Dear family,
Well that was a crazy week! I am sure you are all just dying to hear from me and about what has been going on! Well okay, Ill tell you! So Here I am in Clearlake, in the Highlands Ward! It has actually been pretty sweet so far. My new companion is elder Farnsworth, and we are living in a four man pad!! I LOVE FOUR MAN PADS. it has only been a week but it is way more fun than being alone with your companion all the time. Especially if you your companion isn't the most social or fun person in the world. so it is really sweet to be able to come home and talk to two other missionaries all the time. The other two missionaries are Elder Skidmore and Elder Kunz. So yes I am living with Elder Kunz again! It is pretty funny because I get to see his companion go through all the same crap I did with him..I am very thankful to have the comaonion that I do now. Finally, I have a companion that I am not training or having to drag them along in thew work! He has been out a year and 5 months and was just recently a Zone Leader so he is a great missionary. We are total opposites in personality but that wont matter because we wont have any quarrels about the work or the people or about being obedient. So i am Really excited and it has been a great week!! I love it!
So i guess i shold tell you a little bit about Clearlake! It is so far so good. From what I know and have seen most of the people here are doing some kind of drug, meth is really big and of course so is Weed. Almost everyone has weed farms in their back yard. So as a result many people have no teeth and are homeless or very poor and essentially it is a giant trailer park!! that is the best description i can give you! It is very beautiful here though!! the city surrounds a lake and there are trees everywhere and big hills and mountains and there is an Inactive Volcano nearby that i believe we are hiking today... at least that was the plan, and yeah So its crazy, but of course there are good people as well! We have some good people to teach.
Oh and this sunday it was ward conference so Sister irwin from ukiah (stake young womens) came down and guess what she brought with her?? My groceries!!! YAY!! So she saved me a whole bunch of money!! I was very thankful for that!! I love that women!! If I had to choose another mother (which i would never choose another mother because why would you need another mother when you have the best mother already?) I would choose her! I love her so much!!
Another sweet thing about transfers was that I got to Stop by after transfers to say hello to Charlie And Selia From when i was in shiloh park in my first area!!! It was so good to see them!! They have been doing great and guess what!!! So I found out that the missionaries havent been doing a very good job with them, and they havent progressed to much BUT Selia did tell me that They are still saying family prayer Every night and she prays individually every night! And their two little boys are getting to be really good prayers!!! And she said it was because i taught them how to pray and taught them how it could bless their family and help them come closer together and have more peace and love!!! I wanted to cry!!! That made the whole transfer ordeal worth it. They are still praying together!! I was so happy! I remember when I was teaching them that they didnt have a lot of love or peace in their home and there was a lot of contention and I just felt so strongly that they needed prayer. Especially as a family! So since they lived across the street from us, i made sure that we went over as often as we could (usually right before we went in for the night) so that we could Have family prayer with them. And I am telling you that those prayers I had with that family were some of the most spiritual experiences I have had on my mission!! And when I got transfered They gave me a card saying thanks and such but one thing they said was "Thank you for teaching us the healing and bonding power of prayer." And here they are, six months later, still praying together!! Amazing. I cant really describe the feeling that I have as i recall those experiences, but it is very special. If i dont do anything else on my mission, it would have been worth it to come teach that family how to pray together. It has helped them SO much.
The address that you can send the mail to is
P.O. Box 1241
Clearlake, CA 95422
Oh and i almost forgot to tell you that we live basically right next to the church! It is less than a two minute walk from our apartment!! So that is very convenient!! I should also tell you that we are on bike and in a truck. We dont get a lot of miles so we have to bike some of the time!
Also Just so you know, we got a letter from the first presidency about a conference thing about missionary work that is going to be a "historic event" So I recommend that you tune in for that in june. I dont remember the date but they will probably announce all of the big changes in missionary work that i told you about a few months ago. Anyways, that is about it for me I am doing good I love my companions and my area and The ward is decent, we wont get fed very much, (not that i am complaining, I have lost 13 lbs hehe :) ) it is a small ward, but the members are good as far as i can tell. But alright I love you all and i look forward to hearing how graduation was and all that jazz! Love you!
Love, Elder nelson
