Baptism In A Bathtub

中秋节快乐！

Hello Everyone! 

I officially have 7 P-days left... Weird to think about! 

This week we saw many miracles! We had exchanges with our ZL's this week and poor Elder Prada wasn't ready for Chinese land haha. We mainly drive to parks to find Chinese people. We pulled up to one of our usual parks and BOOM! The park had turned into China! We were there for over an hour talking to different Chinese people. Almost all of them were interested and met with us the next day.

We met with a new family by the name of the Huang's. Great family looking for a church their son Jack is a little quiet, he is about my age. They were so confused about how we knew Chinese. They also came to our English class the following day.

About 1 hour after their lesson we taught a woman by the name of Maggie. She has been Christian for about 5 years and was baptized in China. However, had forgotten a lot so we started from square 0. She came to church on Sunday and loved it. She ended up in Primary the whole time because her daughter wouldn't let her leave but that's ok. She is reading and praying every day.

Last but not least we also met with a woman by the name of Joanna. Wow, she is a fireball. Her lesson was so amazing, we explained the importance of baptism and she stops me. She said, "I was baptized last week" . She proceeds to show us a video of her in a bathroom with about 8 Chinese people all singing and dancing. They filled up her bathtub and the pastor baptized her in the bathtub.... It was one of the oddest things I had seen. She asked after, "Is this serious enough?" We began to explain our churches way of doing it and the necessity of Authority. She goes, "Oh ok I am going to get baptized again. When can I get baptized"? She is looking great and we are excited for her and the progression she is making.

This week was 中秋节 (Mid-Autumn Festival). Which is a big holiday in China. Out here for us it just really made it hard to get appts, haha but oh well happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Work is going great and time is just teleporting at this point. 

Love ya guys!! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Just 2 Elders furthering the work!

Be Vewy Vewy Quiet

22 Months Later...

Hello everyone! 

This week was another miracle filled week! I hit my 22 months this week which hasn't really registered with me yet haha. I hope my Chinese can catch up to the time frame I have been out now haha. 

We met with some great people this week and saw many amazing things happen.

We have been going to great lengths to talk with everyone and let them know of the Restored Gospel. Therefore the Lord has blessed us immensely because of it. 

One person I would like to focus on goes by the name of Fiona, we found her on WeChat. She gave me a call and talked for a long time about how she has been arguing with her husband. She sighed and said, "I just want peace". We met with her and testified heavily of Christ's Atonement. She loved every part of it. I asked her a question: "Fiona who do you turn to when you want to find peace?" 

She said, " I usually call my friends and vent to them, but they don't fully know my situation". I said "Now just think that your Savior suffered ALL things, He knows ALL of your struggles, pains, sins, etc. We can turn to Him and He can heal us, He can change us, and repair us." The spirit was very strong, it hit right home. We invited her to baptism and she took a date with no hesitation. We are excited for her and her future progress.

We went to a retirement center this week and I made some good friends. I played Yahtzee with an elderly woman name Margret for 2 hours haha. I have never heard a more colorful mouth in my life, haha, she is a fireball who has grown up in New York her whole life. I took a picture with her and she was trying to "fake" kiss me on the cheek haha.

I love the work and I don't want it to end anytime soon. Love all of you!

Elder Nelson 孙长老

A huge cup of fruit, from a fruit cart that I have been trying to buy my whole mission. They finally decided to open another day than Sunday! Our HUGE English Class, 
Margaret trying to kiss me haha😆

Tag Pic: Huge Squid at this Chinese Market we go to

This week Ben met a woman named Matza who they have started giving the lessons to, so we are excited to hear more about her. 

The boys are in a trio which Ben says can be really scary and intimidating for the cute little Chinese women when they start walking up to them to go talk to them. They were out in the evening and noticed this Chinese woman walking with her mom. They started trying to catch up to them and they kept looking back almost wondering if the Elders were going to mug them, lol but they caught up to them and Ben quickly diffused the situation and put her at ease when he started speaking Chinese. I think all worry goes out the window and they all start wondering how this white kid knows their language so well. Her name was Ja Ching and Ben said she has the cutest little 4 yr, old girl. They tried to talk to her for a bit about the gospel, but the little girl doesn't know English yet so she just talked their ears off. LOL😁 They are hoping that they can meet with her again because she seemed interested. 

This week at church was in Ben's words...FANTASTIC which you always love to hear! They had brought a new investigator with them named Sissy. They also had all of their converts there in Gospel Principles. The teacher, Lily Jung asked, "What are your experiences since you have been baptized. What have you seen with the Holy Ghost and how you have come to know these things are true." Ben is looking around at all these people he has baptized and thinking, "WOW, I have been with you since day one, and you..." It was a really neat experience for him to be hearing them testify of the gospel and knowing he was able to be there since the beginning.  

Of course, he took a moment to talk about how close he is to coming home, yet he feels like he could stay out there forever. He is loving the work, he and Elder Crowther are doing great and getting along amazing and of course, Ben is always working on his Chinese, LOL😂  

Tale As Old As Time

Grind, Grind and Grind Some More...

Hello Everyone! 

This week was a bit more of a difficult one yet filled with many mighty miracles. I don't have a lot to talk about this week but I will give you a slight rundown.

This week our Stake put on the play "Beauty and the Beast". I was surprised at how good it was. They spent 1000's of dollars and it was really well done. It brought in 100's of non-members and we had tons of Chinese people who came. Many are now planning to meet with us this week to learn more about our church. 

We were paused (people who no longer want to meet with us) by about 90% of our teaching pool on Saturday which was not fun. I just started laughing because I was in disbelieve. However, we have been blessed with many new families who want to meet and learn more.

This was for sure our trial week but after trials come the miracles, if endured well. I love this Gospel and hope my mission never ends (Sorry Mom). Love all of you and I wish you all the best of weeks! 
Elder Nelson 孙长老

Elder Stokley, Ben, Elder Crowther

This week was a little difficult for the boys. As Ben said, they lost a bunch of prospects, which was hard for them when you are working so hard. But like he said, "when things are hard, God is about to give you something GREAT!"
The Beauty and Beast production that Ben spoke of was AMAZING! As he said in his recording, "they went hard in the paint"🤣 which I am guessing means ALL OUT. Lol
They pretty much transformed the gym into the castle and went all out on decorations. They were hoping to have a lot of non-members come but did not anticipate the amount that would show up. They planned for about 680 people and they ended up having over 1100 show up,😲and they had to turn away about 150. Just CRAZY. 
They were not allowed to proselyte but they were there to answer any questions people may have. The boys ended up having a few people interested and were able to set up some appointments. 
On Sunday Ben was able to teach a lady named Sissy. She is a painter by profession and a teacher. She was wondering if she was going to see her Father again so they met at her studio and taught her some of the lessons. 
The boys are doing well and getting along great! They love each other and their mission. One of their favorite things still is hearing other Asians talk smack about them in Chinese and then Ben and Elder Crowther will walk up and start speaking to them in their language. He says they ALWAYS look amazed and start apologizing for what they have said and then ask how they know Chinese. LOL 😆
Ben is loving to be back in Eastvale and his back is getting better and better. Like he said, "God still wants me out working". 
We had the opportunity to see Elder Willes come home. It was so nice to give the Elder a hug who has been such an influence on my son and who spent so much time with him.  We are so thankful for his service, not only to the Lord but to our son as well! 

What A Week

So it's Labor day... So I don't have access to a computer. 

Here is the update on a super busy week! First things first the companionships are Elder Crowther, Stolle and Me. Elder Stolle is Elder Crowthers trainee. He is a great kid with a large desire to do the work. Then it is Elder Lai and Johnson in there English/Chinese area.

We had a very busy first week back in Eastvale. 

We taught a new family! Their names are Rita and Ian and they have 2 kids. They messaged me on Wechat wanting to find a church. We set up a time that we could meet. They are great and have a large desire to come unto Christ. They took a date for baptism on 9/23!

We also were able to teach a less active family by the names of Hu's. They have 8 children and number 9 on the way... We taught the oldest 4 who are baptismal age. Great lesson and we played lots of fun games to keep them focused. It was such a great experience to see this family coming back to their Savior!

We were also able to visit with Shanon, she was so happy haha. I was so glad to see her and catch up with her! She plans to get her endowments out in October!!!

Overall it has been such a busy week, these are just a few of the things that are going on. I am a District Leader again and will probs finish my mission as one. So I have to give training every week now!

My back is getting better slowly. I have been stretching a lot and I am confident that I will be good by the time I go home. The Lord has blessed me and I am so glad to be back to work!

Love you guys

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Last Transfer

So much happening, so little time!

HELLO EVERYONE! 

So sorry, I have so little time to shoot out a few emails today. I will hit the major highlights of this week.

Transfers happened I am now going to Eastvale to finish my mission with Elder Crowther. Crazy how I started in the MTC with him and now we will finish together. We are excited about this transfer and the amazing miracles that are in store. 

I also said goodbye to everyone in Riverside and it was hard as it was my last one. Linda and Jean got teary-eyed and gave me a big hug before I left. They said thank you for all you have done for our family. I have some pictures of them, I think they will be baptized and I am so excited for them and the mighty growth they have made.

This is a new transfer filled with miracles to come. Luckily I am in a car now and can work 100% of the time now. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve! I said goodbye to Elder Willes who is heading home tomorrow. That was super weird since I have served with him almost my whole mission! Crazy how fast time goes by...

I love all of you so much, so sorry for the short email! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Ben, Elder Johnson and Elder Lai with some 

friends from Riverside 

Ben was able to give a little more of an update in an email he sent to the family. Here is what is said. 

Zing:

We met with Zing and had a great lesson! We reviewed the Word of Wisdom since that is what came up in his interview. He expressed how he was struggling with alcohol. He expressed how he had no desire to smoke anymore. He said that it was a miracle and I couldn't agree anymore! We are excited for him and we made some great goals to help him overcome his addictions that he is facing.

Linda and Shen:

We met with Linda and Shen and had a great lesson! We talked again about how God answers our prayers. Shen said he has such a large desire to know God is there, he explained how he is lacking faith and doesn't know what to do for it to grow. We read Alma 32 with him and he loved it, he said that he felt as though his seed was already sprouting! Linda testified that these things were true and that she knew God was there for her.

So this weekend we received transfer calls and were told all 3 of us are going to Eastvale! They are tripling us out and doubling in Elder Maxwell and his trainee. So I will be finishing my mission with Elder Crowther!!! We were so excited that was happening, we had been joking that this would never happen and BAM it happened! Elder Lai and Johnson are going to take over a Chinese/ English area.  So that is quite crazy and I am so excited to finally work again.

I just said goodbye to Elder Willes, that was super weird. I have been around him like my whole mission. So to see him go home kind of breaks my brain a little bit haha. He is a great guy and I am excited to see him again in the future.

Update on my back! I went to the physical therapist and he has gotten me on the come around! I am doing lots of stretches and am slowly VERY slowly getting better. He has me in a back brace when I walk around outside. But that is temporary for now. He is a great guy who really cares about my health I am very blessed for his help.

LOVE YOU GUYS

It has been really hard for me to be here in Utah knowing that my son is in pain with his back and I cannot be there to help. It is taking A LOT of trust and faith in the Lord to know that He can take care of my son. I know Ben is strong and can get through anything, it is just always a sad and hard lesson to learn when you suddenly realize that you are sometimes not in charge of your body and that you may or may not be able to do things like you use to. 

I love Ben's attitude about everything he is doing. I have always said that Ben is a happy kid and takes things in stride. This little bump in the road with his back is no exception. What a proud Momma I am to have a son with such a GREAT attitude! 😍

21 Months!

大家好! 

I cannot believe I am now at 21 months! It is weird to think how far I have come in my mission. It feels like I also have a long way to go. I have been very motivated to improve with the time I have left! 

Update on my back:

I got my MRI and it came back normal, which is a HUGE blessing. I will now be going into physical therapy and hope that I will be on the turn around from now on! I have felt a lot better with the medicine I am currently taking and I know the Lord wants me healthy again! 

This week was a little bit slower with all the medical craziness that has filled the week but still had some cool things happen.

First off is my trainer Elder Zeng came to visit me again. We went to get some Chinese food (obviously). It is so weird to go from training where I couldn't even talk to him at all to now speaking NO ENGLISH! I am so grateful for the Gift of tongues and the blessing to be able to learn this language. It was good to see an old friend again and great to catch up with him! 

Jean-one of our current investigators- made us lunch on Friday! She is super awesome and is progressing very fast. As we ate we answered all of her Book of Mormon reading questions! She has been working really hard to receive an answer to her prayers! 

We also met with Linda who has been reading very diligently too. We talked about the importance of Eternal families and helped make some goals for her to accomplish that. We hope that she will be baptized very soon.

Many more miracles on the way to come. We have been able to talk to a lot of Chinese people when I can get out. I accidentally contacted a couple yesterday and asked the wife if her husband was her son.... Awkward! He didn't like that too much. But he was maybe 4'3 and his wife was about a foot taller than him. It still ended up being a good contact, got to have a few of those on your mission haha.

Love all of you! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

Ben with his trainer and friend Elder Zeng

Jean made food for Ben, Elder Johnson, and 

Elder Lai...YUM!😋

We sent Ben a new recorder because his old one was stolen. He hesitated to even open the package with the possibility of him coming home was still being decided. But, GOOD NEWS....He's staying! He is so happy to be out there and continuing the work! 

This has been an incredible example of the Lord knows you and what you need. Benjamin was scheduled for an MRI that would take place 5 weeks from now and he went into the MP and expressed how the pain was just too much and to see what they could do about getting one sooner. There is a Mission Nurse who had taken Ben under her wing and called around looking for anywhere that would take Ben earlier. She eventually found a place, but it was an hour away. No worries, the Elders all hopped in the car and off they went. Ben received the MRI and actually was able to get the results 45 min later!😮 WOW! That never happens. They were able to get Ben the medicine he needed and schedule him with a Physical Therapist to help get him back on the road to recovery. What a blessing it has been to listen to his testimony grow of the power of FAITH and watching Miracles happen right before your eyes. 

My favorite thing to hear from Ben this week was even though he is discouraged about his back and health he has taken this rest time to improve his characters and practice his Chinese. It makes me so proud to hear him trying to take something that could be discouraging and turn into something positive. 

This week Ben also found out that one of his Best Friends, JD has Leukemia. Ben and JD have been friends since 9th grade and have a very close and special friendship. He is not a member of our faith but has been one of the most supportive people in his life and all throughout his mission. I can't wait for these 2 to be reunited when he returns and I have the opportunity to continue to watch their friendship. 💗

Ben and JD...Friends for life

Miracles are always better in Chinese

Hello everyone! 

It has been another fantastic week out here in the Riverside mission. As my title indicates we have seen many mighty miracles. The Lord knows of our situation and the difficulty of this language. He knows all of our needs and abundantly blesses us! 

 I would like to share some of the miracles from this week: 

1. Zing:

We met with Zing on Tuesday night. Some of our members invited him over for dinner and we shared a message with him after dinner! It was such a good lesson. We explained to our best ability how important baptism is and how it is his next step. Our member Jordan testified of how he will be there the whole way through all of it. Zing accepted a baptismal date for this Sunday coming up! We hope that his interview will go well and we can go through with that! I have been teaching him for quite some time now and we are just so excited for him! 

2. Linda and Shen

We had the opportunity of finally teaching Linda with her husband Shen. It was so great to teach them as a family. He is also very prepared and kept talking about how he needed to be praying and reading. He expressed his large desire to know if God was truly there. They committed to praying and reading as a family every day! We are so excited for them and the mighty progress they are making in such a short time.

3. Sunday:

We had Linda, Jean and Zing come to church which was great. It was quite a special Sunday. We had Brad Wilcox visit our ward and wowowow he is amazing. He is a professor at BYU and the author of " The Infinite Atonement". I have never met a more loving man! He walked in and said, "ELDERS, I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU!" He began hugging us and just thanking us over and over for what we do. He grabbed all of our investigators after 1st hour and just started mauling them haha. He said, "I am so glad you are here, please keep listening to these boys!" He is one of the most sincere people I have ever met. He talked in the 3rd hour on Grace and I would like to share a few of his thoughts here.

One of the major things that stuck out to me was "Instead of thinking Christ makes us the difference, we can think Christ is all the difference." Grace is given to us if we are willing to use it! I thought this to be so true. He said "Grace doesn't just get us to heaven but more so it makes us Heavenly". We must allow the Savior's grace to change us.

He taught so many amazing principles, I invite you to listen to his talk "His Grace is sufficient". 

Small update on my back. I am currently confined to a couch or bed which hasn't been too fun! I hope to have my MRI this week to see what is happening. Thank you for all the love and support that has been sent my way. I truly to feel it and angels around me.

LOVE ALL OF YOU! 

Elder Nelson 孙长老

My son in his email this week expressed this to me when I inquired about his back:

"I am still resting but when I feel half decent I will go out for about 15 mins and just about every time we find someone! The Lord provides miracles no matter what situation we are in!" 

What an example! What an AMAZING kid!

I am so proud of him and the way he is trying to do the BEST he can with the affliction he is going through.