October 21st,2013

Hello familia.  So I just have to tell you all that this week is sweet! was sweet. We saw so many miracles and we taught so many lessons! it was a big time jump. We set three new baptismal dates as well! all with a part member family! It was legit! And we also have a lot of really sweet people to teach! it has been so fun! The past few weeks have been hard! We havent had any baptismal dates and no one has wanted to listen to our message. We have been finding a ton and sometimes everyone we talk to throughout the whole day will say no. We wont get one single potential and we have had a lot of days like that. So it has been frustrating but  the cool part is that this last week was just so full of awesome stuff that i almost don't even really remember the hard weeks. All i know is that our efforts and faith have finally brought forth some fruit! So it was awesome to see that. I have noticed that a lot on my mission. We will have a lot of hard long weeks but then blessings will come and you don't even remember those weeks because you are too busy with miracles. you receive no witness till after the trail of your faith! Isn't that the truth. But the witness sure is worth the trial. And in the end you grow so much more because of it. It is really cool to be aware of that. To feel it and recognize it in myself and in my life that the lord is totally in control. He gives me the exact circumstances i need to grow and become better and lets me struggle and fight just long enough to learn what i need to and then he sends the blessings. Every time. It reminds me of Hollands quote from a mormon message. Some blessings come now some and some don't come until heaven but for those who embrace the gospel. they come. I know that that is true! you don't even realize your growing and being blessed until you look back and see where you were and go, what the, how did i get all the way up here?? that  is kinda the feeling that i have had the past day as we have reported all of our stuff for the week. it felt so good to report those dates after weeks of inviting and no one accepting! 

     SO I should tell you that we had a pretty cool experience this week. We were contacting in downtown arcata on a friday night. you wont fully understand it by me explaining it but it is nuts down there.  haven't talked to very many normal people. but there are always people there so that is where we go to get our contacts for the day. So anyways it was crazy because it was friday and everyone was at the bars and partying and there are lots of crazy homeless bums and hippies and it is just a melting pot of people. Its pretty much sodom. 

      But we were contacting and no one was interested. There is a central place in arcata called the plaza and it is  pretty dangerous so we stay away from it because that is where a lot of the bad stuff happens. but we ended up on a corner of the plaza and we looked at each other and elder rouse asked me if i wanted to go through the plaza just once haha. I was like sure lets go for it! So we walked in and along one side of the plaza is just tons of bars and we happened to be on that strip. Passing bar after bar and everyone outside them was drunk or drinking or smoking or homeless. But anyways we get to the end of the street and there was this big group of weirdos at the corner and we were about to intersect with them and it was really sketchy when in front of us a ways this kid walks up and says, Well what are two mormons walking around a bunch of bars for? We just laughed and shook his hand and he introduced himself as a member of the church. Obviously less active cause he was pretty drunk. But we talked with him for a bit and as we talked people were making jokes and laughing at us and stuff but then out of nowhere came these two other guys who introduced themselves as mormons as well! they were less drunk. One of them had a brother on a mission and was going to be moving down to LA in a few days to live with his other brother who was a member and had served a mission. He was less active. The other guy was a less active as well and he lived here in arcata. So here we are in this dump skechy place and out of the cracks come these members haha . I felt at that moment what jesus christ meant when he said, ye are the light of the world a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. At that moment i felt that we were the light in the dark for these three members that had fallen into forbidden paths and were lost. And when they saw our light  they came. So anyways we have appointments with two of the three cause one is moving. They all expressed desires to come back to church especially after i bore testimony about the atonement and that no one has done too much to come back.  and they really respected that we were brave enough to be walking around in the plaza. one of them wants us to come over for dinner so he can feed us and we gave out a book of mormon to him. 

    So that was a little scattered and my spellling is bad because my fingers are freezing. But that was a really cool experience. And it was really fun. 

      Well this is week six can you believe it? Another transfer has come to pass! it will be intersting to see what happens. 

      Welp, i dont have to much else to say. I love you! 

Love Elder Nelson