Thanksgiving (November 27, 2011)

Well...thanks for the package. Unfortunately I didn’t get the package until Saturday but it’s all good. I have eaten a lot of it and it is really tasty. Thanks so much. I think the other missionaries would really like to thank you for the bacon bits. They are almost gone. They make bacon sandwiches with bacon bits. So I think they would express their thanks.



Also whenever I go to people’s houses and show them pictures they always say mom is cute and looks really young so I figure mom would like to hear that.



Ya thanksgiving was good I guess...it was sad but good. We tried to find a service to do and couldn’t so we decided to donate blood. That was way fun. My companion almost fainted because he had never done it before. They only took 400 ml so it’s like nothing. It is the most you can give...I think in America you can give like 800 ml but I’m not sure.



Then we ate a lot of dinner. The package didn’t come so I made this stew stuff...it’s kind of like potato soup but obviously not as good. Elder Brown made this fried Chicken stuff. Then Elder Amussen made mashed potatoes and Elder Imaizumi made this fried beef stuff which was really good.



The sad part was we had a huge party planned in Ogaki with a big turkey but I guess there is nothing you can do.



The baseball activity was way fun. We are already planning the next one!!



Which reminds me...what do you do for mutual...my ward wants to start doing mutual every week but they don’t know what to do. I said we would come up with ideas to help them but I forgot what we did...I know we did mission prep and watched the Office at Brother Horsley’s but what can they do with a young men and young women with a total of 6 to 8 people with very little leader support and people live far away??? Any Suggestions?



We got some new investigators this week. One is really good. He is Brazilian and his wife is a member. In the lesson his wife keeps pushing him to get baptized and wants him to baptize their 4 year old daughter when she gets old enough. He also has interest in eternal families but feels obligated to his Catholic family. I think he has a lot of potential though.



We also teach one English class a week, so that’s fun but we got a new investigator from that. He believes in God and we taught him how to pray and he offered a great prayer. It was heartfelt. He is awesome and hopefully he will come to church next week...unfortunately we will be in a different ward next week, because we have to train their ward mission leader. I’m really excited because it is the Fuji ward. That will be really exciting to see all my old friends.



Some more interesting news is that President Stevenson is coming to visit our mission next week so we will have a zone conference. He is The Area President and was the Nagoya mission president before President Treveller so that is very exciting. I also get to go to Nagoya this week for zone leader training. So we have a pretty busy next couple of weeks.



I went on a companion exchange with Elder Adachi last week so that was way fun. It was cool to serve with him again. He’s a good missionary. I told him I’d come visit him in July or August and he said he’d come pick us up from the airport if he has a car. So that’s cool.



I bought a suit and it was half off...I was so excited...it is pretty cool but guess what the waist size is 32 inches. It actually fits pretty well though.

Yesterday we had a really good lesson in Sunday School. We talked about thankfulness and how we should be thankful for the Holy Ghost in our lives. We read this book and it was really touching (I actually ordered it) but it talked about all the different times when the spirit has touched people and gave them that peaceful feeling. As I heard that I thought how thankful I am for the Holy Ghost and how much it has helped me in my life, especially getting transferred to a new area with a companion that does not know the area at all. I have seemed to somehow be able to find the places we need to go magically. The funny thing is every time I think I got to a place really fast all by myself, the next time I get lost. But every time when we find the house quickly and I give thanks for the help of the Holy Ghost it is just as easy to find the next house. It is crazy how the Spirit works but I am so thankful to have its help in my life. It has been a blessing and I am really grateful for this gift. It is really a great gift from our Heavenly Father. And as long as we are standing in Holy Places we are entitled to it.



Love you all very much. Hope you had a special Thanksgiving and as we move into the Christmas season, Hope you feel that spirit in your life



Love

Elder Nelson