Letter from March 18, 2012
Another solid week.
It's the hot season. Man, they weren't kidding when they told us it would be hot here. I guess its hovering around 45 degrees Celsius and last week it got up to 47. I had to dope my companion all day yesterday. And by the end of the day I was absolutely covered in sweat. All my clothes were heavy and soaked.
The Lord is testing me by sending me to a place like this. Remember how sensitive I am to heat and the sun? Every day by 2 o clock I hit a wall and feel totally exhausted. Just like that day in Moab Utah when I
had an allergic reaction to the heat. But, I'm finding little tricks to get me through. For example:
1. On super hot days I wear a long sleeved shirt. It protects me from the sun and when the long sleeves get wet, it keeps me cooled off.
2. I freeze water bottles in the morning to have an ice pack later in the day,
3. I use the hose to cool me off a bit and soak my long sleeve shirts,
4. I tilt my head down when I ride my bike to have shade cover my face
I went on an exchange with the ZL, Elder Faught (a buddy from Siem Reap.)It was super fun. The spirit was strong the whole day. I am much more sensitive to the spirit now compared to before my mission. I think before my mission, a tear filled testimony was a big spiritual moment. But now, I feel like I've come to a place in my life where I'm able to notice the Spirit in smaller, quiet ways. For example:
1. Hearing someone's first prayer to their Heavenly Father ever,
2. Testifying of Jesus Christ to someone who's never heard His name before.
3. Hearing my companion try his very best to give a Priesthood blessing in Khmer,
4. Taking he Sacrament,
5. Every single time I read the B.O.M
I guess what I'm saying is, at this moment in time, I feel like I know exactly when the Spirit is telling me to do
something, or if something is true.
On the exchange with Elder Faught we had the opportunity to visit a member in the hospital suffering from intestinal cancer. There's a strong chance she will die soon. She looked very weak in her hospital bed,
her head was bald and she was hardly able to speak. We were there to talk to her for a while and sing to her. After our talking, we sang her 2 songs. First, we sang "Nearer my God to Thee." Her daughter was there too and she knew it in Khmer and sang along. Then we sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" in Khmer and the husband started humming along. Then in the 2nd verse he started singing with us so Elder Faught and I were able to sing different parts. When we got to the 3rd verse a Vietnamese man (who turns out to be the 6th Branch, Vietnamese Branch President, who's daughter has terminal cancer on the other side of the room) came over and sang the last 2 verses with us in Vietnamese. By the end of the song the woman was in tears holding her daughters hand. It was so spiritual it felt like the veil may have been lifted for a few moments while we sang. It was one of my favorite experiences of my mission thus far. I'm getting a lot of those.
When we ended she talked to us about a reference to a scripture in Alma. It was about how we shouldn't procrastinate the day of our repentance. She said she knows that she will be ready to meet her Heavenly Father when the time comes. The combination of events made her comments so real for me and gave me a crystal clear understanding of eternal perspective.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve a mission. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I love you
Elder Nelson
P.S. We're teaching the KFC delivery guy. Super pumped.
