The Fortune Cookie Message That Actually Came True

Handwritten Letters will NEVER go out of style

We live in a day and age where technology makes everything so easily accessible and instant.  I love that I am able to receive a weekly email from Ben and to have him respond, even for a moment makes my heart leap. But I must admit, I turn into a giddy school girl when I open up the mail and I see a handwritten letter from him.
I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the smell of the paper, or sometimes his smell that comes through. It could be seeing HIS handwriting on those pages. I do know I see Ben. I can hear him in the words. It is indescribable the feeling of comfort those letters give to me. To know in his busy schedule he took the the time to sit down and share his words and thoughts makes me feel so cared about. 
It's weird to think that with such instant gratification in most things I genuinely miss the anomaly that handwritten letters have become. I truly hope that it doesn't disappear all together for what a sad day that would be. 

In this recent letter- Ben shares a funny story:
"Yesterday being Friday the 15th, we were eating at Panda before English class. The lady asked if I wanted to donate to Hurricane Harvey. At first I said no, but then felt bad and put a dollar in, Elder Crowther ended up putting no money in. I was giving him crap about not donating, just messing around. Then he opened his fortune cookie and it said something around the lines of "You will lend a hand to someone in need." I LOST IT! I was laughing so hard. So he went and put a dollar in and I said, "Watch...because you donated that dollar we will find 4 new people to teach tonight." 
We headed off to teach a recent convert lesson to our AWESOME member Annie. She has helped us so much. We taught her right before English class started. We then ended up teaching 4 new people...3 of her friends and her daughter! So that was awesome and it all started with a fortune cookie! 

Brothers From Other Mothers

I did not serve a mission, so I cannot speak from experience about the day to day, week to week and month to month emotional roller coaster I can only imagine serving can be at times. Where else can you go from feeling the spirit of the Lord so strong one moment to being spit on and yelled at the next and still have the strength and excitement to get up the next day and do it all over again?

That is why when Ben tells me funny stories of the Elders he has the opportunity to have met and hopefully become life long friends with, and shares great pics like the one below, it helps this Momma's ♥heart♥ to know he has them there to go through this journey with him.  

I am in AWE of these boys for being willing to sacrifice 2 years of their lives, giving up school, family, social life and sometimes girlfriends to go preach the Gospel and influence my son in ways only living a Mission Life can. 

I will forever be grateful to each of them! ♥♥♥   

A friendly game of Risk😏

"You 2 Are One In A Minion" package

I wanted to send these 2 Elders a BIG THANK YOU from us for helping and "loving" on my Ben while they are all out serving.

Sorry Guys...All We Have Is A BOM & Pics Of Jesus

More than just a Miracle!!

Well to start off this week I would like to talk about something that wasn't exactly a miracle!

Me and Elder Crowther got robbed on Tuesday which was supppppper cool! We came out to our car in the morning and we noticed that Elder Crowther's door was open. We look inside the car and it was torn to shreds. Little did he know missionaries are way poor and all we have is Book of Mormons and pictures of JESUS! 😁 However, he did nab my GPS, USB's and our gas cards! Then to make it even better he took our garage clicker. They proceeded to get in the garage and steal Elder Crowthers bike!!! Great way to start the week! However we endured our trials with patience and moved on!

This is when the miracle happened for the week. We have been meeting with our investigator by the name of Shanon for a very long time. I have mentioned her in some of my emails as she has progressed over the months. We have been meeting with her every single week since the start of May! We had already taught her everything and were trying to resolve her concerns about baptism.

She had informed me at the end of one her lessons recently that she will be heading to China soon and will get baptized when she gets back...

"Then the spirit smacked me and Elder Crowther upside the face and told us to say. You need to be baptized before you leave for China or you never will be." I couldn't deny the prompting so I told her what I was feeling and she shrugged it off a little and said, "I think I will be OK, but thank you." Then Elder Crowther said "I'm getting the same impression he is! You need to be baptized before you leave or you never will." Then it kind of hit her since both of us had said it. She thought for a moment and said, "I need to pray about it."

We left quite worried and hoped all would work out for Shanon.

So jumping to the most recent time we met with her, we followed up on her prayer and were in fact ready to counter her saying she didn't get an answer, but instead she was different. She asked what the process to be baptized was. We explained everything that needed to be done, then she said quote-"I can't get baptized this week but I can next week." I about lost my mind! I had been rejected by her more times than I can count. We both were so excited and frankly super surprised with her statement! Shanon is very excited for her baptism this week, maybe almost as excited as us! We know that was only God that could've changed her mind and we're so excited for her!!

Thank you for all the prayers. There are miracles if you truly look for them!

Pictures:

1. Picture with a stud.

2. Multi zone pictures! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Ben, Elder Crowther

Multi Zone Pic (Elder Gulbranson's face is my personal favorite 😉)

Ben talked a little more about their car being robbed and it is HILARIOUS when it is in his own words. Pretty much the same as the email that he sent out except adding in that being robbed was "SUPER DOPE"😠(insert sarcastic tone), and he was "SUPER PISSED"😡 but they felt like it was a test to see if it would affect their attitudes and all the good things that are taking place so they decided to not let it get them down. 

Ben's whole focus right now is on Shanon, who they have been working with FOREVER, and he is just so excited for her baptism this next Sunday! Woo Hoo!😁

Funny story of the week: "So I am helping one of the ladies at English class role play and all of a sudden she opens up her shirt and whips out her breast and starts feeding her baby in front of me. Kinda tripped me sideways. I was just talking to her and I was not ready for that. I kinda turned into a 5 yr old, so that was great!"😂😂

I ♥LOVED♥ putting this package together for him! 

I was DYING of laughter over that story! 

Me Worried? 😳 Why Would I Be Worried? 😳 Why.....

 

MOTHHHHER I GOT ROBBED

Hey mom! I got special permission to email you today because someone broke into our car and stole my GPS that you had just got me.... they also stole my sunglasses which sucked. 

I'm just letting you know if there is any way I could get a new GPS, it doesn't even have to be nice just enough to continue to do the work.

I'm super super sorry. I'm super sad someone stole all our stuff.

If you could get back to me in the next like 10 mins I can respond. After that I will have to respond on Monday! 
Love ya!! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

These are the moments your ♥heart♥ skips a beat. I am sitting at dinner with one of my good friends and fellow missionary Moms with my phone on silent, obviously (for manners purposes). We are heading out to leave and I look down to check my phone to see if maybe the kids have called and on the home screen the ONLY thing I see is that title from my son! 
MOTHHHHER I GOT ROBBED
Of course I PANIC!😨
I read the email only to see I am 3 hours late to email him back so I am devastated. I was a sigh of relief to know that it was just stuff and not him and Elder Crowther robbed at gun point or something like that. 
I feel bad for the set back that I am sure this has given them emotionally, but if I were to go off of past issues they have had to deal with, I would bet they are doing all they can to not let these difficult bumps in the road bring them down and hinder the work. 
Can't wait for Monday's email to get the details of what actually happened! 

When You Get Drop Kicked By The Spirit

Time is going wayyy fast...

Hi GUYS!!

This is going to be a nice short and sweet group email. 

Me and Elder Crowther are staying nice and busy.We have been running all over the place this week which is good!

I want to talk about Louise. She is one of our investigators from Taiwan who knows her stuff quite well. She read the whole Book of Mormon in like 3 weeks which is insane... We just met with her on Saturday and she said she knows it's the word of God. She is hoping to be baptized this Saturday!! We only have one more lesson to teach her and her interview, so keep her in your prayers!

I am almost at 10 months on the mission now which is still young but not. Time is going at a very very fast rate and it's freaking me out! When you stay busy you don't even know how fast time goes! 

My Chinese is doing quite well. Well, granted it is Chinese... But I can communicate with just about everyone now so that is awesome! We have been working a lot with our members more to find whose is prepared. We are hoping to meet with a few families so that will be very exciting!!

Hope you all have a great week!

Pics:

1. Pic right before we came to email.

2. Pic with me and Elder Gulbranson while we are emailing! Because I procrastinate on pictures! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Elder Crowther, Elder Gulbranson & Ben

This week Ben went into more detail about his teachings with Shanon. 

In Ben's words, "I have been teaching Shanon since I got to Eastvale, maybe even before that-ya since May. She knows literally EVERYTHING about the gospel-EVERYTHING! She has a son serving a mission in Boston right now and she 100% knows this church is true, but she is just scared to be baptized. We met with her and taught her the first lesson again and she knew EVERYTHING! So I asked her, Shanon do you know that Joseph Smith is a prophet? She says, "Well ya, of course!" Then we start going on this crazy train and start talking about baptism again. She says to us, "Guys, don't worry. I am going to China for a month. When I get back I will be baptized, I promise."  I think to myself, Oh that is only a month, so no problem. Then...I can't express this to you because it is impossible to express the spirit, I pretty much got gut punched by the spirit that said, "You need to tell her right now that she needs to be baptized before she leaves for China or she will never be baptized."  I have argued with her on her baptism a lot and I thought I do not want to say that. But I get another very distinct feeling again that if I don't tell her and she doesn't get baptized then it will be my fault not hers. So I tell her. I say it to her. She looks at me for a long time and says, "Hmm...Thank you Elder Nelson, I appreciate that. I will pray about that and get back to you." Then Elder Crowther jumps in and says, "No! I just got the same prompting as Elder Nelson at the same time. You need to be baptized before you go or I promise you may never get baptized." Now this is why it is so important that there are 2 of us. 
She sits there for a few minutes and her eyes start to tear up and I think, "Hey, we got through to her." She says to us, "Thank you guys. I really will pray about it and get back to you."
I love how Ben goes on to talk about how strong that prompting was from the spirit. He says he could not lie and that it was one of the strongest prompting he has had so far in the mission field and the fact that it came to both him and Elder Crowther at the same time is just a testament of how God speaks through the spirit. 

Annie is another investigator they have been teaching. She has been baptized, but she doesn't really know much. She has a huge desire and that is all Ben needs. He talks about Alma 32 saying that all someone needs is a desire and that is enough for him to help get her started. So they have been reteaching her and in Ben's words she is a "BEEAST!! (insert burly voice) She keeps inviting all her non-member friends to English class and church and then keeps inviting all of them to be baptized. 

Ben and Elder Crowther have stayed so busy lately teaching recent converts and they absolutely ♥LOVE♥ it! Hearing his excitement for all these people they are teaching and their progression makes my whole heart happy! 😊 

Luau BBQ-Elder Porazzo, Ben, 

Elder Crowther, Elder Gulbranson

Use Your Hands To Serve

My P-day is still on Monday, I promise.
Hey everyone!!!

So first off we couldn't email Monday because of Labor day. Then on Tuesday we had to go to another missionaries area for the whole day! So now I'm coming to you guys on a Wednesday.

However this week nothing too crazy has been happening. Crazy that you can actually have a normal week every now and then LOL.😊

I do want to talk about Louise, one of our super smart investigators. She has been pounding the Book of Mormon. We met with her on Saturday and she had read over 100 pages in such a small time frame. She said that she would be moving on the 21st.... so she asked what the process to be baptized is. We explained all that we need to teach and what needs to be done. She is now planning on being baptized on Saturday the 16th! 

We met again with her on Sunday since we need to teach her a lot. She read from like Alma 30 through the end of 3rd Nephi- In one day! That is a lot to read! She said she knows it's the word of God and will bless her!! We are very excited for her and expect great things from her!

Other than that, we are still working with many others. We have lots of people to work with and are staying very busy! 

Time goes fast when you are learning CHINESE!!

Elder Nelson 孙长老

 "My mom has been asking for Tag pics so... here you go" 😉

Service with the Jurupa Zone

I realize that when most people hold up a camera and say, "Smile everyone", that is what most people do and you can look happy. The difference between those quick fake smiles and the ones I see here on these kids, is that they look genuinely happy to be serving. You can see a glow in their faces and their countenances that shines through in these pictures. How grateful I am for these smiles and these valiant young men and young women to remind us that service to our fellow men really is the only way to bring "true" happiness.💗  

Whenever I see a letter from Ben it makes my ♥heart♥ leap for joy, but it is even better when it is one for my BIRTHDAY! 😁The sweetest words were said to me, tears were shed before I even started reading and many more when I was finished. One of my FAVORITE presents this year for sure! 

One of my FAVORITE things that Ben says at the end of every recording is:
"Don't worry Mom, I am loving the mission. Please keep in your prayers. You are all definitely in mine."
That's my boy! He knows I need the reassurance that he is OK and happy. And I LOVE that my kids can hear that he is praying for them everyday. 

Favorite Quote for the week: "Mom, my Chinese is doing AMAZING! I can pretty much communicate with anyone now. I mean obviously I can't talk about Donald Trump all day, but if it's anything church related, I definitely can!" 😂

I ♥ To See The Temple

We have been called to proselyte on the SUN!!

This week has been very busy and way WAYYYY too hot...

Just to give you an idea at least for this week, it will be 109° every single day! Today however we got lucky and its only 111!! So I'll keep you posted on how my heat stroke turns out! 😁

This week was very exciting and its finally settling in that I'm coming up on a year!! We got to go on our second Temple trip for the mission! I love getting to go as a missionary and feeling the Lords love for me. I will drop some sweet pics of me and Elder Crowther! 

Thursday: 

We got to go meet with Evangel our Recent Convert. She is so amazing and I ended up helping translate/ helping with paperwork. She took us out to McDonald's and she whipped out a ton of stuff she needed help with. So everyone was pretty much confused why 2 white guys were in the middle of McD's screaming out Chinese trying to file paperwork! It was pretty fun and we were glad to see her! 

Skipping to Saturday: 

We got to go and teach Louise. She is so amazing and has fallen in love with the Book of Mormon. We were planning on finishing teaching her the Plan of Salvation, then we asked her how her reading was going? She said "Very good. Can I share some scriptures with you?" We very quickly realized she had read from the start of 2 Nephi through half of Alma in like less than a week.😲 We were there for more than an hour while she shared all of her scriptures she had marked and loved and had questions about! Super excited to see how she continues. We are so grateful for her!

Sunday: 

We had our Chinese Sacrament meeting were everything is in Chinese. We had over 50 members there which was a new record. They are really hoping to make them a branch very very soon! We had 5 investigators come to church- Louise, Shanon, Julia, Jenny and Ada. 95% of our teaching pool is women lol! But it was a great experience! 

We then rushed out to a pizza shop to teach a lady by the name of Sunny. She demanded we speak English, but if she didn't understand we could use Chinese. We taught her how she can know God exists! She was very excited to read the Book of Mormon and ask God about it! 

Very exciting week full of our FAVORITE.... Asians!! 

我爱你们!!!!

Elder Nelson

Ben-Elder Crowther Redlands Temple Trip♥