Lincoln Mission April 2-8 2024

 Well. It's been a crazy week. A roller coaster of emotions. Lots of highs and lots of lows. 

Cambios 

Yesterday we were notified of our transfer news! I only had a transfer and a half here, but the Lord wants me in another area. I'm going to Almirante, Chonginola. Exile. This zone has a total of 8 elders. No hermanasm 1 district. It's the smallest zone in the entire mission and is the closest you can get to mission exile other than the islands or darien. We're tucked away in the top left corner of the country, but I think there's still Dominos Pizza, so we're chillin. I'm going to be with Elder Hume! He's a really cool guy that I met while in Loma Cobá and now we're comps. In Chonginola, they have an insane amount of banana farms. You can get them for crazy cheap and the farms will actually pay their workers with bananas. It's gonna be crazy. I'm excited, but completely in the dark as to what to expect. We'll see how this goes 

Baptism! 

Our friend Roberto Franceschi just got baptized! It was a cool experience. He seems so prepared and was excited to take that step towards a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The ward made it special and showed up to support him, which isn't normal in the areas I've been. Hopefully the elders will continue with him and help him continue on this path.

Intercambios 

I had a day with Elder Olson, who was been my district leader for 4.5/6 transfers of my mission. He's one of my favorite people here, and has helped me a ton. We might've started the day by taking the wrong bus... I won't reveal whose fault it was... It all turned out well in the end though, and we got to work. We contacted a ton of people, taught some really good lessons, and talked a lot. At the end of the day, their area didn't have water, so they came to sleep over with us. We ordered pizza, set up hammocks, and had a ton of fun. My boy Elder Clare is his comp and he's also one of my favorite people. He's going to the islands on Ustupu! It was a memorable night to say the least.

Spiritual Thought 

I've been working really hard this transfer to do God's will and not mine. It's been hard especially with the change of events because, with the hints that president gave me and what everyone thought, was not what I recieved. I didn't know how to react. I got on my knees and just prayed to God for a long while. While I don't understand, He does. There's always a reason for why things happen and usually it's to make us stronger. God knows the path that will make me the strongest, and I have to go with Him on it. I'm even more astounded and speechless with the words of our Savior in Gethsemene when he said, "Not my will, but thine be done." Something incomprehensibly worse than any expected or unexpected event awaited the very Son of God. Those words show His perfect character and courage as He accepted a fate that no other could. That no other would. In perfect submission to the Father's will. Though there are things that we don't understand, we can always follow the example of the Savior and say, "not my will, but thine be done." It'll be a process, but it'll be the best for us.

Well, that's basically it. I leave for Chonginola soon and will be eating a lot of bananas and taking more bucket showers (but we have AC so it's fine.) I'll be working a lot on taking the Lord's will and running with it. It'll take some effort, but hay que estar agradecido y emocionado, verdad?

Thanks for your emails and love! 

Elder Nelson (Lincoln)