At Home - In Colorado

Well everyone... I am officially in COLORADO!!! I am so thrilled beyond belief! I am so glad to be back to this beautiful state, to these wonderful people!! So I will be brief in the beginning of my week so we can all get to the good stuff ;D 

On Monday we just did the normal P-Day stuff and honestly it is good that I am being brief because I don't have my old journal so I really don't know what we did! ha ha. We went emailing and my email still didn't work, we went shopping and I didn't really get anything because I was planning on leaving and then we played Ultimate Frisbee with the zone and that was fun! It was a nice, normal day. I also started calling around that day to figure out who was going to book my flight to Colorado. That is important!

Tuesday was good. We all wore matching bow shirts!! 

I called around some more and we had some lessons to go to that were awesome. It was a nice hot day, I remember that! ha ha. I also had to go to the church so I could write a letter to Mission Medical so they could approve me to go back, and the paper work that I had originally gotten from my GI that approved me to come out was lost or sent to the wrong place so I know that my mom spent the day do that (thanks mom!). That night we came in around 7pm and I packed up all of my stuff to go, assuming that I was going to leave the next day (The 20th!) because that is what I had been told.

Wednesday: We woke up that morning and there were no texts so we were all kind of discouraged and just went about the normal morning business. THEN at 7am we got a text from President Ware (the Kennewick Mission President) and he said that there was flight news!! Oh we were so excited we were bouncing off the walls! After we took some time to calm down we called him and he said that my flight was going to be Thursday morning at 9am!! AHHH!! We were just so thrilled! We all wore matching stripes and fun colored cardigans! ha ha. That day was full of appointments, service, and saying quick goodbyes to some sweet people in the ward. (I love you Pasco 4th!) 

That night it was really cool because President Ware came to our home to give me my flight information and we all knelt in prayer together. It is always a powerful experience to pray with the mission President. I love President Ware! That night we could hardly sleep we were still SO excited. 

Thursday (Now the really good stuff): BEST DAY EVER!! I woke up at about 5am and just laid there so dang excited! At 6:30 we all got up and got ready for the day, my parents would be at our apartment in one short hour!! Before we knew it I was in the car on the way to the airport, on the way to Colorado!! My mom is the sweetest and told some people I love to be there and it just made me ever happier! Who knew I could get any happier?! Julie, Peggy, Grandma (Missed you Lex) and my companions came! 

 

 

It was so great!! I got everything situated and then again, before I knew it I was on a plane to Seattle! We got there quickly and after an hour layover I was REALLY on my way to Colorado! That flight took a little longer, though quicker than driving ;) I got off the plane and totally knew what to do because I had done it all before! My mom would be impressed... I was impressed! I didn't look like a lost duck! ha ha. 

President Mendenhall and his wife were there to greet me! We gathered my luggage and got in the car, on the way to my new home. In the car I got some pretty crazy news... I unfortunately wasn't going to be companions with Sister Borup. :( I might have shed a tiny tear at that point. I was going to Parker and she was staying in downtown Denver for now. I am with two companions named Sisters Netherton and Saito. They are sweet girls, but not my Sister Borup! We got to the area, which is absolutely beautiful and took a picture (on President's phone) and were on our merry way. 

Sister Saito, Sister Netherton and Sister Nelson

We went to Walmart to grab some food for the rest of the week and then back to our apartment to unpack. Time went so quickly that it was already dinner time! We went to dinner, which went well, and then went and met the Bishop of the ward. He is a great man! Very missionary minded. It was a great first day back!!

Friday was a slower, but still busy day. During studies that morning I read the most perfect verse. (Thank goodness for the scriptures to comfort!) It is in Alma 22:4 "And Aaron said unto the king (because this king, King Lamoni's father, was asking where "his" missionary, Ammon was): Behold the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni." And I just really loved it because I changed some of it around to apply to me, "Behold the Spirit of the Lord has called [her] another way; [she] has gone to the land of [Parker] to teach the people of [Clarke Farms]. WOW! I would love to, more than a lot of things, be with Sister Borup. But I know that President Mendenhall receives revelations for each missionary he has. I know that I am supposed to be here in Parker with these companions at this time to learn and grow more than I could if things were different. 

I am grateful for the scriptures and the way they can be likened to ourselves as we desire that! I know that as you read the scriptures looking for direction or comfort Heavenly Father will do just that. It's like the quote that says, "If you want to talk to God, pray. If you want Him to talk to you, read the scriptures." It's true! The church is true!! 

That day we spent the time going through something called an area book. We had two of them because there used to be Elders and Sisters in the same ward, but they got taken somewhere else and now we have it all. It took a lot of time, but we finally got it done by 6pm! It is very organized and thorough though! :)

Saturday was a great day! We did studies and then we went out and had back-to-back lessons and appointments with people! It was crazy!! What is so fun about that is the fact that none of us really know the area and we don't have a GPS so we use this GINORMOUS map to help us get around. I bet when people look into our car and see us using this map that takes up half of the car they get a good laugh in, I know I do! ha ha. We will get it down eventually ;) 

Sunday was a great day as well! Church is always good, especially when the ward you go to has a million kids! I love when kids are talking and cooing and crying and laughing during church. I love kids and miss being able to hold them! It's such a tender mercy though, to hear that for the whole hour! I bet some people don't like it and can't focus... but I totally love it! We had appointments all day after church and had a meeting at night. It was all great! Great great great! :D 

I love Colorado so much! I love being back here and being able to be a full-time missionary! It is such a short opportunity that I have to do it so I will gladly take all of the struggles that come with it. I would much rather be here and learning than not here at all! :) I am grateful that it is still apart of the plan that Heavenly Father has for me. I love you all! I am so glad that all seems well in Tri-Cities! Let me know if I can do anything for you :)

Love no matter what,

Sister Nelson

PS My new address is:  17030 E Carlson Dr.  #1424

                                          Parker CO 80134

AND my email works again!! Another blessing!

mykalyn.nelson@myldsmail.net

Missionary Work = Awesome!

Matching Missionaries!

Well this past week has just been awesome! Missionary work is just the best thing ever!! My email still isn’t working so I am sorry. I don’t really know how to fix it… ha ha, but just know that I love and am thinking of every one of you! We’ll start at the beginning....

So on Monday it was P-Day (pretty much the best day ever) and Sisters Lewis, Hughes and I went to My Froyo, which they had never been, and they loved it! The idea of multiple frozen yogurt choices and tons of toppings! Man, they were talking about it all week and we’re going again next Monday! (Today :D) haha. After we ran all of our errands and cleaned we went to the church and we played ultimate Frisbee with our zone of Sisters and Elders! It was so fun!! It made me think of my dad and brothers and when they would play. They’d be proud because I actually caught it and threw it well a couple of times! I learned from the best, so what can I say?? ;) It was loads of fun! We came home and showered and made dinner, because on Mondays we make our own dinners, and I made Chicken Alfredo! It was super simple and really good. I like that we get one day to cook, that is something unique to this mission that Colorado doesn’t do. That night we went out and tracted the streets and that is always fun!

Tuesday was so cool! After studies, during our lunch hour we went to the church and Sister Hughes and I played the piano and Sister Lewis sang! It is so fun to play and to have made things up on the piano. Man, I just love that thing!! Then we went out for some lessons we had and had our dinner appointment cancel so we went home and decided to make some French toast. Soo as missionaries you just don’t have a lot of different spices (not that we ever really need them, just in this instant), so we didn’t have any cinnamon for the toast. We texted the Elders that we share Pasco 4^th ward with and asked if they might have any. They texted back and said, “We’re elders! Do you really think we would have cinnamon?!” So we laughed and then another text came in and they said, “But we do have cinnamon graham crackers…” We told them that that would be perfect! We went over and got them and then just scrapped off all of the sugar and cinnamon into a milk and egg mixture. 

There's more than one way to get spices!

They turned out SO good! Ha ha ha. We just thought we were the most clever people around! We’ve laughed about it all week! That night it was super cool because some new missionaries came in, fresh from the MTC, and we got to take them out tracting! They are so sweet but were really nervous, which is so understandable, but we just went head first! We talked to some pretty awesome people that night and saw a lot of miracles. I just love how Heavenly Father loves and care for us! He knows the desires of our hearts and has a perfect plan for everyone! I am so grateful to be a missionary!

Wednesday was awesome! We went over to this member’s home and spent 2+ hours weeding away those stinkin’ dandelions! It was hot but there was a slight breeze which was such a blessing! We had so much fun. Serving others is just the best! It makes them happy and you happy and Heavenly Father happy… what else could you want!? I love it. For dinner that night we went over to the Christensen’s home and guess what?? Their son is serving a mission in Canada and I totally know him! We used to work together at the Court Club! It was such a tender mercy to talk with her and feel ever closer to the ward members! They are a really sweet family. I got a picture to send to Justin when my email starts working again! Haha. It’s so funny because my companions always say, “Oh wow, what a small world!” Which in a lot of cases it is… but I AM from here… hahaha we laugh about it all the time! It sure is a unique situation. That night we did another cool thing! We went on something called ministering visits. This is where all the missionaries in the stake/zone gather together for one ward and we go out with a member of the ward and a member of the stake to visit those of the one ward. SO much missionary work happened when you split up 12 different companions and spread over one ward’s boundaries! It was awesome. We met the nicest family and taught them a lesson about Jesus Christ and what he can do for us! It was very tender. And such a great idea!!

Thursday we went to the church and watched Mormon Messages for some of the lessons we were having later that day and it was so funny! Sister Hughes picked out two and in each one she just bawled!! They are very sweet videos with a powerful message in each BUT she was out of control sobbing at some of them and Sister Lewis and I just laughed and laughed! We decided that she shouldn’t pick any more because they were just ones she wanted to watch that didn’t apply to any of our lessons and made her cry! For the next hour and a half she couldn’t stop crying, it was just the funniest thing! We went to 2^nd Harvest again for service and had quite the time. We usually sort through salvageable and un-salvageable food and today is was rotten onions! Fun fact: rotten onions smell like old old bananas. Ha ha. It was kind of gross but fun nonetheless! We came home and guess what?! There were flowers and a card at our door! The perks of serving in your home mission ;) They were from Julie! She is so sweet. We have had them as a center piece on our table and anyone who comes over always asks, “Are those REAL?!” They are gorgeous and uplifted my day! Thanks Julie!

Thanks Julie!

Friday was great too! Man, which day hasn’t been great though?? ;) We went to this meeting called the “Doctrine of Christ” where the mission president, his wife, and his assistants taught us more in depth about Christ’s Doctrine and what he taught when he set up his church on the Earth. It was great!! 

On our way to learn more about Jesus Christ!

After that we had some sisters over for lunch and just ate some really random stuff because the week is ending and the food is going. It was fun! I love them. I got my first letter in the mail too! Some HOW Alexis got my address and sent me a letter… It was so sweet and way exciting too! Ha ha. I love mail! That day was full of tracting and teaching and that night there was a storm and we just went to bed with the windows open and some piano music playing. It was awesome! We have been getting quite the bit of rain lately in the evenings, huh? I love it!!

On Saturday we had so many lessons and it was awesome! We just didn’t stop!! I love it. We all fishtailed each other’s hair too! Have I said before that I love having sisters? Because I sure do!! We had a sweet miracle that day. So we got this referral that said this certain house was interested in a bible and that we need to go and take them one. So we did! We got there and it turns out that they are already members but are requesting a Spanish bible. They go to the Spanish Ward and we found out that is starts at noon but the sacrament service is at 2 pm. So we asked if there was anything we could do for them and then left and told the Spanish missionaries that they needed to give them a Spanish bible. We went on our way and at the next appointment we met with a dad and two kids. We had already met the kids but came back when the dad was home so we could talk to him too. So he was home and was really interested in our message. He spoke broken English, but Spanish very well and wanted to come to church! And guess what? We knew what time it started! Such a small, but miraculous tender mercy. We also had ONE Spanish Book of Mormon in the car that we had been saving for someone that was genuinely interested and guess what again?? We were able to use it! Oh it was so cool!! I love how the Lord works. He seriously has a plan! That night we went to dinner and they made something called “Grand Canyons” They were interesting! It is rice, Fritos, hamburger meat and all kinds of taco-like toppings! It was good and we have heard about it so much that it was sweet to actually eat one! I don’t know if rice and Fritos go together, but it was a fun meal!

Sundays are pretty much the best day ever! We didn’t have meetings (So sweet!!) and went to church. It was great! In church we were asked to teach the first vision to the Young Women and so we started and the whole time I was trying to think of the first word to Joseph Smith’s vision and it just wasn’t coming to me. Then it was my turn and I knew that that was going to be my part so as I started it all of the sudden came! It was such a miracle. I recited it with no problem and am so grateful for the spirit that brings to our minds the things we are to say. It is just so neat because I have been praying that during lessons I would trust the Lord enough to open my mouth and know that it will be filled and that morning it was! For something so simple too. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful that he hears and answers my prayers and the desires of my heart. I love church too! And I am so grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith who had a question and went to God. I love being a missionary and I love Christ’s gospel! That night, you’ll be so surprised, we were fed Philippine food! It wasn’t my favorite, but I totally ate it! At least a couple of bites of it ;) That night we went to this lady’s home and it was so cool. Her mom is in the hospital dying and she had literally just prayed that the elder’s would come by to talk to her and then we knocked on her door! How sweet is that?? I seriously can’t say enough how grateful I am for prayer and Heavenly Father’s care! It has just been a sweet week of miracles. I hope all is well with you! And that my email will work next week ha ha.  Love you all!

Love no matter what,

-Sister Nelson

PS Happy 16^th Birthday Cameron!!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY AGAIN!

AHHH!! This week has been so good! I just love being a missionary again!! So, like before, let me give you the run-down of how it went. :)

Early Tuesday morning dad woke me up and said temporary goodbyes (until I see them all before I go to fly back to Colorado at the airport). A couple of hours later, I woke up, got ready, and got the rest of my belongings packed. Mom, Bubba and I got in the car and drove the incredibly long distance to Pasco ;) We live off of road 68 in some nice apartments but our area (Pasco 4^th ward) is all of downtown Pasco. Our ward boundaries are HUGE! So anyway, after being dropped off, me and the other sisters cried for about 15 minutes and I unpacked some of my stuff, then we just got to work! We went in to our little study room and did personal and companions study, it was awesome! I absolutely love these sisters.

Sister Lewis and Sister Hughes with Sister Nelson

 Sister Lewis is from Colorado and has been out for 8 months and Sister Hughes is from Arizona and has been out for 6 weeks! I love them both SO much. After we studied we went to 2^nd Harvest and did service. What better way to forget about my problems than to serve?! God’s timing is just impeccable. It was a good day! I was a little sad but was so happy that these sisters have so much work to do!

Wednesday was great! We had a Zone Conference (where missionaries in the stake get together and train each other) and I learned so much! I love studying the gospel and learning more every single minute! It is definitely something I missed from serving. After the 5 hour conference we drove over the great Blue Bridge to Kennewick because we had to do a mini exchange. I got kind of sad when we were at the Union Bldg, a couple of blocks from my house, but the sisters made sure to distract me! And were more than willing to hold me back when I wanted to just run home to tell my mom I love her ;) We went back to Pasco with Sister Cowley (who serves in my HOME ward!!) and just had a great time! We went out tracting and it was sweet. Sister Cowley speaks Spanish and we’re always running into Hispanic people and they don’t really seem interested.  BUT this time this man was.  Unfortunately, Sister Lewis and I only speak English so we couldn’t help him, but then Sister Cowley just starts spewing forth her incredible Spanish and it was just a miracle!! We were so grateful and he was so surprised! It is so neat to see how well Heavenly Father knows each one of His children and has perfect timing for everything!!

Thursday was good too! The Lord was testing me and what I had learned when I did counseling for stress and perfectionism.  We accidentally slept in to 7:15 and missed workout. BUT Sister Lewis got up and said, “Man, I hate when that happens!” And then moved on. So I just did the same! Haha. I am getting better. And I am so grateful for her example! It was kind of good that we slept in because I really hadn’t felt well. I had kind of had some bad stomach aches a couple of times Tuesday and Wednesday and have had some really not-so-good acid reflux - that is pretty new to me. It feels like I have thrown up in my throat but I really haven’t! So Sister Lewis suggested that I get a blessing and I thought it was a great idea! So we had some Elders give me a blessing and I felt better all day!! I just love that we have the priesthood power, the power of God. I love that it is dependent upon my faith too! It really strengthens my testimony. Oh my gosh the day just got better and better! Tracting is one of the best things EVER! I just LOVE to talk to everyone that we see and ask about their faith in Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon; where it came from and why it’s so important! It just makes me so dang happy!! Even if we get some mean people, I am still happy because I know that Jesus Christ is My Savior and the Book of Mormon is true!! 

We had the funniest experience this day when we were out, oh my heck, you are going to laugh so hard :D So we went up to this guy that was working on his car and we were just talking with him about what he believed in. It was nice. Then his brother-in-law came up to us and we started talking to him too. He had to be on something because he just wasn’t making any sense at all. He would say stuff like, “I just think that you can’t just say you believe something, you have to actually do, ya know?” and then we would say, “Yes! We agree 100%!!” and then he would say, “I am sorry we just can’t agree, that is just how I feel.” And we would say, “Well we are agreeing because we think you have to act about what you believe too!” and then he would say “Ya I am just so sorry.” And this just went on and on and we were seriously so confused. So we talked with the two of them for about 15 minutes then there was a lull in the conversation. Then the brother-in-law looked at Sister Hughes

Sweet Muffin/Cookies because there's no muffin tin

Sister Nelson serves in the church she was baptized in!

and said, “Girl, you pregnant?” and without hesitation Sister Hughes says, “Nope, just fat!” and Sister Lewis and I looked at each other and we just couldn’t believe that this guy would say something like that and then that Sister Hughes responded so fast and so we didn’t say anything! So THEN the guy was like, “Are you sure?” and proceeds to reach his hand out and touch her stomach!! Then she was like, “uhh yeah, please don’t touch me” And in what seemed like slow-motion he touched her stomach and then backed away!! Hahahahahaha Oh my gosh! What in the world?!?! 

Just so you know we just talked about how we’re 19/20 years old and aren’t married or have kids yet, how we are spending a year and a half serving the Lord. And he STILL asked her!! And TOUCHED her!!!! Oh my heavens! Hahahahaha. We have been laughing about it ever since! Sister Lewis and I decided that if it was us he asked we would have cried, thank goodness it was Sister Hughes; she is so funny and laid back! Oh my gosh I am laughing out loud just typing this!! Hahahaha. It was just a great day!

On Friday we got up on time and worked out. We got ready and Sister Lewis let me borrow a skirt. I just LOVE being a missionary because I have instant sisters that I love and we can all share clothes!! Haha 

We did a lot of tracting and found some really sweet people. A lot of families that say, “Yes, we’ve been wanting to go back to church for a while now, we just didn’t know where to go!” I love it. It is the best!! We had a lesson with our investigator named Carissa who was supposed to actually be getting married that day and baptized the next, though things fell through and it didn’t work out. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks they’ll be back on track! Unfortunately, as a missionary you just kind of have to prepare yourself for things to fall through. We were all kind of sad about it, but as the days have gone on, it has been incredible to see greater things come out of it that weren’t expected. Heavenly Father has really got a plan for each of us. I know that first hand.

Saturday was so sweet! We got up and went to the little gym they have at the complex and I ran!! I love running! (And I miss you Alexis, you better still be running!!)((Also, happy birthday this Friday!!! #20!!!!)  Running is the best! So I was just hyped up all day.  We had exchanges again so we got a new sister the night before and that is always fun! You learn a lot about yourselves and others when you live together.  Studies were great!! Oh my heck, all of you should get the book called “Believing Christ”.  It is seriously changing my whole world!! It just talks about the difference in believing IN Christ and literally believing Christ! I LOVE it. It is only 125 pages long, do it!! 

We had some lessons that day and did a lot of tracting, there are so many people outside and it is nice and warm!! For dinner that night we had a member have a pizza delivered because they had forgotten and were busy.  I am so glad we were at home because pizza absolutely rips up my stomach (acid!) So I had one slice and we were in for a couple of hours before we went and got Sister Hughes back. No more pizza!! Though we got some good studying in.  One thing I have learned it that it is OK to sit down for a minute. That I can’t give my ALL to the Lord if I am not well. So I have been working on accepting that.

Sundays are the best!! It was Fast Sunday so we just got up and ready and went to our meetings J Church was great! We had an incredible lesson on the Atonement that touched more on Heavenly Father and the sacrifices he went through to give us his Beloved Son and let Him die for us. I have grown a new appreciation for my Heavenly Father. He loves us all SO much that He let Christ suffer incredible sufferings and die. I am so grateful it is hard to express it in words!! I love being a full-time missionary again! I love all that I learn and how happy I am.  I miss all of you and I am sending love alllll the way from Pasco ;) Thank you for your love and prayers! I appreciate each and every one of you!!

Love no matter what,

SISTER Nelson

The Sisters

PS Sorry I didn’t get to email, my personal email is down so my sweet companion let me use hers so I could send my post! Hopefully next week!!

x

Blessings From Heaven

     As many of you may already know, I am going back on my mission!! I am so excited and overjoyed! Yesterday, April 3rd, I was once again set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It has felt like a long time in coming though came faster than expected, it's just plain unbelievable!! I have an interview with the mission president of the Kennewick WA Mission today and will most likely be placed in Pasco, WA tonight or tomorrow morning! I will live in Pasco with a set of sister missionaries and do all that I have done in Colorado until April 20th.  At that point, I will fly back to my heart in Denver Colorado!! As far as I know, I will be reunited with my beloved trainer, Sister Borup and I am SO ecstatic!! I am so very grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me the special opportunity to return and serve Him and my Savior, Jesus Christ.
     The past few months home have not been easy, though I know that without my Father in Heaven and my Savior,  I could not have done it. When I came home, I had plenty of doctor appointments and after two weeks I was scheduled for a endoscope. Two weeks after that, I got the results.  It showed a lot of inflammation from the top of my esophagus to through my small intestine, complete with irritation and pre-ulcers on the linings. I was put on medication to reduce stomach acid and also one to line my stomach with a protectant so I could eat. I also started some counseling sessions to help me understand and cope with subconscious stress. After about a month of doing all of that, I started to feel better.  On Wednesday, March 23rd, I had a 6 weeks follow up appointment with my GI.  I was approved to go back and start coming off some of the medications!! The following Friday I was given the news that I would return to my mission at the start of the next transfer and until then serve in the Kennewick Washington mission so I could get back into the routine and also see how my body will react!! I am so blessed and fortunate the have this unique opportunity again! I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior. And I love being a missionary!! I am so grateful to each one of you that supported and loved me while I was home. I can't express how comforting that was for me. I love you all and I will see you in 14 short months!!

Much Love, Sister Nelson