Snow!

This week has been crazy busy! Such a great week! And something amazing  happened this morning, I woke up to it snowing! I barely stuck, but it was awesome while it lasted!

In our zone, every other week, we hold a Spanish sacrament meeting and Sunday school. Since Elder Ayala speaks Spanish, I got to sit in, so I was lucky enough to to go two Sacrament meetings this week! I was very good, even though I understood practically nothing of what was happening in the Spanish/ Portuguese session. It was a very good experience, it is so cool to me that the Lord is gathering His people everywhere, even a group of Spanish speakers in Japan.

In sacrament meeting (the Japanese one) I had the great opportunity to give a talk. It just also happened to be the week that the Mission President, President Wada, was coming to visit. So, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to the ward and also to the president. Not nerve wracking at all! (⌒-⌒; ) But, it was still a very good experience. I spoke about something that has been on my mind a lot recently, from when I was reading from the Book of Mormon, Ether 12. This chapter is one of the most loaded chapters in the Book of Mormon, and I spoke on verses 8-9 and verse 6. Christ has prepared the way for all of us to be partakers of the Heavenly Gift, through our faithfulness in Him. Only after our faith is tried, however, do we receive of this gift, this witness from God. However, the cool thing about having to teach this in Japanese is the word choice that is used. In English, it says you receive a "witness." In Japanese, it says you receive a testimony. You receive no testimony until after the trial of your faith. Oftentimes we wish we had strong testimonies, we say, "Wow, I wish I could believe like him (referring to someone awesome, like Elder Holland). He really knows what's up." But, more and more of what I'm learning is that to receive that powerful, unshakeable testimony, we have to pay the price. The price being our continued faithfulness and obedience to God's  commandments, even when things are difficult. Especially when things are difficult. Only after the trial of our faith do we receive the reward of the trial. If you don't think you have strong faith, just keep trying. Keep pressing on, believing in the word of God, pray to Him, study His words, and I
promise that He will make it manifest to you, in your mind and in your heart.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Nelson

PS Elder Ayala and I went biking out somewhere further out in our area, missed a turn, and ended up climbing two extra mountains. Fun stuff.
PPS We were lame with our shopping last week, so we survived this week on eating pancakes for several meals in a row. Yum!

a quick shot of my desk

Title.

Man, other week has past, and we're already a good way into the January! Where has time gone!

So, the Atsugi area is quite different than Fuchu for one big reason, there are hills. Fuchu was just a flat city sprawl, but now Atsugi is a city sprawl that decided that it wanted to do the wave. And by do
the wave, I mean it decided to be like 10 mountains in a row, so you always seem to be going up or down. Actually, the area by the apartment is very flat, but a place we biked up to last night was
insane. It was way awesome! I had a great time, and look forward to getting legs the size of tree trunks!

So, like I've said, Atsugi has a lot of people that speak a language other than English. The missionaries in our district and a neighboring area put together a family home evening event for Spanish/ Portuguese speakers on Saturday. It was way good, but it I couldn't understand all that much. It was just like being in the MTC again! But, despite not being able to understand almost any of the Portuguese, I could still feel the Spirit that was being shared as the lesson was taught. Just another example to me of how powerful a person's testimony can be; the words don't matter, being a good speaker doesn't have any impact, any amount of eloquence won't change anything. If you testify
from your heart, the Spirit will always bear witness. I know that is true.

This week I had a way cool experience with trying to follow the Spirit. Elder Ayala and I were heading back to the apartment, but we felt like we should bike his different way home. We went, and I could tell the Spirit wanted us to go there, but I had no idea where there was. We passed our apartment and kept going, and just kept looking around for what the Spirit was leading us to. Well, we found a way nice guy who talked with us for a while, and we shared our message with him. It was a very powerful witness that Heavenly Father will guide us in our efforts to follow the Spirit, and as we strive to fulfill our duties, He will light the way for us. Reach out, do your best to serve those around you as the Spirit directs, and watch as the Lord performs miracles through you.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Nelson

PS I have a feeling today I haven't felt in a long time. The roof of my mouth is burned from eating a slice of pizza that was too hot. It feels just like home.
PPS In case you were wondering, McDonalds, Walmart, and Costco are all exactly the same all over the world. Except our McDonald's has fish burgers. Haha! #winning

The FHE, with Elder Nelson caught mid blink

Because I can't think of a title: Banana hats

This week has been way awesome! Just like always, it's been way busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

First things first, being in this new area, Atsugi, is way different than being in Fuchu for one huge reason. There are so many Spanish and English speakers. Like, it's ridiculous!  Half of our investigators don't even speak Japanese! It is so much fun! It's a way weird experience trying to teach the gospel in English, it feels a bit foreign on my tongue. But, it is in no way a bad thing. I love being
able to help people come unto Christ is two languages, and sometimes even three! (If we teach a Spanish lesson, I get to sit there just smiling and saying that I know my companions testimony is true 😄) Elder Ayala, my companion, speaks Spanish, an other Elder in my district is from Brazil and he speaks Portuguese, and a Sister in the district also speaks Spanish. In fact, about half of the zone speaks both English and Spanish/Portuguese fluently and is learning Japanese. It's way cool!

A way cool experience that happened this week is that on Sunday, in the middle of Sunday School, a member walks into class and whispers into one of the missionaries ears that there is a family of people from the Philippines in the foyer who wants to learn about the church. Turns out that they were looking for a Christian church to come to, and they found ours. So, we took that opportunity to teach them about the Restoration of Gospel of Jesus Christ! It was way awesome, and totally random, but I could see the hand of the Lord in these people's lives, I could see how much He loves them. The work is absolutely amazing!

Something that I've been thinking a lot about recently is how we can always have the Spirit of the Lord in our lives. Like, how can we get to the point where we are always being moved by personal revelation to serve the Lord and help his children? I came across Helaman 10:4-5, where the Lord is telling Nephi that He trusts him. He gives him the power to bind in heaven and on Earth. The way that Nephi received this power from God is found in those verses, but my challenge is for everyone to follow the example of Nephi. Let the Lord know that He can trust you, that when you receive a prompting from the Spirit, any personal revelation, that you will follow it immediately. The more you
show our Heavenly Father that you will follow His instructions He sends, the more you will receive. I know that as you do this, you will find a greater outpouring of the Spirit in your life, and truly become the person that God wants you to become.

I love you all! Thank you all so much for you support! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Nelson

PS Fun news, I now sleep on a futon instead of a bunk bed!
PPS We also had out Christmas conference this week. Here was a short white elephant exchange, and I got hand sanitizer! Yeah!

I'm wearing a scarf I got at a dollar store today. We had to buy bath mats for the shower, and I saw this, so I thought "Why not?".

Surprise transfer!

Well, this week has been one of the most unique and one of the best weeks so far! It's been one big ride from last week, but I'll try to share as much as I can!

First cool thing was Christmas! Christmas was amazing, this has been the most unique Christmas so far in my life. On Christmas Eve, we taught a lesson with an investigator and then came home and unwrapped some presents Elder Kaesler had for us. Christmas Day was a pretty normal day, except that evening was Brother Fukushima's birthday, so we had dinner with him at the church. For dessert, we ate a cake we made in the rice cooker. It honestly was a way simple Christmas, but definitely one of my favorites.

On Sunday, one of my favorite things so far on my mission happened. Brother Fukushima received the Priesthood! It has been so amazing to have seem him come this far. The Spirit has been working overtime without him, he's such an amazing and humble person. Knowing him has blessed my life so much, getting to see the power of Christ's atonement working every day. I can testify that I know that God and Jesus Christ live, and that they really do love each of us, even those of us who feel like we don't deserve that love or somehow can't receive it. Do your best everyday to live worthy of the Spirit, and I promise you that God will pour out His love on you.

Something pretty special happened yesterday, I got a call from the mission office. They told me that I'm being emergency transferred! I left Fuchu this morning, and now I'm sitting in the Atsugi church
building. I had to pack everything up last night and head over here this morning, but I'm here now! My new companions name is Elder Ayala, and he's from Georgia. He speaks English, Spanish, and Japanese, so he's a total beast. This is going to be an awesome transfer, I can feel it in my bones!

Love you all!
Elder Nelson

PS Skyping on Christmas was awesome! Shout out to the best family out there!
PPS I ate something called Oyakodon, which means mother and child. So, I ate chicken and eggs on rice.
PPPS This week I learned koalas are not bears.

Brother Fukushima's birthday

Starting off the transfer right!

Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe it's already past half way through December! So, have a Merry Christmas, and also wish my brother Spencer a happy birthday! He's getting old!

So, last week I wrote about Fukushima San, and how amazing a change that has been brought into his life. Well, this past Saturday, he made a huge step in his life, and was baptized! His baptism went great, and he received the gift of the Holy Ghost yesterday on Sunday. I guess we now have to start calling him Brother Fukushima! It's been an amazing experience to be able to go with him every step of the way, from talking with him on the street to witnessing him enter the water, I had the privilege of seeing him makes those changes in his life. It's something that I don't think I appreciate enough, that as a missionary my purpose is to help people makes promises with God that will allow them to return to His love and presence. I'm so glad that our Father sent us his Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to help us overcome our sins, our sadness, our pains. It's through Him and His Atonement that we
really can return to live with our Father again. This gospel has brought so much peace and joy into my life, and I know that it can bring the same into your life as well. My hope and prayer is that all
of you take this Christmas season to spread the love and joy of the Savior and His Gospel. Reach out and serve Him the best you can, and the Lord will magnify your efforts.

I love you all! Have a fabulous Christmas season!

Elder Nelson

PS My two companions are Elder Kaesler, the far left, and Elder Brown, the one right next to him. Elder Takahashi was in the area while we were teaching Brother Fukushima and hey became friends, so he brought his companion in from where he got transferred.
PPS Elder Kaesler is from Australia. So that's fun.
PPPS Fun fact, I've had to eat 6 meals straight from either 7-11 or McDonalds. I don't want you to think I'm being too healthy.

Transfer week thing!

Well, I've officially done it. I'm done being a trainee! We're moving on to transfer three this week, so I'm now all grown up and stuff. We got transfer calls this week, and it looks like I'm still studying in
my beloved Fuchu area. But! Things are changing a bit. I'm staying companions with Elder Brown, but we're combining the two Fuchu Elder's areas together, and becoming a triple Elder companionship. So, I'm companions with both Elder Brown and Elder Kaesler starting on Thursday. I've been living in the same apartment with Elder Kaesler since I began my time in Japan, so I'm looking forward to working this transfer!

There have been some cool experiences with the Spirit this week that were way cool. We stopped and talked with this guy on a street corner by the church, and shared a quick lesson with him. Times rolls on, and a week later we're walking down a completely different neighborhood, when we get this feeling to go down a different side path. We get going, and we suddenly run into the same guy! In a city of over 16 million people, that doesn't just happen! It's a testimony to me of how much Heavenly Father must love that man, giving him as many opportunities as possible to come unto Him.

We've been teaching this man named Fukushima San, and his story so far has been amazing. When we met him, he was one of the saddest, most down on his luck guy I've ever met. Like, seriously, I didn't see him smile for several weeks. But, we've been teaching him about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and Their love for him. It's been several weeks now, and now their isn't a day I see him where he doesn't smile or crack a joke with us. The transformative power of the gospel and of the Spirit is so real. Being a missionary gives me such a great opportunity to see these large changes in people's lives, but these things don't happen just on missions. I can testify that these changes, these opportunities to come closer to Christ, can be seen in all aspects of life. Maybe it's a friend who needs a lift, maybe a sibling who needs some love, or maybe it's yourself. This week, try and look for the miracles, the changes you see in the lives of those around you, and in yourself. I promise if you strive to be the best person you can, and rely on the Lord, you will see God's hand over you and your loved ones.

Have a great week everyone! Love you! Merry Christmas!

Elder Nelson

PS I gave myself a haircut this week, and now I look like a gerbil. Therefore, no photos this week.
PPS Health update: I ate a mini orange thing today. I do t know what they are called, but I actually liked it. What is happening to my taste buds?!?

Another Temple Day!

Man, it feels like just yesterday that I went to the temple in Japan for the first time, and now it's time to go again. Time has really flown this transfer, that is for sure! The temple was awesome today! I mean, it's always awesome, but today was great. It might have something to do with getting to go a lot less frequently than when I was at home, or now just being a missionary makes the temple better, but going to the temple now is a wonderful, spiritual experience. If you live in a place where you can attend the temple regularly, I would highly recommend it! It will bless you life a ton, I can promise that!

There was a really cool experience that happened this week. Elder Brown and I had taught this man on Monday evening, we listened to our message and took a Book of Mormon, and we thought he was interested. Turns out, he's not really and his family is pretty against him meeting us. We talked on the phone for about an hour on Tuesday and Wednesday night, resolving is concerns and stuff, but he still wasn't all that into it, so we just said we'd give him some time. But, while while Elder Takahashi and I (we were on splits) were waiting at church for a different investigator, the uninterested man's sister walks in, wanting to return the Book of Mormon. Well, we weren't just going take that lying down, so we're started talking, and eventually just started teaching a sit down lesson about the restoration. We bore our testimonies of the Book of Mormon, and challenged her to take it back and read it. And she did! She took the Book of Mormon she had meant to return back home because she wanted to read it now! That was a big testimony builder for me about the power of your testimony, the Book of Mormon, and of course the Holy Ghost. The way it can soften someone's  heart, and help them choose to follow the Savior is amazing. So, my challenge for everyone this week is to go and bear your testimony to someone. It doesn't have to be anything special, in fact, in my experience, the simplest testimonies are by far the most powerful. Just let someone know about your love for our Heavenly Father and Christ, the atonement, Joseph Smith, anything really. Just a simple, heartfelt message has the power to change lives, of that I can testify.

Because we went to the temple today, running, I'm running short on time. I'll try to write everyone back, but if I don't get to you, rest assured it will happen next week!

Love you all!

Elder Nelson

PS Despite going to the temple, I didn't get a picture there. But I did get a picture of some soap I bought.