May 17th 2013

I love you all! Talking on the phone really made me sing "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today!" and "Scatter Sunshine!" all day after that. It rubbed off on Sister Nakaima  too so she was grateful!  It was so good to hear all your voices and I'm so sorry it was short but rules are rules. They are there for my good so I gotta keep them!

The mission has been madness lately. The summer is kicking up so that means Japanese/ English tours in the handfuls  Study and meal time is either shortened or taken because of the need to take tours. I don't mind really, it means I get to teach more and talk to people. I love large group tours. It is sometimes hard to invite people to meet with missionaries but he get to bare our testimonies on God's plan for us to have eternal families to 20-30 people at a time. Its like Brigham Young did it on his mission! I also get to be the center of attention which is always a bonus, people listen to you and they will believe anything you say so joking is easy lol! 

On Wednesday Elder Ballard came to speak to us!! I feel so blessed. Not many young people or even missionaries get to hear an apostle of the Lord speak to them in a somewhat small group of people. The most profound thing the spirit whispered to me while he spoke was a question I've been trying to sort out for  several weeks now. How do I help people have a desire to do what is right and follow Christ  That is a huge part of my calling and I have felt lately that i wasn't doing as well as I could be. The spirit told me: they must feel the spirit. The desire will come after that and when I invite they will know what to do with that desire. WOW so simple. What Elder Ballard said that has helped me lately was things it was along the lines of don't worry, its the Lords Church, he can worry about it. I love it clearly means if I'm doing my best, the lord will make up for the rest. Which I have heard many times but am just getting now. Sheesh I'm a slow learner. This has especially helped lately because of the commotion with youth conference coordinating, guest speaking and singing with other sisters in a near by ward, tours, still being trained so I need study and trying to have time to still teach my investigators. Long story short this week has been a little much but the Savior did much more and knows how to help me, which He does every time I ask my Father in Heaven.

I love you all, and I love hearing from you. Don't forget me! lol I always am thinking of my friends and family looking to your great examples!

LOVE sister Shmag Nelson

PS 2 investigators are getting baptized in the next week! one boy one girl both about 19!! I'm so exited!

May 10th 2013

I CAN"T WAIT TO SPEAK WITH YOU ALL ON SUNDAY!!! It kind of just hit me that I will hear your voices soon and it makes me so happy! don't worry I'm not distracted though. It's too bizzy, no time to be distracted. Sister Nakaima is the only Japanese Sister on the square right now available to give Japanese tours. So if we get messaged, on P-day, dinner, during an assignment we HAVE to take it! Its great though I love it. The Japanese people are always so friendly and you teach them so simply. Almost like primary because they have no concept of God, Christ or church really. It is teaching me to teach with clarity (which has been a goal of mine since I got hear, Heavenly Father helps us in the strangest ways! lol)

Also, as you may know, Sister Nakaima and myself are the new Youth Conference Coordinators. Man oh Man is it bizzy! But I love it! After one, I was able to chat with new beehives, they told me that a Recent Convert and another yw who is was less active wasn't there and haven't been coming. I was able to bear testimony to them of how powerful their love and friendship can be. I told them of an experience of my own that I am not proud of. i was a miamaid and was not as welcoming as I could have been to one yw. I know to this day if me and my friends had welcomed her in our circle of friends she would have had a better fighting chance of staying happily active in the church. They agreed to let me help them with these important yw. I can;t wait to get a hold of them. These young beehives have much more than I did at their age however. Each of them expressed a desire to serve a mission. When I asked them why each of them told of similar reasons. They wanted to serve and help people to be happy like them. WOW youth are amazing.

Random Fun fact list:

-THis week has been the best i'm learning Japanese and Canadian japanese (broken english, it elliminates the use of plurals, and contains english words with basic consept, so u sound like a 2 year old speaking but japanese peops can understand better)

-I get to coordinate a Youth conference and guess who the guest speaker is?!!! ............................ John bytheway! I am freakin out I cant wait!

-I realized I love sushi and my comp hates it, fake japanese pft

-Anti's requested a tour. They do this to try and confuse you with deep thought questions and  try to make u lose your fatih. It doesn't work on us, we stick to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the best way), our testimonies, and have english as a second language (sister nakaima) makes them frustrated because she legitamitly has no clue what they are talking about. LOL

-I love running by the capital every morning with the sister friends

-I was able to get a young non member boy to start being engaged in a tour lesson by simply asking him about football (they don't care you know until they know u care. LOVE thats it)

-I ran into a sign today while giving a tour lesson :S I WISH U SAW IT SOOO FUN

My testimony is simple. I love My heavenly Father. He is my Father. He loves me so much that He sent His only begotten Son so that I can change. I can change to become more like Him.

CTR

-Sister Nelson

May 3rd 2013

So i have 7 mins to write this! so here is a string of random pics.

We had a music night performance it was so fun! friends (Knott family)/recent converts came! (YD)

Sister Pickrell and I had a fun bike adventure on her last p-day. She left me :( (for home)

I have a new companion Sister Nakaima from japan, shes so sweet and yes 3 comps now and I'm only in my second transfer at T2

(bike to capital hill look out on p-day so fun)

I love all my fam (mom i want to see a pic of u and dad on your slick rides. Julia the cat names: "Heat" "meatballs" and "peanut Butter" won. I must get 3 cats when I get home and thank u so much for all the letters Brooklyn, Will, Sydney, Aiden, Landon, Jace, mark and Michelle I was smiling soooo big when i received like 6 letters that one day. It really helps me while im here) and friends (HOLLY I WANT TO HEAR FROM U. LG i am sending u and Lauren a letter today i am so sry. u know me i take forever. and Bamber and all others i have missed i love u!)

UH i am out of time but I have so many stories sorry! love love love you all

Sister Nel-dizzle

Pics:  The architect/project managers  of the Conference center.Sister new companion Nakaima from Japan!!!

April 27th 2013

 I have had the most fun week ever. lol like maybe in my life sister pickrel is the funniest shmag and we teach well together. Heavenly Father knew I needed a little "pick" me up lol We have been teachin, preachin and playin  up a storm. 

We have picked up two new investigators! One from Alabama, and the other from taxes! So fun, we are role playing, studying and teaching. For our study's we watched 2 general Conference Talks. One was Elder Utchtdorf "The Hope of God’s Light" which we used to help an investigator realize, In times of trials "To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things" And Elder Hollands talk: "Lord I believe" He said: "please don't hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith." These talks specifically helped the people we are currently teaching. As we watched them we received goosebumps at how specifically they would help them. I love how that works.

Sister Pickrel and I were also able to have a really neat experience where we understood a little more about Jesus Christ. It was by reading the scriptures adn watching the "bible story" videos found on lds.org. We were both able to recall the first times we gained knowledge of the truthfulness of the book of Mormon and how it really is written to help us specifically. I was 8, and she was 16. Than the moments we knew through the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was the Prophet that the church of Jesus Christ was restored through. She was 21 and so was I. It was as we studied the first vision that we felt that. I love the first vision from Joseph Smith History 1:16-17

I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun,which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

I know it is possible to gain that testimony if we study and ask.

We have also been kind of dressing up to humor ourselves. Hope you all get a kick out of it, because we sure did! Sister Pickrel, like sister Oh is leaving me (transfers next week adn she goes home than too ): ). But I know that every experience is for my benifit here and so far it has been like that. I love my mission. I love my Heavenly Father. I love you all!

XXXXX (hand hugs)

CTR 

Sister Nelson/poka-to-the-dots/Hobbs(sister Pickrel is Kalvin)/student at hogwarts