Hiya

FAMILY! <3

No, I haven't heard from Matt. Very sad! </3 Oh well. There's always next week. That means I get two next week, right? ;D

Happy Easter! We'll be putting on another musical program. Sister Brown is spearheading that one too, haha. We don't have a dinner signed up, but that's okay cos even if we did it'd have to be way early. Holidays are nuts, and we have to be down in Chico at ~5, so we'd have to leave Paradise at 4:30. Too early for a holiday dinner, I suppose. We'll make do :)

Yay, warmer weather! Sister Hunt, whom we live with, was talking about how some of her asparagus is ready to be cut already! Life is so much different in California, I'm telling you! And strange, I thought almond honey would've been sweet. I wonder if they process it sometimes and add loads of sugar to it? Not that that's a great alternative, but I bet it'd be yummy. 

Good luck to both of you with your thankless jobs! I've heard some crazy things about the financial world of late, so I'm grateful that we're stable. It brings such a peace of mind! 

We had a great week! Although, we're pretty much devastated for Dottie- everything came to a head to which she needed to decide yes or no, and she's started to sway to no. Aah! HEARTBREAK! </3 but Sister Loveland and I are trying to have good spirits about it, and we think it has to do with timing. We know it will happen, and we're grateful for the fact that we've been able to teach her, but we know that someone else will be able to touch her heart and help her more than we can. We're keeping in contact with her for sure though, we feel like she could change her mind at any minute, so we're going to keep trying. 

Anyway, great things are happening! We had an experience this week when we tried to go see Toni, but she wasn't home. We started to walk back to our car and we saw a lady standing by the fence with a little cage (there was a mouse in it - giving it some sun or something? I don't know). So we started talking to her and she launched off on this thing about how she had always asked her preachers and things questions that nobody could answer. As missionaries, we're fearless and often get ourselves into stuff like this, so we asked what her questions were :) she talked about why God allows bad things to happen to good, innocent people, and where animals go after they die. We share with her Alma 14: 9-11 (pertaining to why God lets bad things happen), and then we were able to give her a Book of Mormon with a commitment to read Alma 40-41 (chapters about the resurrection and the after-life). Woohoo! We're going to go back and see her later this week :D and we are trying to get in contact with another person in Toni's area, so we're convinced we're going to convert the whole neighborhood. Haha! As the Lord wills it ^_^

I love it here :3

Thank you always for your letters! Also for all my friends out there who support me and send letters of encouragement - it makes a huge difference! I'm so thankful for your love and support and prayers for me. This work is AMAZING! It changes us, and if it doesn't, something's wrong. It's amazing to look back at how I've changed, even from two months ago - it's a subtle change, but the worst things about ourselves fall away as we align ourselves with Heavenly Father. It makes ALL the difference! In Relief Society yesterday, the lady teaching told a story (and I'm paraphrasing, so sorry if I mess up details!) about a boy who went out to the beach after the tide went out, and there were tons of sand-dollars there. He started to throw them back, one by one. A man walked by him and noticed, and he came and started to talk to him. "What are you doing? There are thousands of sand-dollars here, you won't be able to make a dent. What does it matter?" The boy threw back another one and said, "It mattered to that one." I LOVE THAT! That's our whole purpose, like in D&C 18:10, 15. Even if it's just one, it makes the world to that one! It's fabulous. That's what I've been discovering these last few weeks <3

I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks always for your love! I feel it, I definitely do! Stay great, stay safe!

LOVELOVELOVE,

Sister Nelson