Letter Collage

From Dad's letter:
Hey Dad!

I got your email! Thanks for the email! It really made me happy! Thank you for the advice. This last week has been a little hard for me with the Spanish and all! But yesterday everything I had learned up to that point started to make sense and it is becoming more natural everyday! It is hard to write and think in English a little bit! Last week we meet a family and they asked me to speak English to them! It took me a couple minutes to remember how to construct a sentence!

That is soo cool that UVU is starting to play! Thanks for the update and all! That is so cool that Greg [Nate's future coach told a friend of ours some nice things about Nate] said that about me. That makes me really happy to hear!

When I feel confident that I can speak the language, I am going to try and start a tournament. Right now that is not possible!

The people here always feed you no matter what time of day it is! They are soo kind and accepting! Most of the houses are made up really thin wood walls, not quite ply wood... and yes most of the houses here have dirt floors or cement floors! Ya most of the people here have families but aren't married. That is the case for most of the people here.

From Mom's letter:
Mother!

Loved your email! Things have been good here! I know it is crazy that Elder Bradford and I are in the same District! I love you so much! I have grown to love the people of Peru even though I have been here for 2 weeks! I know the Lord is giving me strength to do this difficult thing! The language is hard, communicating is hard. But I know with time it all will come together I just need to keep working hard!

Yes my area goes up into the mountains! Much climbing everyday! The area I am in is very poor. Most of the houses are barely standing up. The homes have walls of wood--very thin pieces of wood. And throughout the houses are pillars for support! For some very strange reason everyone has a really nice flat screen TV.... it doesn't make sense... I can't even say my campions first name so I am just going to go with Elder Ortiz for now.

TELL GRANDMA I LOVE HER AND THAT I AM PRAYING FOR HER!

So cool to hear UVU is up and running keep me updated!

Love,

Elder Spencer

From Clarissa's Letter:
Things here are great! The language is still hard but hey we need to go through trials in order to receive blessings! And in this case the Gift of Tongues. I eat three times a day! Hahaha silly! Sometimes only 2. The food here is great! Love it! Rice, Beans and Chicken and potatoes every day. Sometimes chicken feet... No me gusta!
The water comes in big gallon sized tanks! Spanish is always going to be hard but every day is better! We have 3 baptisms this Saturday! And more next month! 

My campanion! Elder Ortiz!

Service with a smile! :}

Bienvenidos a Peru! 
(Welcome to Peru)

I have arrived!

Hola a todos!

This is my first week in Peru! The people are so nice and caring! My campions name is Elder Ortiz! He is of Ecuador! My Spanish is still really bad. Pero cada dia es mejor!
Well where do I even start! My room is pretty small two beds and a bathroom! We live next to a member, his name is Luis, and every night we eat with him! Outside my room is a soccer court! But no one really plays there... When we go to appointments we take these little taxi cars made out of a motorcycle! They are the coolest thing ever! The food is the same everyday! Rice, potatos, and chicken! Siempre! My Spanish is improving everyday but it is still hard to communicate when people talk to you at a million miles an hour! My area is pretty big. We walk up big cases of stairs when we go to teach lessons! In the mornings we either run or do INSANITY in our room on our little tiny DVD player! In the lessons all I can really do right now is bear my testimony and give a little thought about what was taught, but hey that is better than nothing!! Hope all is well with you all! Today we played futbol and ate pancakes as a zone!

Love,

Elder Spencer

Elder Spencer with President & Sister Erickson in Peru

The new missionaries!

Just before leaving MTC for Peru

Hola!

We get to email today which is pretty great! And also unfortunately we are not able to call from the airport... Sorry about that... Anyways I am so happy that I get to go to Peru now! I feel like I have prepared to the best of my abilities and now it is in the Lords hands! I now the Lord will help me through the language! I am just writing to say that I leave Monday and I do not know if I will be able to email you then.
Anyways this week has been great learned lots of new things and every day i keep learning new things about the Gospel! I am almost all packed and ready to go I just need Monday to come and then off to Peru! My time here at the CCM has been great but there comes a time when you need to leave! and that time is now! I really cannot wait to be in Peru and helping the people there! 

August 5, 2014

Hola Todo!

Been having a great week here in the MTC. Can´t believe it is almost over and I get to fly off to Peru this Monday! Time really does fly when you are doing the work of The Lord. Anyways I just want to share a couple experiences/thoughts that have happened over this last week!
Well to start off we have been teaching "Investigators" and it has been a really spiritual experience! Even though they aren't real investigators just our teachers, I really have come to love each one of them even though they aren´t real! I can´t wait until I am sitting in Peru with a family teaching them about The Plan Of Salvation! This is truly what it is all about! Spreading the Word Of God to the His Sheep!
Another fun experience. So it doesn´t rain here that often but when it does you better get inside because if you stay out you will go for a swim! So last Thursday my companion and I were practicing for the devotional where he was singing and I was playing the piano! Soon after we started to walk back it was really, really dark! I thought to myself, "That is kind of weird..", but soon disregarded that thought! No less then 1 minute after leaving our practice session it started to pour! And I mean POUR! We ran from building to building until we finally reached ours! It literally looked like we had just gone swimming! Soon after we arrived we saw that the sidewalk and the streets were flooded with water! Flooded a good 4-5 inches!! It was insane!
Well again I am so happy to be out here! Everyday my testimony grows whether it is a little bit or a lot. But I know that the people of Peru need to hear the message of the Lord. And with Faith in Jesus Christ all things are possible! Love you all! Hope you have a great day after reading this!

Adios!

Elder Spencer

This is where the futbal goes down

My District! Love them All!!

Mi Casa

mi y Hermano Martinez! Best teacher ever!

Selfie with my District!

Getting ready to play futbol!

July 29, 2014

Hola everyone!

My time here in the CCM has flown by! I only have two more weeks left and each day has been filled with so much learning by the Spirit and of the Spirit! When I first arrived here I didn't really know what to expect and I can tell you now it is hard. Everyday you need to pray for strength and an open mind. My companion has helped me a lot during these weeks here in the CCM. He is a real blessing in my life and I am glad God put him in my path because he can relate to me. The CCM has been a humbling experience as it comes to a close. I have needed to rely on the Lord more then I ever have in my life. He hears and answers all of your prayers no matter what the circumstance.

This past week has flown by so fast, and I can't believe it is almost over and that I am almost to Peru! I want to share with you some of the experiences that have happened over this last week!
So last week we had the opportunity to go to the Mexico City Temple! But unfortunately it was closed for re-modeling which was a downer. But we got to have a tour of the Visitors Center and that was the coolest thing ever! Towards the end of the tour we watched a church movie about Families. During that movie it hit me that I am going out to teach the people of Peru that families can be together forever through the Plan of Salvation. When that thought hit me I started to tear up and I pictured myself in Peru in a shanty old house teaching the Peruvians this principle! It blew my mind that the Lord has entrusted me with this sacred calling. At that moment I didn't feel like I was up to the Lord's standards. But sure enough, I was reassured by the Spirit in that moment that I was. That was an amazing feeling to know without a doubt that the Lord trusts you with His work.

The next day we found out we would be teaching real investigators or members that volunteered in this activity called TRC. I was not looking forward to this. I didn't really want to go. But I knew that these people were here to be taught and remember. So my companion and I were sitting in a room waiting for the members. We had sort of planned but not really. They came into the room and we introduced ourselves. Their names were Gloria and her daughter Stephanie. And then we began teaching, trying to be led by the Spirit. And during the lesson I could feel that the girl, Stephanie, needed something but I didn't know what. So after we taught them, they left and after my companion Elder Glover said he got the same prompting too. We were so frustrated that we didn't follow the prompting. All in all the lesson was very spiritual and you could tell that they wanted to change.

If I could put into words the things that I have learned while here in the CCM, it would be a long list. So I will make it short. I have learned that if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, anything is possible. No matter what we are going through, the Lord cares and is always there to help!

Hope things are well with everyone! Would love to hear from all of you that read this! Have a great week!
nathaniel.spencer@myldsmail.net

Elder Spencer

7/22/14

So I am just emailing both of you the same email so I only have to write one! 
MOM 
Yes I got the doughnuts they were sooooooooooo good! 













Also I saw Noah and I got the SD cards thank you thank you thank you! I have a lot of pictures to share! Today we went to the Visitors Center for the Mexico City Temple! The temple is under construction.... Oh well I loved every second of it! 
So I had probably one of the most spiritual experiences last night. So yesterday I wanted to know if all of this ( The Gospel) was true. So I got down on my knees and asked God that, that night I was going to ask my companion for a blessing between 9:50 and 10 and if he said anything about REVELATION that I would know that this is all true! So I was going through my day praying every opportunity I could get for this. Night comes around and Elder Glover is giving me a blessing. As I was sitting there I was so nervous because I didn't know if God would answer my prayer. But low and behold through Elder Glover, God answered my prayer! In my blessing he said, "The scriptures will reveal unto you all that God wants you to know." As soon as I heard this I instantly started to cry. It wasn't a normal cry. I felt soooo much joy and happiness that God heard me. Later in my blessing he added, " And God will give you personal revelation." I know God answers prayers we just have to be willing to ask. 



I miss you! 

My Roommates

PG Boys

Mexico City Temple

Elder Spencer

July 15, 2014--Mexico MTC

Hey Mom!

Sorry to hear about the job loss. But sometimes that is just how things turn out. Maybe the Lord has a better job for you! But yes all is well! We mostly just study the language and part of the day we teach a lesson. And no surprisingly my allergies haven't been a problem!! I wouldn't say that it is hot just mostly humid would be the right word! Sounds like Noah's talk went really well! I haven't gotten an email from Kenzie yet... but I did get one from Hallie!! That made my day! And no my SD card didn't work... it made me really sad... I had to buy a Hymnbook they don't have as many songs as the English version does.

There was one experience that really help my testimony about the Atonement. The first couple of days I wasn't feeling low. I was reading in my scriptures and praying for inspiration when I came across a verse it said something to the effect.. Repent and forsake your sins. I didn't really know what the word FORSAKE meant so I looked it up and I learned that I need to completely forget them! I read that and I could just feel that love of God in my life since that day forward.

Love you lots!

Elder Spencer

PG Boys at the Mexico MTC

My District

My MTC Companion--Elder Corey Glover

Outside the walls