I had a thing this week! With cake!

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great week! This week was a busy one, but a very good one!

This week was a very busy one! We were running all over the place with a couple of meetings and activities that were going on with the zone. One Tuesday, we had a blitz in the next area over with everyone in the zone. Pretty much, for the blitz, we all go to one area and just work as hard as we can to help find new investigators for that area. We saw some awesome miracles and it was great to be able to work with other missionaries and learn from their example, even if it was just for a little bit. On Thursday, we had a training for the new missionaries, and then on Saturday we had interpreters training. We had a lot of time on trains this week!

This week was Easter! We have seen the new video that the church put out about Eater, Hallelujah, and it is just fantastic! I feel the Spirit so deeply every time I watch it, and we've been trying to
sharing it with as many people as we can, both on the street and to our investigators. In Japan, Easter is not a commonly celebrated holiday, in face, most people have never heard of it. But it has been
amazing to see change that occurs in people's lives as they learn about our Lord for the very first time. The power of the atonement and the resurrection is real. I know Christ lives, and I'm glad that we can celebrate Him this Easter season!

I love you all!

Elder Nelson

The Zone

The after district meeting cake. It was my birthday!

Subject: Email I want to send.

This week has been one of the busiest weeks I've ever done so far, and let me tell you, it was one of the best weeks from my whole mission so far!

Elder Dowdle and I have had some great experiences this past week, one of them being that we were walking and talking with people in front of a train station, and we see this group of maybe 35 college kids just standing around. So, we walk up to about 5 of them and start talking. They had had just a little too much to drink that night, me thinks. While we were talking with them, more and more of the college kids joined into our circle, until there were about 17 kids all talking to us. They asked our ages, and we asked them to guess, and after guesses being around 25ish (Japanese people always think Americans look older than they really are), we told them we were 18. They just lost it. Probably one of the loudest moments I've had in my life, just all these college kids screaming in the night in the middle of a train station. So, that was pretty fun!

This week, we've ran into several people who have had pretty much the same question: Why bother with Christianity, or religion in general? They all think that Christ had some good teachings, but didn't believe anything past that. We have had the amazing privilege to stand and tell them just why Christ is important, that He is the Living Son of the Living God, and that because of Him, all mankind will live again. Because of Him all of our sorrows, all of our griefs, all of our fears, can melt away, and be replaced with a perfect peace and love. Because of Him, all will live again, and can return to live with our Father. Because of Him, all that is wrong will be made right. So many people in this world don't know this one simple truth, that through faith and obedience of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all mankind can be saved. So, go be that light that God needs you to be. Go and stand as an example, and be the instrument in God's hand in bring many unto Him. I can promise you will be aided and guided by the Holy Ghost, who will comfort and guide us on our journey through this life.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Nelson

Zone Meeting!

BECAUSE OF HIM- video

New companion!

This week has been a good one, there has been a lot of good things that went on, and a lot of things that I got to learn from!

First big thing is, I have a new companion, and when I say new, I mean new! He is fresh from the states and is ready to get working. His name is Elder Dowdle, and he is from Montana. He's a big ball of fire and is ready to take on the world, always down to go up and talk to anyone and share the message of truth! He has something along the line of 11 brothers and sisters, and is one of the youngest in his family. He's the first one in his family to serve a mission in Japan. He is doing
really well and I look forward to working with him!

This week I learned a great lesson on just how much the Lord works on us in ways that we don't even realize. There have been weeks where I felt like I haven't even progressed an inch, or changed at all, or that I am still the same person that I was a month ago. Those times are some of the hardest,  because you feel like you want to grow, that you truly desire to become better. Having the opportunity to work with Elder Dowdle has really put my whole mission in perspective. I can see
a lot of myself in him, and I can see so much that has changed, so many things that I struggled with at the beginning of my mission have become second nature. I know that Heavenly Father puts things in our paths, He gives us our mountains to climb so that we can become stronger and progress eternally towards Him. I know that without Him, I would literally be nothing, not able to progress, change, or
improve. But, I do know that with Him, I can do all things. Trust in God's timing, and know that as you trust in Him, He will turn you into the person He knows you can become.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week! If it rains, go dance in it!

Elder Nelson

Here he is!

Transfer Calls!

I can't believe how fast time has passed this week! So much happened!

First, we got our transfer calls! I'm going to be staying in Atsugi, but my companion will be changing. I'm way excited to be here again in Atsugi, it's a great place and the people are wonderful, both the ward members and all of our investigators. What is also pretty exciting I have no idea who my new companion is going to be! He is still in America, so I'll find out who I'm going to train on Thursday. I'm very excited!

This week we did a lot of work with some investigators that have been around for a long time, like, a really long time. One thing that Elder Siquiera keeps telling me is that there is always hope for people. We worked way hard to get some of those people progressing this week in preparation for the transfer, just in case we left and these investigators kind of fell off the map. As we tried our hardest, I saw God magnifying our effort so much. It is such a testimony builder for me that there truly is always hope. Sometimes, things happen in the Lords time, in the Lord way, but rest assured that they will happen. Our Father loves all of His children. He understands you and loves you, and will always support you as you turn to Him and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

I hope that you all have a great week! Thank you all for the emails, love and support that I receive from all of you. You are all the best!

Elder Nelson

A member and an investigator.

You might be thinking, "Wow, Elder Nelson's selfie game is getting stronger." And you would be right.

Costco: Land of the Free, Home of the Biggest Pizza's in Japan

(no subject)

This week was way good, lots of great learning opportunities and experiences!

This week we had a way fun activity with some potential investigators and some ward members. It was called Wakuwaku Cooking, which means "excitedly" cooking. We made some bread things with stuff put in them! Ok, so that description was horrible, but I'll put pictures. It was way delicious!

On Sunday night, got a call from someone asking us if we could go and visit an investigator that evening, because they needed to meet the missionaries that night, and were busy every other day for the rest of the week. So, we gear up from where we were, and get biking. And then the rain. And then the hills. And sometimes rainy hills. But! It was probably one of my favorite experiences I've had in a long while. While biking, I don't have to think super intensely about what's going on, so I got some great time alone with just my thoughts, nature, and God. I know that everything that our Heavenly Father puts in our path is exactly what we need, whether that be a rainy night, a beautiful sunrise, an evening of heartbreak, or the feeling of greatest triumph. Everything that happens is for your good, if you let it bring you closer to God. That is a lesson I keep learning over and over again. Just when I think I've learned enough, or I'm finally to a good point, Heavenly Father reminds me that I've got a long way to go. But, I know that as we humble ourselves, rely on the Savior, and turn to our Father, we truly can grow from our experiences, until the perfect day comes, and the King calls, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

Elder Nelson

The cooking stuff!

Making bread featuring the craziest kid in the Eastern hemispheres 

Bread things!

Met this way cool old man who dyed his hair pink

A cool kid we met this week! I say kid, but he is actually older than I am, but whatever!

Once upon a time, I had good email titles

This week was awesome! First things first, there was a server crash last week, so if you sent me an email, and didn't get a response, I'm not trying to insult your honor! The emails were all funky last week, so I'm sorry if you didn't get a response! If you want one, just resend whatever you sent before. Thanks!

There is so much going on, I hope I can accurately write down (type down whatever) my feelings!

This week we were trying to get two of our investigators to a church building that was about 45 minutes away, so we arranged to have a member come and drive us all. But, there was a miscommunication, and I forgot that I live in Japan, so everything is mini sized. The members
car could probably hold the member, our two investigators, and probably two more Japanese people, but there was absolutely no way to fit two huge people from America and Brazil. So, we put the
investigators in the car, ran through the rain to the train station, hopped on a train, and then ran to the church just in time to meet them there. It was a way good night, we saw so many miracles and saw
God's hand in our work through the whole evening.

This week we had Zone Conference with President Wada. It was way awesome! We talked a lot about a lot of things, but a thing that I really enjoyed was a training that President Wada gave. We dissected 2 Nephi 4:16-35, and I was taught a very important lesson from the Spirit. Something that has been weighing on my mind recently has been the concept of charity. We all know that charity is the pure love of Christ, and that we should strive to have that love in our lives. But, while we were reading from 2 Nephi 4:21, and the Spirit hit me so hard. When we truly love like Christ does, it should be something that just consumes everything inside us. Like a purifying fire, it consumes all of our contempt, pride, evil thoughts, back biting, hate, sins; it consumes it all, and leaves us with peace, hope, and love. That is the purpose of the Atonement of Christ, to help us overcome all of our weakness and be filled with the pure, purifying love of Christ. Never be afraid to give too much of yourself, to hold back any love that you have. Just give, give all you have to God, and let His love change you.

I hope that you all have an amazing week! Love you all!

Elder Nelson

PS We were eating with a member, and I got served a salad. And I ate it. Boom. Growin up.
PPS I have big, important responsibilities. This week I had to figure out what size of curtains our windows needed. #workinhard

Insert title here

So, this week was Valentine's Day, which means that we got to....... do nothing special! In Japan, the culture is that on Valentine's Day, girls buy chocolate for guys. It sounds pretty good for the guys,
right? Well, it comes around on a holiday called White Day in March, where the guys usually give that same girls back about 3 times the chocolate received. Fun stuff! I actually forgot that it was
Valentine's Day until some members gave us a treat after Church. But! It was still a great day! We had Ward Conference, so there were a ton of people at church, which was awesome! The weird thing about that day was that it very very humid outside, and so all of the floors and the ways of the church building were, for lack of a better word, moist. You could run your hand down the wall and it would come away damp. Despite having to use words like moist and damp, it was still very cool!

One very cool thing that went on this week was we had an event called Questions of the Soul. It is basically President Wada coming to our Ward and teaches gospel principles the best way I know how: movies. He has several different movies he uses, I've heard that he uses Indiana Jones to illustrate the principle of faith. This week, he used the movie The Mission to illustrate the principle of repentance. It was all about this one man who was completely burdened down with guilt, and thought that he had no way to find peace, to find forgiveness. He shared a very strong lesson and testimony about how completely and perfectly Christ's atonement can cleanse all of us. There is no mistake, no error, nothing that Christ cannot cleanse. I know and can bear testimony that because of Jesus Christ, mankind is free and all can return back to our Father in Heaven. I love our Father in Heaven and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ, and I am eternally grateful for the sacrifice that He made for all of us.

Thank you all! I love you all a ton! Have a great week!

Elder Nelson

Not to be confused with my straw for teaching the Restoration of the Gospel

I am King