Hihi! :D

 

@Craig:  Totes jealous that the other half of your district is going to Canada. Warn them that it will be cold. I knew someone from Edmonton... they said at times it got so cold, they'd spit and it'd be frozen before it hit the ground. Just be glad you're not going there :D *brick'd*

 

Anyway, this week was ossum! We had our miracle presentation yesterday, and... surprise! We found a bassoon! After I went and looked at it I realized why Heavenly Father didn't let me have one 'til three days before, I was too giddy and couldn't really focus on much else ^^; so I'm not sure that I'll be doing that again any time soon. Everyone who came adored it though, so I'm glad I could teach people about what on Earth the bassoon is too :P And the spirit was super strong! So that was definitely a pro as well. The 40-day fast was fantastic, I'm really sad to be finishing that. Our ward was so excited to have something to invite their friends to. n_n

 

This week we visited a pseudo less-active couple (they're only pseudo cos they travel like always) but we got to talking about our families! She was asking me about what Dad did, so I told her administration and budget stuff in a hospital (and I never really know how to answer that; any help, Daddy-o?). It was kinda random, but she got this little twinkle in her eye and said, "You must be proud of him." And y'know, I really am. And I'm super thankful for the example of hard-work he's always given me, and the dedication he's given to everything, especially the Lord. There's never been a question in my mind about my Dad and the church, and I'm really thankful for that. So, I just wanted to tell you Dad, I'm proud of you. :)

 

Speaking of hard work, people have complimented me before on being a hard-worker, which I think is semi- surprising, cos I wouldn't have put myself under that category before I came out here. Missions are good for teaching you thinks like that though, eh? :) I guess I just needed to prove it to myself.

 

We had our half-mission conference this week! Which means half the mission got together and had a fun ol' meeting :D It was really good though, Elder Cardon of the presidency of the 70 (I think?) came to talk to us and it was awesome! It was really good, and helped us realize that the reason we have people get baptised is because we help them realize the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Along with that he focused on the point that people only have to have enough faith unto repentance - that's where the HG comes in. We aren't cleansed by our deeds or by saying sorry and meaning it. The HG has the power to cleanse us, and that's why it's so important to have the HG with us so we can really become better and use the Atonement. It's just not possible to progress without it!

So the conference was fantastic, obviously. :)

 

So yep, this is another epistle of Paul kind of letter. Enjoy it. Haha! And thank you as always for the letters and love, I really appreciate it :)

 

I pray for you often!! I love you!!!

Sister Nelson

 

p.s. @Craig: would your fire hydrant do better if I gave you a straw? :D I was gonna tell you something else, too... but I forgot. So um, what district are you in? are you in one of the new buildings, or the old ones? (if you have an actual desk, the answer is new.) what's your branch president like? have you gone to TRC yet? It's frightening, isn't it! Chin up, shoulders back, spout love at everyone you talk to :D

p.s. @Matt: soooo how's everything? I hear about you through mom, but I'd like to hear from you too plz =D (also send me jokes, since you're the one on the computer. kthxbai!) <3

 

lovelovelove~

Yay for the MTC! I told a few people this week that my brother was reporting to the MTC this week and they were all amazed. "Oh, so your mom will have two missionaries out at the same time!" Yessum, but wouldn't the abundance of blessings make you wish we were out for longer? :P It'll still make the holidays quiet though. <_<

 

I'm glad you're feeling better!  Also, yum honey!

 

Hm, that's an interesting talk subject. How's he doing home alone? Although if he's off in marching-band-land he has enough to think about. I'll ask him again when the holidays roll around. Haha! Hm. The only thing that's coming to mind is the popularity of Alma 60:6 if missionaries go for long enough without a letter, but I don't think that will be too much of an issue for me. I have good family & friends :) But yeah, a few people in this ward ask what kind of things I like to get in letters, so I've at least thought about it! I like hearing about what's going on at home (or for the friends, what they've been doing with their time), just the different things people are doing and how they're feeling. There doesn't always have to be a spiritual thought tagged on the end, although I'd consider that a bonus if there is. Aside from letters, prayers are always a plus! I can for sure see the miracles that come from them, just pertaining to things working out and ending up in the places where we need to be. Letting me know that you love me is a strength to me, too. It's one less thing to worry about.

 

Hey, it's Kit's birthday on Wednesday! I dunno if you're friends with her on facebook, but could you post a happy birthday to her from me? :3 (I'd send her a letter, but I don't have her address memorized, woe!)

 

So I heard from bff Don the other day about hockey happenings. Still nothing big for the Blackhawks from what it sounded like. Just Oduya (o-didja? *brick'd*) getting resigned. And a couple trades. Yay? Is anybody gonna keep me up to date once the season starts? :3

 

How long are these blog excerpts of mine? Lyra asked me if I update those but I don't; I can't even look at them :D It's okay though, I have plenty else to focus on.

 

This week we have a mission conference! Yay! We're going to hear from Elder Cardon, one of the 70 I think? I could be wrong. But he's going to come and speak to us and it'll be awesome. Remind me to tell you about it next week :D They're grouping the mission by halves for this, so it'll be half the mission per two days of the conference. So fun! I'll probably get to see half my MTC district too, so that'll be good.

 

Well, this morning I read the last few chapters in Helaman! There was a short recount of the prophesies of Samuel the Lamanite, where he's talking about signs of his birth and death. When Christ is born into the world, there's a period of two days where it stays light outside. When he dies, Samuel said there'd be a period of three days of darkness, turbulence, calamaties, etc. I love the symbolism with that though! Christ signifies light and knowledge, so it makes sense that the sign of his birth is light coming into the world, and the sign of his death is the light going out of the world. So good! I scriptures are full of stuff like that, I love it n_n

 

Anyway, I've gotta be going. You'd think one would be able to relax on p-day, but it's never the case. Alas! I can sleep when I'm dead, eh? :P

 

LOVE YOU BUNCHES!

Sister Nelson

 

(P.S. @Matt- I'm glad to hear your "sectionlings" are doing fantastic :P)

(P.S. @Craig- so how's the MTC? :D)

My dear family!

 

Yeah, *brick'd* is one of my favorite expressions. Kinda like when you tell a bad joke and people throw tomatoes at you, except it's bricks cos it's even worse of a joke or pun or whatever. That kind of expression works too, though. Haha! Also, it doesn't surprise me that Dad's been keeping closer track of how long it's been than you. (Blue stapler, anyone?) Out here whenever people ask me how long I've been out, I just tell them the length I've been in the field (so it's still about a month and a half). Date-wise it's been two months and a bit, but I don't wanna seem like I'm counting for more than that. Hehe :)

 

I compiled a list of things I wanted to share with Craig before he left so he can be more prepared than me ;) And I think the CCing thing should work, so hopefully it gets there ¯\[°_O]/¯ but anyway! 

• don't forget the importance of using people's names.
• bring pictures of your family, since lots of people will ask to see. try to find an especially good one of mom. :)
• always always always be honest.
• eventually, you'll get out into the field. sisters can always get away with this easier, but short thank-you notes are an AWESOME way to build ward trust. when the members trust you, they will let you teach their friends and the work will move forward twofold. (along with that, write neatly :)
• two really easy ways to start a conversation: the weather, and the dog.
• before you leave, make sure you print out a good list of jokes. (try to stay away from the you-had-to-be-there kinds.) they're fantastic icebreakers!
• if you are like me, and I daresay you are, you will quickly find you have a huge capacity to love people.
• There will come a time when you need a little extra strength. Here are some scriptures to help! D&C 38:7; 84:88; 25:3 (you'll have to change the pronoun in that one); 6:36; 24:8; 64:33; 68:6; Mark 9:23. (I got this list from Sister Elaine Dalton while I was in the MTC. Let it help you too :)
• laminate your Preach My Gospel. there's a place in the MTC to do it - ask around.
• get a pocket-notebook to write notes in. use this for all the little whispers of revelation you get throughout the day - for yourself, and for the people you're teaching. you'll find it changes how frequently you get answers to your prayers.

That's all I can think of there. Hope it helps! I still don't have an address to write you; emails are fine, but I'd like to send real letters while you're in the MTC (it goes by so fast! and you'll want a letter!!). 

 

The days are long and the weeks are short. They so are! It's been two months already? Crazy. We're going bowling with my district again today, so exciting :) the last time we did that I did fairly well, haha! I got a strike throwing it backwards, did I tell you about that? Good times. ^_^

 

For the record, we're still on the hunt for a bassoon- I'm not holding my breath. :P I don't think we'll find one, but that's okay. I can still sing.

 

It's been HOT here of late! So even more people are trying to go on last minute vacations to escape the heat. Part of me wishes I could go with them. (I'm melting!)

 

This week I kept reading in the war chapters in the Book of Mormon. I love how we can apply the groups of Lamanites and Nephites to ourselves, in all situations! For example, I read this morning about how Helaman divided his army and camped outside the city that the Lamanites had taken over while the other part hid in the wilderness. The Lamanites saw that there were only a few Nephites, so they thought that since there were a small number of them, they could run out and slay them all without losing the city. Yay. So the Lamanites come out and Helaman and his army take off, and the Lamanites chase them. But the 2nd part of Helaman's army come out of hiding and take over the city while everybody's "out to lunch", as it were. Helaman and his army get away and the Lamanites come back to find the city taken back, and they flee again. But I love that we can apply both sides to ourselves! Take Helaman and the Nephites. They could've attacked head-on and lost a lot of people, but they thought outside the box and thought about the weaknesses of the Lamanites on how to draw them out of the city so they could take it. But, if we look at ourselves in the position of the Lamanites, we need to remember that when we're in those places of strength and fortification, we have to keep ourselves well protected if we're going to go out and try to get something more that we want. There's so much strategy in this part of the BoM, I think it's so great that we can liken them to ourselves, as it were :)

 

Anyway! That's all I have time for today, familia! I love you bunches and I pray for you often :D Hugs from me, y'all are the best :3

 

LOVELOVELOVE,

Sister Nelson

Hello!!

 

Yay! I was wondering about the boundary stuff all this weekend. What'd they do with Woodridge? Dad mentioned them in his letter last week, and they were the only one I was wondering why they were going. <_< But I figured Oswego was gonna get ripped and frazzled a bit. Plainfield is probably enjoying that boost in numbers, eh? :)

 

Not much time left for the chemo now, at least. Hang in there! You're close to the finish line! The last time will be the last Friday in August, is that right? That's close to the end of my transfer here (the last day will be Sept. 9). I know it's not fun, but it will keep you better off in the long run. Rosemary could probably tell you that :) (tell her hi for me!) And eat lots of broccoli! Hehe. My companion has to go to a chiropractor for stuff, and we're trying one right now that does a lot of muscle testing; or rather, he listens to your muscles to determine what your body needs (emotional help, dietary stuff, etc.). He says I'm a high-estrogen type so I need to be good friends with broccoli and cauliflower and things like that or (surprise!) I'm at a higher risk for breast cancer. Weird, huh? Especially since he doesn't know about your situation. But yep, broccoli and I are going to be great friends. Haha! Although now that I think about it that may not help you o_o'' but um... nevermind. *brick'd*

 

I don't know about a bassoon still. I think there are some people looking, but I think we're trying to get our program set in stone as well as we can right now, so since we don't have a bassoon yet it's likely not going to be in. But that's okay, I have reeds for when the situation arises :)

 

So since I've come out here, I've discovered that everyone thinks we're Jehovah's Witnesses at first glance. Haha! So it's not uncommon to have people cross the street than talk to us. We try to say hello and be polite in every case. I've learned that sometimes, when you see the look of I-really-don't-wanna-talk-to-you, it's better to have a good conversation with them. It's pretty easy to tell when they're up for a conversation or not. It's still good to try to throw in the gospel in the conversation somewhere, even if it's just a little part of it.

 

Also, I just remembered, and I don't know if I ever told Dad, but getting a letter in the mail each week is awesome! I like emails too. If I had to pick one I wouldn't, cos it's nice to have something to read when you get online, but it's a nice perk to have something to read in the middle of the week, too. So, y'know. There's that. Also, I still don't have Craig's addresses.....!!! Also, it's a long shot, but if he ends up in zone 3, he'll have the same branch president and whatnot as me :D Teachers too. It's a shot in the dark since there's so many zones there (three districts per zone, four zones per floor, three floors per building, prolly 9 buildings to pick from... you can do the math). BUT, I thought I'd mention it.

 

I'm into the war chapters in Alma! Just started them this morning :D I decided that Moroni can be pretty fiesty, even in the first little bits of meeting him. I'm more impressed with the soldier in chapter 43, though - Moroni gives Zarahemnah an ultimatum, and Zarahemnah gets mad and charges at Moroni. But a soldier standing nearby parries swords, breaks Zarahemnah's sword at the hilt, and swipes off part of his scalp! Zarahemnah slinks off and the soldier proceeds to give a short speech to the Lamanites that they should throw down their weapons or be chopped to pieces like Zarahemnah's scalp. He saved many a Lamanite life that day, since a lot of them did surrender and go live with the people of Ammon. But just think of what would've happened if the soldier didn't have the courage to protect Moroni and do that! There would've been a lot of unneccessary bloodshed. And just like him, we all need to have that courage to jump in and do what we need to do to help someone out, whether it be sharing the gospel or just serving them. :D

 

Well, I've gotta hurry and finish up. I love you lots!! Best of luck to Craig while he finishes everything up, and Matt that he'll be home, forever alone :P hehe.

 

LOVE <3,

Sister Nelson