be good buds. I did do a 3 hour training with my district during district meetings this week, i figured it would be pretty hard, but it wasnt too bad! Everyone learned tons and i was very happy to help my district have more success. I have to give a training every week, so i am busy looking now at the numbers of the week of my district to see what i can do to help them improve their work. It is quite a hard job! I am convinced that distric leader is harder then zone leader! But this is where I will be for a while, so i am excited to prepare myself to be the missionary that i need to be to help not only the people here in ecuador, btut also the missionaries. 

Well, one thing different here about pelileo is the members enjoy helping with lessons! We had tons of lessons with members present, which really is the way to have success with the investigatores. If they see other people enjoying the blessings of the church, they will want in too! So the people here are very excited to see me here. A few of the members call me señor poderoso because they had me give a talk this sunday about missionary work. I was the last talk, so i stood up and talked for 15 minutes without notes on the blessings and power of missionary work. They all loved it, and all the members after church came and scheduled family home evenings in their houses with their friends so i can teach them. I can honestly say that there is a huge difference within me in just only two weeks. With this new calling, the lord has given me the strength and wisdom to be a leader. I feel different, more like a leader, and i am ready to add to my personality this trait. Through all this, i feel even more humble then ever. Only through god do i have this strength to be the kind of missionary i am and am working to be. I am eternally greatful for his promise of leading us through his spirit in the mission. I have a very strong testimony that the calling of a missionary, and power of a missionary is real. We are set apart from the world, to change it. And that is my goal. Change the lives of as many people as i can through the atoning blood of christ the lord. 

There are a ton of great people here in the branch (it is also a branch) that have family members that arent baptized. I am currently working on a few families that elder ross and elder peralta baptized, whose husbands or wifes arent members. I have a running bet with elder ross, and if i baptize a few of them, we get to change callings, I will be ZL and he will be DL. Not really, but its just a joke! He is getting a little nervous because i got two people of those families that arent members to go to church this week! Its just a fun little game we are playing. 

Elder Ercanbrack is a great guy! He is also from the group of Elder Russon, so he will have 6 months in about two weeks. I completed seven months this past week! Can you believe that? Elder Ercanbrack had a few rough experiances with bad companions before me and elder gomez, and so we are working on getting him back to super excited to be a missionary. He is a little dissapointed, because he cant speak spanish very well at all, i basically teach all the lessons, but he is trying! He is very diligent in his efforts, and that is all i need out of him! We are pretty good friends already, and so I am happy for that! He is a country boy, he has his jeeps and orange mossy oak sweatshirts and stuff, and so that is cool! They had a cherry and apple orchard. He is missing part of his finger bacuse when he was little he lost it in a cherry machine! He doesnt know how to explain what happens, so when people asks, he says that he ate it! It is pretty funny to see the reaction of the kids with that.

The people here and the area here is SO different! Ecuador truly is a country of many different colors. Here in pelileo i am surrounded by mountains! We live in a city, which is very different to what I am used to here in ecuador, and walk on cement roads! It hurts my feet because i am so used to walking on dirt all the time. But its cool, I enjoy the change. The people here in the city are way smarter, and have a different outlook on life. They are a bit colder and harder to be friends with, but they have the mindset to always be better, and so they work lots, but have success as well! We have a HUGE sector! Like, immensely huge! President Ghent has told me to be on the lookout for new houses here that other we could rent for a new set of missionaries in the district because it is so big! We have the city, but then we also have tons of farmground, so we spend time in both. They have like, smart farming here! They farm by irrigation ditches, and it is quite interesting, I would say that in ways of watering, they are probably only 30 years behind us in the states, which is a ton better then the other cities i have been in! 

I am glad to hear the story of fabio was so good for everyone! Definitely a testimony builder here for me too! I am hoping he doesnt have to suffer much more in this life, but i have no clue how to know. I dont have any way to contact them, but it is ok! I will talk to him in heavan! 

Woah! Brandon is home! The time flew by so fast! That is so great he was such a powerful missionary! That is so cool for him! Tell him I am way proud of him and his example for me! And glad to hear you guys went to carissas farewell! In her email to me she was very greatful that you assisted her farewell, and feels a very strong bond with all the family. 

About the volcano, it explodes every day, there is always ash coming out of it, so that is SO cool! unfortuntely i didnt have much time to take many pictures this week...i was a bit busy! 

And ok, if it is easier to buy one here ill do it, the main money maker here is jeans! There are SO many jeans here! Three quarters of the people here work in jeans! It is kind of weird and funny. But there are also lots of shirt stores ill look for. I am starting to adjust to the cold finally, so i think i will be fine anyway! I have been using my sweaters, and just to tell you, was given thermal garments in the mtc by an elder who never used them but were too big for him. So I guess you could call it "revalation" for not buying them back home....;) 

Well family, I feel like i have written an absolute ton, so i expect the same back! I love you all, and i pray for you indavidually every night! Thank you so much for being the best family in the world. I love you all so much!

Elder Nielson

Letter to Bret:
hi dad,

Thank you so much for the email dad, i love to hear from you! I am so glad that i am making you proud. I am working hard to please my father in heaven, and also you.Thank you for the example in everything dad. I love you so much, and i think of you every day. I cant wait to see you again, but until then we both will be working hard! Thank you so much for the encouragement dad, it means the world to me. I love you so much! 

Love,

Kurt