Erin Nelson

Soy una misionera!!!‏

2011-09-24T13:40:00.000-04:00

WHAT A WEEK!!! Oh my goodness, I have had so many crazy experiences this week! I just tried sending pictures and didnt want to spend all sorts of time trying to get it to work so I am going to write my email and then if I have time I will put them in their.

First off, my drive to Xela... I was SO car sick! Imagine cottonwood canyon for four hours and you have our trip! It was fun to see the landscape but it was all I could do not to throw up the whole way:) We got to Presidents house and had some orientation stuff and then met our new companions. My companion is Hna Ramos. She is BEAUTIFUL! and so sweet. She doesnt know any english.... with the exception of the few words she has learned in the mission. She is my trainer for 12 weeks and has only been out for three months! She is great and a lot of the time we are figuring everything out together because she is still pretty new at everything too!

I am in an area called Las Flores. It is really pretty and we are by lots and lots of mountains. There are three areas in Las Flores and we are in Las Flores 1. There are two other companionships that live in our area and have to travel to their area. One set of elders and Hermanas. Thankfully there is a norte in both those companionships so if I am lost or dont understand something they are always willing to help!

Our area is pretty big... I am personally dying to know how many miles it is but none of us have maps. Truly I have no idea how anyone knows our area boundries but apparently Hna Ramos does. So the first night I was here, we went to go visit a family of members. They were so sweet and helped calm my nerves. I felt about the same as I did my first night in provo... ANXIOUS! The family relaxed my nerves and made me feel very welcome. The second day was an adventure to say the least. My friend who served here had told me the streets turned to rivers and I experienced first hand what that means. We got permission to go show the other companionships their area because Hna Ramos knows their area. Lets just say it is HUGE and I hadnt walked that much all at once in my life, up until that point anyway!!! It started raining almost immediately after we left and within about 30 minutes I was soaked! Remember that $60 jacket I bought to keep me dry... I think it must have a limit of how many gallons it can resist because by the time we got home, I was sopping wet from head to toe! We didnt wear rain boots either. It was an adventure to say the least and advil was my best friend that night:) The rain really isnt bad if you are prepared. I always bring my umbrella and jacket. Normally only my feet are wet if I dont wear my rainboots... unless we get poured on... then I am very wet!

MI CASA!!! (my house) is actually really big. We have a room with our clothes, a bed room, a study room, a dining room, and kitchen.... not to US standards by any means but it is a big apartment. Right before I got here they had an emergency move with my comp... the houses here are interesting. The way most of them work is there is a main door that opens up to five or six houses. The people with some money have actual doors to their specific house, but most of the people I have seen, just have a sheet. Aparently they were having some problems with other people that lived in the houses near the sisters so they moved them. No worries, our house is solo! We still have that main door, but we are the only ones that have a key to it. So far, I have felt completely safe and thankfully we live really close to members so if we need anything we can go there. Other features of my house... if I can I will send a picture, but our Kitchen consists of two electric burners and a fridge that is about the same as my small fridge at school. Our "laundry" and "sink" are in a sort of court yard. Our clean water is a bottle like the ones at dads shop. We go through it pretty fast because we are supposed to wash all fresh food in it. My comp doesnt really, but that is a clean thing I am not ready to give up. The water has been fine so far and I havent been sick at all. Hopefully it stays that way. At first, I could barely eat anything because I was so nervous! Thankfully we have a cute sister that makes us lunch every day. It is usually really good, and THANKFULLY my comp is a garbage desposal and will eat anything I cant. She is skinny as can be too so that is great! One day, the sister served me a mountain of beets. I tried to eat as much as I could but Hna Ramos had to finish the majority of it. Guess what? I ate a fresh tomato and HATED IT! haha I was sick the rest of the day and felt like I was going to throw up for like an hour. I think Hna Ramos told the sister I dont like tomatos so I can avoid them here on out. Thank heavens!

Second major adventure of my week... let me paint a picture. Imagine from the freeway to the front door of Davis' house. Now imagine the incline of Suncrest and you have the mountain I climbed two days ago... even the people who live here said it is a hard walk and they are used to walking everywhere!! We were going to do service for a non member family and lets just say we were walking from about 745 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon with the acception of 3 or so hours that we were doing our service project... cutting flowers. I have tried figuring out how many miles it was but they calculate everything different obviously and my companion doesnt understand how miles work. I might be over estimating but one of the sisters that came with us agreed with me... we walked about 10 miles!!! Missionaries with cars are SPOILED:) Just kidding, I know they walk too but seriously, six miles every day is a huge understatement for my mission. Our service was cutting flowers for this family. They grow them and sell them... we cut TONS! I will have all of you know I am overcoming MANY fears VERY quickly here in Las Flores.... ticks, spiders, other creepy crawly bugs, clean cooking environments and germs... you have NO idea:) The family made us lunch after we finished cutting flowers. You will all be glad to know that not a single hand was clean while prepping the food and I still ate it:) They were so sweet and made a delicious meal. They boiled all the food into a soup kind of thing... I might have struggled to eat it otherwise. They always serve us first and then if there is left over they eat. It was delicious and I was so humbled by the humility of these people. They dont have anything and they are some of the happiest people I have met. They sent us with a huge pile of flowers too which was so sweet of them.

Other funny things... I have seen two Michigan sweaters now! It was funny, the first time I saw one I asked the person where they got it... when he had no idea I realized the majority of the people here probably dont buy there clothes, they usually find them somewhere and I realized although these people were sporting my school colors, it wasn't significant to them at all.

It is much colder here than I imagined. Our house is usually about 65 degrees... a few things I have learned to be grateful for this week

insulation... keeps the house slightly warmer when you dont have a heater

electricity... maybe you all knew this but no electricity means no hot water here

water... no water means the toilet doesnt flush and the sinks dont work

rainboots... help me trap body heat

sweater and socks... for the first time in my life I sleep in a sweater and socks... shocking I know!

cars... we are so spoiled!

Anyway, truly it has been a great week. I am happy here and excited to get more involved in missionary work. It takes so long to walk places that often we only see like 3 people a day, but are gone all day long. We only really have one promising investigator right now, but I hope as I get the grasp of things I will be able to help find more investigators. We dont get to go to the temple open house unless we have 10 investigators... right now a difficult goal but hopefully we will be better!

I love you all and think about you lots! Hopefully I can get some pics sent!!!

Love, Hna Nelson

Last week, full of amazing experiences!!‏

2011-09-24T13:39:00.000-04:00

Hola mi familia!!!!

My last day in the CCM before I become a real missionary:) Very exciting and such a fun opportunity to be here! We said goodbye to about half of the people who are leaving to their missions. It was sad to say goodbye and I am a little worried about one of the sisters in our room who left today, but I know she can do it!! I have packed basically all my belongings and it is so SO nice not having to worry about weight this go around.

Fun week, I told you about the fleas last week and I cant remember if I told you about the cockroaches... in case you were wondering I have been dreaming about them and spiders crawling all over me, especially my face, in my soon to be bed... Well as we all know, I am not the most quiet person, and rarely do I share my opinions on anything:) but one day, one of the supervisors thought it would be funny to play joke on me. I told everyone I was terrified of the potential cockroaches and all of a sudden the supervisor calls my name while I am eating lunch and I look to my left and there is a COCKROACH!!!! ON THE TABLE!!! Zach and Karli, remember my reaction to the spider the night before my farewell... well this reaction was almost as good! He thought he was so funny and I could have beat him!!! EWWWW!!! Please start praying that I will be able to rid my apt of cockroaches if need be. I have promised everyone that I plan on buying a machete to kill them all... cockroaches beware!

Anyway so that was a fun part of the week. We were in a class this week and I am not sure what mission it was but I believe it was a mission in central america and they had on average 97 BAPTISMS A WEEK!! Crazy huh?? I have no idea what the average was for Zach or Karli but seriously, that is a ton!!! They also on average had over 1000 investigators!! A mission that was in the same city.... 34 baptisms and 400 investigators! Holy smokes! Shows what a little desire can do!

I played the CCM violin in church two sundays ago and today we played a childs prayer before the nortes left. It was really special and every time I play the violin I am sad I dont have one of my own. People have told me the instruments arent expensive down here, we will see. I definitely dont want it to be a focus in my mission but I have come to appreciate more than ever the talent heavenly father has blessed me with. The thoughts of continuing with music have even crossed my mind.... shocking I know!!

Anyway, now to the most exciting parts of my week! Something that I will always remember and is an experience I would have NEVER had without coming to the CCM. No missionary in the Prove MTC would ever have this experience! First, guess what... Hna Parker and I taught an inactive member of the church this past saturday. She is the sister of my teacher Hna Ayala (AMAZING TEACHER!!) She left on a mission and lasted like 4 months and came home and hasnt gone to church ever since. Our teacher wanted us to teach her and so we did. We talked about the atonement... shared a scripture in 3 Nefi 18:18-21 I think... she couldnt even finish reading because she was so emotional. I finished reading it, trying to emphasize what was important in spanish, and we continued. She got emotional again because the spirit was SO strong. It was so great and such an amazing experience. She was such a sweet girl and I am so grateful for that opportunity. We committed her to pray every day this week and to read her scriptures every day. She said she would and I hope and pray she does! We also committed her to go to church... she kept saying Voy a ver which means I am going to see.... guess what!!! She went to church!!!! My teacher Hna Ayala said this was a HUGE step for her. That she isnt emotional to the point of tears ever and that she got up to go to church. It was such a great experience and I cant wait to start experiencing that every day.

Second great news... RUDY!!! Oh my goodness! He is the perfect definition of a golden investigator. I told you we committed him to baptism and he agreed. Sadly he lives outside of mine and hna parkers missions so we wont be able to keep teaching... BUT! He is progressing so well and we have the number of the new missionaries to hand him off. This past weekend on Friday night, I gave Rudy the Liahona magazine. We had wanted to give it to him in our lesson, but for some reason he didnt come. We were planning on teaching him another time, but when he was at work that night and I saw him, I knew he needed the magazine then. We gave him the one with the conference addresses in it and in Rudy style.... he read the ENTIRE thing in like two days! He has also read more than 150 pages in the book of mormon. The best part of it all... we committted him to go to church and he WENT! Plus, his girlfriend went too AND we got to meet her yesterday. We told Rudy that we would be leaving Tuesday and we wanted to teach him one last time. So we worked it out that Hna Ayala would drive to his home to go to church with him, and to take his girlfriend. Then later she would bring them to the CCM so we could teach them one last lesson. They all came, all went to church, and we were able to teach a good lesson!

Of all the topics we could start with, with his girlfriend since we hadnt taught her yet... we started with the Law of Chastity. Horrible starting point I know but I KNOW she felt the spirit so strong. At the beginning I gave a quick review of the plan of salvation... which I LOVE!!! It is such an amazing point in our church... Families can be together FOREVER!!! So beautiful! Anyway, after that we moved into the law of chastity and how it was necessary to obtain eternal life with our families. Saturday, Hna Parker, Hna Ayala and I gave Rudy a bunch of things. Hard cover book of mormon and bible... a picture of the salt lake temple and guatemala city temple, and a different Liahona about the savior. We all wrote our testimonies on something and gave them to rudy.While we were teaching him he told us he wanted to go to the temple... he has hardly begun to learn about the church and already his desires are the temple!! So crazy!! His girlfriend also told us she has been seeking a religion, that she wants to be part of a religion. She has also read basically everything we have given to rudy. It was such a priceless special experience for me here and I am so grateful I had it!!

We leave tomorrow morning around 8. I am hoping we will spend the night in the mission home for some transition time... I think we will, but there are 15 of us going to my mission and the mission home might not be big enough. Anyway, it is about a four hour bus drive and I have heard we should be able to email when we get there. We will see! GREAT week for me! I hope you are all doing great!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I am almost a real missionary:)

Love, Hna Nelson

Will you still love me if i come home with fleas??

2011-08-30T00:41:00.000-04:00

Hola mi familia! Yup that is right, I have discovered it is absolutely certain I will get fleas on my mission! Who would have thought? Aparently most of the missionaries apts are fine but the members and investigators are not. To be honest, I am far more terrified about the spiders that will be sharing my bed with me next week... bring on the fleas if I can stay away from the spiders:)

This was a great and eventful week yet again! So first off, a great ´nobody understands my spanish´ moment. Last wed after I emailed we were supposed to teach Rudy. So as we were walking out, I asked my Mission Pres here how to ask if Rudy was here. He told me and I said the exact phrase to one of the other guards. They all acted like they understood me perfectly so I was pretty pleased... well next thing we knew the same guard was trying to let us out the back gate of the CCM thinking we wanted to leave the CCM. Maybe this doesnt sound funny, but trust me it was!! How in the world did they get we want to leave from me asking is Rudy here?? Who knows!! Thankfully one of our latina friends was with us and she explained what I really wanted. Sadly he wasnt there and there was a misunderstanding. But we all had a good laugh that the guard thought we wanted to leave the CCM... out the back instead of the front!

Thankfully I got to have a redeeming moment with my spanish. We got a surprise on Monday and learned that we would be going contacting. They had told us we wouldnt because they are trying to implement the MTC program here. Our pres thinks it is way too good of an opportunity not to so we got to go!! I got to experience for the first time their bus system:) Took me back to Michigan being stuffed on the bus to the point that you had absolutely no where to move... good old days:) The only difference is these buses are smaller and I think more people stuffed into a smaller space. It was pretty funny and I loved every minute! This time Hna Parker and I went by ourselves... and let me just say SUCCESS!!! We got eight addresses and phone numbers, gave out two book of mormons and like 14 pamphlets. It was so fun and I cant wait to do it for real. Here it is hard because we just hand them off to other missionaries and have no idea if they actually get contacted. One lady that Hna parker gave her BOM to was so sweet. She talked with us for 10 or so minutes and as we were getting ready to leave, she told hna parker to take her watch off because it was dangerous... mind you all this was in spanish!!! She was a really sweet lady and she seemed absolutely ready for the gospel! Hopefully they contact her! We had so much fun again and I am getting excited to leave the CCM and be a real missionary. 9 weeks is a long time to sit and do nothing all day but read, study, read, and eat... The first few days will be interesting but I know God will help me move along!

So along with the fleas, some other fun things I have learned I will probably experience. Many of the missionaries in central america only have water in the morning and at night... some of which have no idea when it will turn on so they just pray and hope it turns on when they need it. That is a step up from the missionaries that take showers with buckets:) Doesnt that sound fun?? I am so excited to share my adventures of this beautiful place!

So two other great stories from this week!

First Rudy... he didnt show when we scheduled an apt... we were pretty sad and were SO ready to teach him. But he did show up to the second one (our teacher is really good at the whole guilt trip thing... a skill every missionary learns I guess. I need to start working on it so that when I try to guilt trip I dont feel guilty) Anyway, he came and once again I hardly understood anything. I am telling you, he speaks different than everyone else I talk to! Anyway, long story short because time is running low, we challenged him to baptism and he accepted!!!!! I havent even left the CCM yet!! Anyway, we couldnt do a date with him because he needs to get married and I have learned that is the true issue here. Nobody is married! We are going to talk to him about that tomorrow and hopefully he is open. He started crying during the lesson after wed challenged him to baptism. It was such a neat experience. I also bore the strongest testimony yet about how he wont be tempted above what he can handle. For the first time ever, I threw spanish out the window and just started talking to him... in spanish of course but I didnt care if I didnt know a word. I just kept going and every time I needed a word I just asked my teacher. It was great and I pray and hope it touched his heart. Satan is definitely working on him and I pray he will have confidence that he can overcome!

Second... really awesome really fast!! Last night we had an AMAZING devotional. Our pres was telling us a story, reading from pgs of his missionary journal. He had some friends visiting and they had born their testimonies at the beginning. Then at one point while reading his journal, he asked the man to come up. There were these two amazing men standing next to each other, my pres began to cry and we learned that he converted his friend while on his mission. It was such a touching story and for the first time I didnt use the translation head phones. I didnt understand his friend, but it is amazing how the spirit can touch your heart even when you dont know the language. It was such a great experience and I am so glad I got to hear it before I leave.

I LEAVE!! OH MY GOODNESS! I leave Tuesday really early in the morning. I think I spend the first night in the mission home and then off to my area:) I am NERVOUS but I know I can do it and cant wait to start teaching the gospel!!! I have heard I will get to email one more time here before I leave. I think Monday afternoon or morning maybe. Anyway, In one week I will be an actual missionary!!!! It is going to be an adventure of a life time and I cant wait to share it with you! I hope everyone is doing well!! I miss you all and I am sad I missed Jordans setting apart as an Elder but I am SO SO excited for him! Everyone at the CCM knows it:) I love the CCM! My pres here and all the people, I am sad to leave but I know that I will fall in love with Xela too and that I will love the people I meet there. I have heard that my mission president is great! I am excited to meet him!! Keep me updated! Congrats meg on your job interview! Karli... where is that monthly pic you owe me?? :)

I LOVE YOU LOTS!!!! Talk to you soon!!

Love, Hna Nelson

Dos Semanas!!!

2011-08-28T13:46:00.001-04:00

Hi family!!!

Two weeks from yesterday and I will be a real missionary! HOLY SMOKES! I am getting a little anxious but cant wait!!! It will be an adventure!

This was an exciting week, full of fun events yet again. My comp and I got to escape the CCM again to go to the doctor to get her mole frozen off her back. While there we learned that the missionary who got attacked by a lion had to have his entire arm amputated. Apparently the doctor here looked over him for two surgeries and when the guatemala doctors started talking amputation they sent him to the states. He was at 18 months I believe, so almost done and now his life will be changed forever because of that decision! So sad huh?? Dont worry, I dont plan on getting too close to any lions while I am here in Guatemala.

Second! We taught Rudy!! The security guard! It was so amazing and let me just tell you, I DIDNT UNDERSTAND HARDLY ANYTHING HE SAID!!!! I understood everything my teacher and other latina missonary said, so everything I said was based off of their comments to him. He talks really fast and clips off the end of his words. It was great though because the spirit was so strong and it was amazing sharing my testimony to him in spanish and telling someone who doesnt know, that I know that God lives! So neat!! We were supposed to teach him on Saturday but we didnt because when he showed up, they needed him to work so he had to work. He supposed to come today too so hopefully he will show! He is amazing and we are really sad that we wont realistically be able to follow through with him. He has read from the book of mormon and read three pamphlets now! We are so excited but know, we will have to pass him off to missionaries in his area. His home is 45 minutes away from here so that would be better for him.

Other news, I was sick again on Saturday!! I slept for like 18 hours and I think I was more deeply asleep that day, than I have ever been in my life! It was nuts! I got up thinking we were going to teach Rudy, ate dinner and went to bed for another few hours, read my scriptures for a while and then went to bed for good. I had some really sharp pains in my stomach, but I got another blessing and I am fine now, with the exception of a head cold:) It is absolutely impossible to contain germs in this place! I dont feel sick which is great, so now I just need to be able to breathe and we will be good!! I think Heavenly Father is helping me get it out of my system here:) That is what I am banking on anyway!

I met an Hna that is going to Hna Parkers mission. She said that the previous week she walked 47 miles and that that was nothing compared to what she walks when she isnt in the city... 47 MILES!! Holy smokes... this whole 9 weeks sitting in a class and eating all day is going to an interesting adventure in two weeks:) So... those of you who feel inclined to send a package... please send a pedometer!! I cant wait to let you know how much I walk! I also heard today that the latins gain a lot of weight and that the nortes loose a lot... I am still banking on that, because gaining weight isnt an option!! I finally started telling the cooks más pequito!!! (less) I need to be able to walk in two weeks! Also, I could use more mints, who would of thought those would be so desireable. I am sure I can buy some here but if you have room, send me some! Also, make sure you send everything and anything to my mission at this point, or I might never see it!

So on a funny note, let me paint a picture for you. One of my comps came out of the bathroom and it wouldnt flush... clogged. Now imagine me talking to the man at the front desk trying to describe in spanish what the word for plunger is... it was SO funny and dont you worry, he got it after a few minutes:) That is my favorite part about my broken spanish, we all have a party when I start trying to explain things in spanish. All my comps enjoyed watching me think of words that would help him understand. Another funny note, there is an Elder here from Ohio! When I was sick, my companion accidentally asked him if he was from Michigan. You can imagine his response... DONT EVER say that again! I didnt witness it but it was so funny! Later I told him I went to U of M and he told me hed have to think about whether or not we could be friends. He hasnt talked to me when I have seen him so I think I got the answer:)

We listened to a MTC devotional from Elder Holland last night and it was so good! He made an amazing analogy between studying and tuning an instrument. Of course I loved it!! There was a musical number in the devotional and the cellist tuned right before performing. Elder Holland asked him why he didnt just do it in the morning and later led into this amazing idea that when we teach, we must tune up until the very last second so that we give the performance of a life time every single time. We need to perfect our teaching up until the last second and never stop tuning... aka teaching. I loved that so much!! It was a very powerful devotional and it helped me to see that the apostles and first presidency are behind me 100%. I think Sammy might have been there when he gave it... I am not positive, I cant remember when she left.

Speaking of which, mom will you get me her address so I can write her? I am not allowed to email her, so I need her address so I can start handwriting her letters. I cant wait to tell her about Guatemala adventures and hear about hers. Mom will you forward her emails to me when Toni sends them to you?

Sadly I am out of time, really truly, start praying that I get more time in the mission field!!

Anyway really great quote about the savior that I wanted to share: La razón porque Jesucristo fue perfecto es porque sabía quien era y porque estaba aquí... basically means the reason Christ was perfect is because he knew who he was and why he was here... it applies to all of us and I loved it! I LOVE spanis so uch! The scriptures are so much more simple in spanish and I cant wait until I understand them completely. Often times I will read a scripture in english and if it is confusing I will open my spanish scriptures and more often than not the scripture makes more sense. My teachers are amazin and so are the people here. I am learning a lot and have two weeks and counting before I am out in the real world. I love you all SO much and pray for you! Please update me! I love hearing about your days and everything that has happened. Until next week! I LOVE YOU!!

Love, Hna Nelson

HOLA!! 3 weeks to go in the CCM!!

2011-08-22T17:20:00.003-04:00

Hola mi familia! This has been a crazy eventful week!! So much to tell you and 30 min is just simply NOT enough time! I have heard rumors that we have more time in the field. I pray and hope so!

(the Enter button works this week!)

So one of the highlights this week was a package of letters and goodies from my ward in Michigan. It made me SO happy and I loved hearing from people. Congrats Chalsea and Jake, Dana and Barry... and all you others getting married soon!!! MIKE AND KATE!! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I called it:) Ok probably not really, but I am so happy for you! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP ME UPDATED MORE OFTEN!! I need to know the Hill Street happenings! The letters were such a happy surprise and blessing and they only took 8 days to get here! That was exciting! Mail and packages are always unexpected and a pleasant surprise. Hna Lawson, hna in my room, got some dr pepper from her mom this past week and almost started crying... it was priceless! She also got grahm crackers and frosting which was a great surprise and we all enjoyed it!

Guess what we had for lunch this past wed?? Cafe rio salads!! Guatemala style... unfortunately I was fasting so I didnt get to try but I was informed that they were really good!

Other exciting news... my comp and I have been called to be the Coordinating Sisters! (Similar to the assistants... Zach and Karli can explain I am sure) We are so excited about it and so excited to help the new sisters feel welcome and to serve our mission pres and wife. They are FANTASTIC! We love them so much and always enjoy our time with them!

Tomorrow, we are teaching a REAL investigator... in SPANISH! We are nervous but so excited! His name is Rudy, I think I told you about him last week, but he ended up having to work so we rescheduled. We just saw him and he is still planning on tomorrow so that is exciting! He is a security guard here and full of life. Hopefully our lesson will go well!!

Today we had an amazing day! We go to leave the prison as some call it:) I dont quite feel that way, but it could very quickly... we arent allowed to leave the walls of the CCM except for when we are going to the temple or our CRE teaching practice. Today they took us to the Mapa de Relieve... I think that is what it is in spanish. It is the first wonder of guatemala!! Cool huh? It was really neat and I LOVED it! Quetzaltenango is surrounded by volcanos which is pretty cool! There is one that is a water volcano that apparently if it goes off, all the surrounding ones will too... sounds fun huh? Oh and ps... did you know that Guatemala has tremors on a regular basis in their winter months?? We have felt a few since we have been here... not big at all, but the ground does shake. New experience!! So one of the members of the mission presidency here took us to the map and explained all the places scholars believe the book of mormon took place! That was SO neat and if we ever come here and go see it, we will HAVE to study and figure out the different places or take a member scholar with us because it was so interesting! After we went to the Relief Map we went to a mercado (market...) It was just like the ones in mexico but WAY more people stuffed into the area. It was a little nerve racking to be in public, stressing about people stealing money and stuff, but still fun. I bought some earrings and attempted to bargain... mom could have done a much better job. It is also difficult because we have to do the exchange in our minds from Quetzales to dollars. That is when I wish we carried phones... I miss my calculator... That was really fun and we got to see a food market too. They had EVERYTHING! Avecados, raw beef (you all know I loved that part) including the workers dealing with it WITHOUT gloves! That sure grossed me out, as you can imagine! I didnt buy too much but when I am getting ready to come home, I would love to go back to get souvenirs! After the mercado we went to a mall/museum... OH MY GOODNESS!!! Their mall is 100 times bigger than ours!! It was crazy and we definitely realized Guatemala City is VERY developed. They still have lots of poor people and poor living conditions in some areas but this mall was GIGANTIC! I dont remember if I told you but because of weight I had to ditch my shampoo and conditioner and today was the first chance I have had to buy more. You will all appreciate that Guatemala is already humbling me... maybe Megs will be the only one to appreciate but I have been using Head and Shoulders! Not that that is bad of course, just not my favorite pick:) So I got some stuff today and probably paid way too much for it since it was in the mall, but at least I have some of my own now, because the head and shoulders wasnt even mine! It was one of the sisters who left!

So because Hna Parker and I are the coordinating sisters, we had to move rooms. The CCM is in the shape of an L. One side is for the missionaries and the other is for members who come from far away to go to the temple. We moved into the members housing because there are too many sisters to stay in the CCM. There are 6 of us to the room and only one shower so that will be interesting... Hopefully we will be in two different groups so we dont have to get ready all at the same time. Things are good, the schedules here have been so crazy and that is why our emailing is a different day. To my knowledge we will email on Wed again next week but we really never know!

I hope you are all doing well! I miss you all and pray for you everyday! I leave the CCM three weeks from today and will be a real missionary! HOLY SMOKES!! I love you all so so much and cant wait to hear what everyone has been up do! Happy belated Birthday megs! Did you get my card?? I hope so, I wasnt sure if you are still in Utah or AZ but I sent it to Utah! I love you all! Talk to you next week!! I might be able to print off emails in the morning, so write me:) and hopefully I will be able to get on and print them off and write responses! PLEASE PUT YOUR MAILING ADDRESS!! Or I cant write a response! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Buenas Noches:)

Love, Hna Nelson

PS
This is Megan :) to anyone following this, if you would like something to be passed on to erin at any time.. just comment on a post and i will make sure she knows what you said :)

Semana Cinco :)

2011-08-04T11:21:00.002-04:00

Hola family!! Holy smokes it has been an eventful week!! it is a tiny temple! From the outside it looks really big actually but on the inside the rooms are pretty small. We did our session in english and will again this week but i think after that they will be in spanish. It is crazy and i cant wait to see how much i can get in spanish! There are so many people at the temple every day that it is open. Families with children of all ages!! Cute little boys in adorable suits and little girls in gorgeous winter coats. (yes they think its winter here... it is more like fall in Michigan) I love it though! We talked to a few real people (not CCM employees) and the older people are difficult to understand. they dont finish their words and have a pretty heave accent. I am sure it will come with time though... I have also learned that i will probably pick up on some Cetche while i am in Xila... you should see the BOM in Cetche, it is HUGE!
So! I was way sick on sunday! Something has been going around the CCM and everyone has been sick in some way or another! i had really bad aches and my comp was really nautious. I spent basically the entire day in bed and i havent done that in forever! It was nice though and i feel so much better now. while i was sick and half zonked i killed my first bug!! Zach and Karli imagine the reaction to the spider in judy's kitchen before my faerwell, combined with drugs in my system and you have the moment. It was a cockroach or something like it! First i threw my shoe, next i got up and tried to step on it but missed, and last i was screaming as i finally killed the thing! My comp was very entertained... i was also screaming the whole time and I'm in trouble!! The bugs are going to be HUGE in Xela compared to this one! oh well, i will just have to cope :)
We went contacting this past week and i LOVED it! Real people, real contacting, real missionary :) just to paint a picture.. it was pouring rain (the kind of rain in michigan when the drops aren't very big and yet you are still soaked!!) At one point i got sprayed by a passing car so the next time we came to a skinny sidewalk all three of us were running to avoid being hit by water, giggling all the way! Hna parker was in the back yelling, Oh my gosh! oh my gosh! It was so funny! Anyway, it was originally just going to be me and my comp but luckily a teacher ended up coming with us or we would have died! The teacher was great and told us to say hi to everyone and that is exactly what we did! i gave away my first BOM as a missionary!! His name was Jaime :) it was so awesome and my spanish was so great i couldnt believe it!! i told him what it was about and bore my testimony... all in spanish of course and he actually understood it! in the hour and a half we got 14 peoples addresses that want to meet with the missionaries later and gave away like 20 pamplets. One of the people we gave a Bom to was a maid who works in a house. Here they live with the family they are maids for so that was interesting and something i have never seen before. We talked to a bunch of security guards with their huge shotguns in their hands... that was fun! One man that was totally a golden contact too! His name is Abel, he is in Hna Parkers mission and said so many people had told him about their churches but nobody ever invited him and we did! So he is going this sunday and hopefully the missionaries will find him and start teaching his family. Hna Parker and i pray for him every day! Another fun experience contacting... we passed this woman trying to fix her car. something was wrong with the battery... our teacher Hna Morales went up to her and asked if she needed help. So Hna Morales moves some wires around and picks the battery up and sets it back down and tells them to start it! Of course since were missionaries, what do you think happened??? It started right away!! We walked away basically yelling... it was DIOS, DIOS!! (God!) It was so funny! Before this day i was starting to regret sending my blow dryer home and not getting a straightener. After this experience of what the life of a missionary is really like, I Quickly changed my mind :) You will get pictures of this great day eventually, but we arent allowed to send pics on the computer so i will have to wait until i am actually in the field. Ps Mom, you said i only had one more week here... I have three and a half!!! we are in provo for three and the CCM for six. Thankfully i love it here so six weeks is flying by! By the time we came back from contacting, my feet were stained black from my shoes and i truly understand what it means to be a missionary :)
Teaching here is so fun and i love it!! Yestereday i realized that Hna Parker and i have unity that is very unique, we have yet to see any other missionaries that can teach as unified as us. Yesterday we went to CRE (our pretend investigator that is a teacher here) and when we finally got in (she ALWAYS gives us trouble and i basically had to beg her to let us in by promising she would feel the spirit... funny!) and she said right off that she felt like god didnt love her because she had been fighting with her husband. We had planned to teach the plan of salvation and she said we had ten minutes, so i turned to Hna Parker... said ditch the lesson plan and moved forward on the fly! It was so fun and when Hna Parker didnt know where i was going with something, she just smiled (one of her greatest tools) We did so greay and it is amazing how much our spanish has improved! Teaching is my favorite part, but we do it so much that we never have time to reevaluate and figure out what we can do better! it is great though!
Last night was great, we had a fireside from a member of the second Quoram on the 70! It was great and unfortunately we had to use a translator. I can understand basically everything but i didnt want to miss anything! I learned last night that i can probably pick up more listening in spanish that english though... He is apparently really important in missionary work in Guatemala. You will have to look it up and let me know! I dont know what role he has played. I got my second letter today! This time my friend sent it through regular mail and it only took 2 weeks... I know that seems like a long time but mail is a coveted thing here and 2 weeks is fantastic! So i think the pouch is probably faster but i am not positive. If youi mail letters after next Wed make sure you send it to my mission home in Xela. Times up! Jordan, before you leave practice typing so you can type as fast as possible! 30 Min goes by so fast!! I am doing good and am loving my time here. i thank Heavenly Father for Hna parker every day! We laugh and giggle all the time and i love it!! i love you all and i will talk to you next week!!
love Hna Nelson

WEEK 2

2011-07-27T14:02:00.001-04:00

Sorry this one is out of order... but this is her second week in the MTC :)

Hola mi familia!!!

This week has FLOWN by! I thought the first few days felt like a few weeks, but this week has gone by so fast, and I bet the rest of the mission will seem like that... at least for the most part.

Thank you so much for all the letters and packages!! My roommates and companions now understand how much we like junk food in our family:) We have been enjoying treats and loving snacks to help us stay awake in classes! The letters are great too, so keep them coming! I know it seems ridiculous to write every day right now, BUT I leave the MTC in eight days and I will only really be able to hear from you once a week in emails, so I am going to enjoy daily letters while I can:) (hint hint) Also, PLEASE put dates on your letters! Dearelder doesn't print the dates on them and it is nice to know when you are writing them. Also, don't worry about sending them to my email as well. I get the letters here the same day or the day after, but don't check my email until Mondays so sometimes I check my email and it is all copies of letters I've already gotten.

Thank you to Grandma Della Mae for your note! Dad, will you make sure Grandma gets my email every week? I wanted so bad to make email lists before I left but time ran out!

Thank you SO much to Toni! She sent me chips and salsa from Chili's that I LOVED! My roommates and companions had a party that night because Hna Broadbent's (one of my companions... Hna Morgan is the other one) birthday is tomorrow and her roommates from school had sent her gormet cupcakes! We took some fun pictures and if I can get one of those SD adapter things that plug into a usb outlet, I will email them. I printed off some pictures and will put them in the mail to all of you today! We have a really great group of sisters going to Guatemala and a very fun district! (Zach or Dad, do you mind finding me one of those SD things and sending it before I leave? I think I remember Zach saying he had one...)

So I already have my travel plans!! We had the welcoming sister meeting yesterday since my first sunday was a fast sunday and next week we will have the leaving sisters meeting! I am already heading to Guatemala!! Who would have thought three weeks could go by so fast! I don't even know how to get around the MTC yet and rely completely on my companions! and we will leave before I even need to, so I am not too worried:) There are about 20 of us heading to the Guatemala MTC (they call it the CCM for future reference)all going to I think four of the five missions in Guatemala. We will all travel together on the 19th! We leave the MTC at about 4:30 pm and fly to Los Angeles. We have a three hour layover there and have a red eye flight to Guatemala. We should get in at 6:30am and I am fully expecting it to be a full day of missionary things:) We will probably go get our visas that day, but they don't waste time in missionary training centers! We will probably go straight to class!!!

Right now the gym AND temple are closed!! They are redoing the gym floor and the temple is closed for cleaning. So anything that we'd have in the gym is spread out (no gym time inside, all out side and YES I keep getting burnt! I need to put on my sunscreen but feel like I need to save it for Guatemala!.. all our devotionals are in classrooms and we can't even go use the exercise equipment like the eliptical since it is closed. Thank heavens we will be by the Guatemala City temple so we can hopefully go there!) Everybody acts like we should have all this extra time without going to the temple, but I still feel like we are running around all day trying to get everything done in time! I think it is because we are really striving to have exact obedience and doing everything like scheduling when we are supposed to. Also, since the gym is closed I don't get to experience the choir... so sad!!

Ok, my district! There are 11 of us! (There used to be 12, but my companion spoke portugues and moved to an advanced class) 6 of us are going to Quetzaltenango and 6 are going to New York South. The elders are so funny (sometimes immature) but have me laughing every day!

Kenzie Boshard is going to Portugal and is speaking portugues... we will leave the MTC the same day, I am not sure what time she flies out but we will probably not be at the airport together since she has much further to travel.

Pday last week was crazy!! Zach and Karli can appreciate the setting for laundry! You are sweating from the lack of air conditioning and heat of the dryers... you are surrounded by tons of people and there is a timer on the side of your computer counting down the seconds you have to finish! It is so intense!! You all know how much I hate combining my laundry and I was forced to combine whites and some colors... I was nervous the whole time that my garments would be blue!

(I just lost half my email.... gotta love those time limits!!)

Zach and Karli! Thank you so much for figuring out my kindle!! That was a huge relief! I would have cried if it was broken for good and not under warranty. THANK YOU! Also, Zach if you haven't already sent my ipod, will you put Dad's Marshall Mcdonald stuff on it? If you have, Dad could you send me copies of the cds if you still have them? Zach sent me a cd player so I'd be able to listen to them. If i didn't tell you, I do have a cord to charge them. Also, my roommates and companions loved the story of Harley going to the bathroom in your bed while you were asleep. It was our entertainment while enjoying chips and salsa and cupcakes! Don't let harley forget his favorite aunt:) Thank you for the pictures too! I told my companions I wanted to show them a picture of my nephew and then showed them harley... they loved it and told me my nephew is very hairy:) I haven't seen Karli's friend... maybe I will run in to her though. There are TONS of spanish teachers!!! Also, Karli mentioned in a letter how much she loved chocolate milk. One of the elders in our group (nickname el grade rojo... the big red, you will see who he is in the pictures and know why he has that nickname) anyway, he will down 4-6 8oz glasses of chocolate milk in the time it takes me to say my prayer over the food. He told me that at home he drinks a gallon EVERY DAY!! His poor mom! That is SO much milk!

Spanish is getting more difficult. We haven't quite passed my level from school but with all the new religious verbs and the old ones to review, I have a lot of practicing to do! I am having to study more diligently for sure!

Last night we had an amazing devotional! It was on finding joy in repentance and I LOVED it! We sang the hymn that has the same tune as go tell aunt rhody. It made me think of Helaman:) Anyway in the talk, the speaker said that William Tisdale who translated the bible invented the word repent. In the original hebrew version, the word was schub which means to turn to god and away from sin. Then in greek, the word is matanoi and it means a change of mind, fresh view of god, oneself and the world. the latin word (don't have that written down) means to feel regret... so with time, he told us that apostate christianity has turned repentance into a negative thing. I really enjoyed the talk and needed to hear it!!

This week we taught the first discussion in SPANISH! My companions are quite as advanced as I am in spanish so I really have to hold back when we are teaching. The first time I didn't do a good job and talked way to much so I am trying to let them do the talking. It is SO nice though because I am already getting to the point that I don't need to translate in my head, I just think in spanish if that makes sense.

Anyway, I have to run. Thank you all for your love and support! I LOVE YOU ALL! SO MUCH!!!

Talk to you soon:)

Love, Hermana NelsonHola mi familia!!!

This week has FLOWN by! I thought the first few days felt like a few weeks, but this week has gone by so fast, and I bet the rest of the mission will seem like that... at least for the most part.

Thank you to Grandma Della Mae for your note! Dad, will you make sure Grandma gets my email every week? I wanted so bad to make email lists before I left but time ran out!

(I just lost half my email.... gotta love those time limits!!)

Anyway, I have to run. Thank you all for your love and support! I LOVE YOU ALL! SO MUCH!!!

Talk to you soon:)

Love, Hermana Nelson

Semana Cuatro (week 4)

2011-07-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

Hola familia!!!

Figured out how to skip to the next line:) Complicated computers! This has been an AMAZING week! I LOVE the CCM, it is so much more like a home and the people are great! I love being around the natives and speaking spanish all the time! There is an Elder here from Michigan which is fun... He never came to the singles ward so i didnt know him before hand. We can listen to music here which is SO nice! I have missed it so much! I think I need more batteries for my speaker but thank heavens it is more like the US here than I was thinking

So just to summarize what it is like here:) there are men with guns at all the entrances. It is one building so we rarely go outside, beside gym in the morning. The gym here is WAY nicer than in provo, there are actually enough elipticals and we can get a real work out every day. The water is all bleached... have you every showered in bleach water? The first few days it wasnt bad but I think they recently refilled the bleach container because I smell like bleach:) Much better than nasty bugs though!! The mission pres and wife are fantastic! You will all (mostly all) appreciate that they have a dog named Jack Bauer:) That made my day when I found out! The mission pres and wife live in the CCM and their apartment is so nice! It is right accross from the sisters rooms. The sisters are on the 3rd floor, the elders are on the 2nd and the cafeteria is on the first. There is also apartments for people to stay in when they come to the Guatemala temple (I get to go today!!!) Right now it is the only temple in central america but by the end of the year there will be four and soon to be five which is AMAZING!

My comp is SO SO amazing! I love her to death and we are so similar! She is from rigby Id and full of life! We laugh and feel so similar about the gospel and it makes a big difference! The latinos are SO FUN! The latina sisters have so much spunk and personality, and I LOVE LOVE talking to them! Spanish is SO good, I feel very blessed that Heavenly Father is helping me pick up the language very quickly. Most of the teachers who have heard me speak said that I will get a latina companion in two weeks. The latinos are only here for three weeks, so they change every three weeks. I will be sad to say goodbye to Hna Parker but having a latina companion 24x7 will help so much with spanish! OH! Before I forget, if you go to guatemalaccm.com you will be able to see a picture we took yesterday of all the missionaries here. I think there are like 80 or so of us, which is crazy compared to the MTC.

Thank you grandma for your letter! It only took three days to get here on pouch! The mail is much quicker than I thought!! Which is exciting! The food here is so good... I will have you all know that I actually ate a sandwich with bologne on it... hopefully you can appreciate how big of a step that was for me. I still dont like tomatoes but I am getting better about not picking stuff out of my food. All the sisters keep making jokes about how we were supposed to lose weight here, not gain and trust me:) we are all gaining! I think it is mostly because we dont move all day. At the provo MTC our classes were in a different building than where we lived, and meals were also in a different place so we were walking all the time. This time my class is accross from our rooms basically and the only exercise we get is walking up and down the stairs to meals and the 30 minutes or so in the morning. I have learned I will be hiking a lot in Xela so I am not worried at all!

Last night was fun because we watched an MTC fireside from the Friday before we came into the mtc... it was david a bednar and I saw Kenzie and Damien and all the people from our MTC zone in the choir so that was fun. Some of the missionaries who have been here for 3 weeks were also in it which was fun to see. His talk was great and gave good advice on how to be a PMG missionary. I have already learned so much and cant wait to start teaching actual péople. We arent allowed to leave the ccm but in two weeks the pres and wife will take us to an outdoor market and we will get to place some books of mormon which will be fun because they dont speak english:) My comp and I taught in the CRE yesterday (it was called TRC in provo... zach and karli can explain) and our lesson was SO amazing! I am to the point that I dont really have to think when I am speaking in spanish, or translate in my head I guess. It will be great when I come home because when it comes time for me to say I am sorry for something... lo siento will come out which is the spanish equivilant! I cant wait to forget english:) It will be pretty easy here too! Anyway, I will have to respond in letters to your emails... I dont have time to read them and respond individually when we are on here. I have loved this week, today I have been pretty sick though. I took some medicine last night and I think it has made me sick to my stomach all day. Thank heavens it was pday though so I could rest! Anyway, I better go so I can read the now 6 emails I have from you:) I will try to hurry so I can respond if need be!

Oh! I found a violin at the CCM last night:) It was fun getting it out to play, mom email my mission home and if they say I can have it, please send it!!! If possible! If you buy a case, get one that has a shoulder strap... I wont be able to use a backpack one with my backpack. I am great and the place is amazing! I hope you are enjoying cali:)

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

I dont remember what they say but these are some scriptures I wrote down to share with you for some reason, the first is how it is the mans responsibility to be sealed:) D and C 132:2 and d and c 31:5-7

Until next week!! Love, Hna Nelson

Hola from Guatemala :)

2011-07-27T13:59:00.002-04:00

Erin sent this from the airport :)

Hola familia!! I am here!!! Just so you know their keyboards are slightly different so it is a bit difficult to type, so dont judge! Anyway, it is FABULOSO here!! We got back into security just fine and still had time to spare after we went in from security. I didnt sleep too much on the flight because I was in the isle and people kept bumping into my arms and waking me up, so I was really tired when we got here but got VERY excited once we got through customs and outside. It was really cloudy when we got here and helped me appreciate how much I miss Michigan:) Humidity and all! The weater is BEAUTIFUL! My perfect temp and sunshine!! They picked us up in a school bus from the airport. That was fun and dont worry! I have pics! We got here and were able to sleep. I showered because I felt SO gross. Then took a nap for a few hours. The CCM is FANTASTIC! I love it already. They werent kidding AT ALL when they said the food was good. I have now had the best green beans and carrots I have ever had in my life. They say it is disrespectful to the cook to leave food on your plate, so we eat everything and thank heaven it is so good! Our rooms are great... and our classroom is 10 times better than they were in provo! (Just so you know, I cant figure out how to start a new paragraph so that is why it is all in one big clump) Our desks are bigger, class rooms are bigger. The bedrooms are nice and our showers actually have hot water! I thought for sure my last warm shower was yesterday... Only four latina sisters came in today. We havent met them yet and unfortunately since there are so few, we dont get to be paired with them besides at meal times and during general meetings. So basically out of the 12 or so nortes (that is our nickname... north americans!) we have to share those four latina sisters. My new companions name is Hna Parker. She is from Rigby Id and it should be fun getting to know her! We played volleyball together at the MTC a lot and I am really glad to have her as my companion. Just quickly... my address here is (if there is a long space... that means the next line just so you know) CCM Guatemala Blv. Vista Hermosa 23-71 zona 15 Vista Hermosa 1 c.p. 01015 Guatemala, Guatemala Centro America I am told that we get pouch every two weeks or something like that so letters dont take too long to get here but maybe a while to get to you. Anyway, they are only giving us 15 minutes today. My pdays will be on wednesdays here and CELEBRATE! We get to go to the temple next wednesday! It is right accross from the CCM which is great!! I love you all! I love Guatemala already and cant wait to start learning more spanish and being able to testify in spanish. The amazing thing here is that our teachers are from guatemala so we will learn the spanish they speak!!! So excited! Have a great week! I will talk to you on Wednesday:) Love, Hna Nelson

WEEK 3 :)

2011-07-27T13:47:00.002-04:00

WEEK 3

I'm not sure where week two went... I'll figure it out and keep you posted :)

Hola family!!

Some missionaries suggested typing it in the journal on lds.org and then copying it and pasting it. yeah that doesn't work!!! haha I got it to work last week but it isn't working today. So I have now typed my email twice to have it not save and erase...

So I have to be quick because i have wasted time trying to figure it out.

Anyway! Good week!

CONGRATS ZACH AND KARLI!!

I saw GRANDMA in mom's letter so I ripped open Zach and Karli's letter and found out the great news. I have a few stipulations since you didn't follow my 9 month plan:) I expect monthly pics of Karli's tummy, weekly pics when the baby is born, and just so we are all clear... that baby is ALL MINE in December of 2012!!! Glad we are on the same page:)

I was writing in my journal later that night about finding out and without thinking I kept saying I was excited to meet him... so you know my prediction! I am going for boy!!!

This week was fun. We found out that our teacher Hna Sandoval from Columbia actually speaks english. The whole time we thought she only spoke spanish. I think some of the elders were a little sorry for things that they'd said thinking she didn't understand. Nothing mean, but maybe not the nicest! She served on temple square and has been working at the MTC for a year or two. She is so great and I love her as a teacher! We also got another teacher and he is AMAZING! We are very sad to only have two classes with him.

We are all excited to go to Guatemala. We did laundry first thing and have been packing since. Packing is stressful and i already have a big box full of clothes to send home. I have too many anyway and It will be nice to cut back a little... Hopefully I don't regret sending some of them!

We meet to leave around 4:30 from the MTC. I think we will probably get to the airport around 6 or so and get checked in. I bought a calling card to call everyone from the airport so it will be sometime between then. Our flight leaves at 8:15 i think... so if you don't hear from me before then, I will call you from Los angeles. I don't know zach and karli's numbers so I will have to get them from someone else!

I am excited to go but feeling anxious in the same way I did before here. I think the first few days will probably be the same and then time will start flying by. I can't wait to start teaching people!!! I am feeling impatient to start teaching actual investigators but I know I need to learn spanish first! I can basically say my prayers in spanish without even thinking about it, I can teach the majority of the first lesson, and have written two five minute talks!! Spanish is moving quick and I can't wait to learn more. Guatemala will be good because we will be completely immersed. That will be fun:)

Anyway, I have to run! CONGRATS zach and karli! I will talk to you all for a few minutes tomorrow at the airport!

I LOVE YOU!

love, Hna Nelson

finally updating again!!! :)

2011-07-27T13:42:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone, this is Megan :) I have been put on blog duty for the next year and a half, and i finally have it down i think :) Hermana Nelson is doing so great!!! Here are her past few E-Mails.

ENJOY :)

WEEK 1

Hola family!

OH MY GOODNESS! My time is already ticking down.

I am good! The MTC is so interesting! There isn't another place on earth like it except another MTC. Missionaries everywhere! My first day here was pretty good. The very first person I saw was Kenzie Boshard!! That was so SO nice and I loved seeing her! She was so excited and helped me feel at home right away. After I met my companion... her was Hna Battaglia. She speaks portugues so they moved her to an advance spanish class so now I am in a three some. Hna Broadbent is one of my comps she is from Boise ID and knows everyone here! Hna Morgan is my other one and she is from Alaska which is fun. There are three people here from michigan. Damien my sophomore roommate, my stake pres son and my friend andrew and then kenzie! I love seeing familiar faces. My dorm is fine! I had trouble falling asleep the first few nights and finally Hna Broadbent gave me some Melatonin and I fell right asleep. It was AMAZING! I have slept great since then!

The first two days were interesting. I had some serious panic moments like I've never had before thinking "what in the world am I doing here!!!? haha but now that I am settled and enjoying my companions everything is great. I am happy and so grateful to be here! Spanish is great for me! For my district not so much. For some reason we basically haven't had a teacher teacing us spanish. We had a sub the first two times and then the three other times the teacher has only spoken spanish to us. I can understand almost everything but my district has been freaking out! One of the elders had the look of death on his face and was like " you don't understand!!! We dont' speak spanish!!" it was so funny! The Elders in my district are HILARIOUS! They have me laughing all the time! There are twelve people i have met so far that are going to guatemala. six of us are going to my mission, but we will all go to the guatemala mtc together. Mom! Will you call the travel office and see if they have all my paperwork? The thing i was missing? I want to make sure they got it so I am not delayed at all in leaving. dearelder me to let me know. If you do it before 12pm I will get it the same day!

I met somebody who knows my mission pres and she said he is awesome so that is exciting. My branch presidency is nice but the pres is a little intimidating! His wife started Kneaders!! We are hoping they will bring us something one day:)

I have so much stuff! The others hnas only have two suit cases... I don't know how they did it! There is a scale right outside of my door so that is good.

Last night we had a fireside from Jenny Oaks Baker. It was nice! I sat next to an elder from hawaii who is also going to guatemala. It is amazing how many people are going there right now! The MTC isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. The food is fine, just as good as my cafeteria in michigan. The schedule is probably much more rigorous that in the actual field so maybe I will decide I don't like it after leaving.

It is so funny! I think of five thousand things to say and then we unexpectedly got on so I didn't have time to write down thoughts before hand. We are doing laundry right now. You all know how picky I am with my laundry!!! I had to put some colors in my whites and it felt horrible!! Hopefully I didn't just turn my garments blue. I have so many fun pics I want to send you but this computer doesn't have any sd drive! Zach! Is there a way to put my sd drive into a usb to plug it into the computer? Let me know!

Thank you so much for the packages! My roommates think I am spoiled! I got three the first two days!! Full of goodies! I feel like we eat SO much here! Not in quantity but so often!! We eat every few hours which I am not used to so I struggle to consume all my snacks so I am determined to take them to guatemala. Thank you so much for the packages!! They make me feel loved and I love hearing from you guys! My pdays are on mondays! if you email me here, send it early so I can print it off in the morning and read them, and then I will respond later. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!

Talk to you soon!

Love, Hermana Nelson

Amazing Blessings

2011-06-09T12:25:00.002-04:00

Well, I am here in Utah counting down the days until I leave for my mission in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. I have started getting a little nervous, but mostly because I am a bit of a control freak and struggle to feel at peace when it comes to the unknown. This week I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life that kicked my fear of the unknown out the door, and replaced it with enormous amounts of peace.

On Tuesday night, my little sister Megan and I were on our way up to Pocatello, Idaho to visit some family friends. We were at the turn off in Tremonton, Utah (a place I will remember forever) when I received a phone call from Bishop Tripp, the bishop of the ward I will be leaving from. He asked me if I was still planning on going. I jokingly told him that at the moment, yes, I was still planning on going. Bishop Tripp then told me he had some news for me. To be honest, I really had no idea what to expect. I thought perhaps he was going to tell me that I couldn't leave from that ward since I wasn't currently living in the area or something like that. His news was nothing but good news, and something that, for the first time in my memory, brought me immediately to tears that lasted the final hour and a half of our drive.

Bishop Tripp told me that a person (who wished to remain anonymous) dropped off a check to him that day to pay for my entire mission. My initial reaction was tears of joy and thankfullness, along with shock. I don't think I have ever been so greatful or humbled in my entire life. I had been stressing about the money for my mission. I knew my parents were going to take care of it, but again my control freak nature was coming in and I stressed about not actually being around to make sure it was getting paid. I even began considering pushing back my mission for six weeks, so I could make a bit more money at the hospital I work at. I hadn't seriously decided, but I was going to council with Bishop Tripp about the possibility of needing to push my departure date back. Now, not only have I received a very generous gift but I have also received a sure confirmation that my time to leave for Guatemala is June 29th.

I am not really sure what I have done in my life to receive this gift, but I am thankful beyond words. This gift has answered many prayers and has become the first of many blessings I know my family will receive through me serving a mission. This amazing ward has been so generous to me throughout my entire life, it was the ward I grew up in and will always be my family ward. Just thought I'd share this amazing experience with my family and friends, thank you for the love, prayers, and support you have always shown me!

21 days and counting:)

Quetzaltenango Guatemala!

2011-03-30T09:03:00.001-04:00

I FINALLY received my mission call! I am sure all of you have already heard, but I have been called to serve in the Quetzaltenango Guatemala mission! I leave June 29th! I will be in the Provo MTC for three weeks, and then will be in the Guatemala MTC for six weeks.

(Friends giving me various methods of pointing to Guatemala... my favorite is the gun from Alex)

Fun Facts About My Mission
(Mostly, other people have told me these facts...)

A temple is being built in Quetzaltenango and I think it will be dedicated at the end of the year.

There is already a temple in Guatemala City.

It is beautiful!

It is a Spanish speaking mission, but many native people speak Mayan languages.

The weather is the same year round.... BEAUTIFUL! Wendell J. Ashton described it as the "land of eternal spring".

I will be going to Guatemala during rainy season (June, July, and August)

No washer and dryer:)

Guatemala has some of the biggest spiders in the world. (Thanks Brother Elms)

It is acceptable for sister missionaries to wear colorful clothes... thank you for the change in dress standards for sister missionaries.

There is a lot of poverty among the people.

My Mission President in my papers will not actually be my Mission President.... he goes home while I am still in the Provo MTC.

Missionaries were first sent to Guatemala in the summer of 1947... it was then part of the Mexico mission.

Central America is the believed location of the posterity of Lehi in the Book of Mormon.

Xelaju is the traditional name for the city of Quetzaltenango.

As of 2001, there are 175,000 members in Guatemala, 4 missions, and 449 wards and branches.

There is just a few fun facts! I am SO very excited about my call. I had been stressing about the possibility of being disappointed in my call, I couldn't be happier about my assignment:)

I am so excited to see how the people of Guatemala live, to offer my love and support of those struggling from day to day, and to learn the Spanish language which I already love!

In other exciting news... I had my recital a few weeks ago! It went well, and I am so happy to almost be done with school! Thank you to everyone for your love and support for the last few weeks, it means so much to me!

Mission Call Guesses!!

2011-02-24T11:02:00.001-05:00

Hello friends and family who read my blog!! I posted this on my facebook page but I know a few of you don't have a facebook, so I thought I'd post it here! My papers were officially submitted on Sunday and I should have my call in the next month or so! SO exciting!!

Anyway, I created a google doc that people have access to... all you have to do is log onto it and edit it! Include your name, guess, reason for your guess, and your favorite treat (anybody who guesses correctly or closest will receive a treat on their doorstep) I did it this way so I can record peoples guesses!!

(again... have no idea how to make this a link, sorry you will have to copy and paste)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zSq-VgJVP0rijOSZLrY65ljuTFQqrApaBo_g0nhJ_7c/edit?hl=en

Guess away:)

Truth of A Fortune Cookie

2011-02-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

So, generally speaking I think fortune cookies are completely ridiculous. Seriously people, I would much rather tell you the qualities that I love about you, than have you be devastated because your most recent fortune cookie says you will live a life full of sadness.

My negative view of fortune cookies was changed briefly, when I opened a fortune cookie on Monday. It was Valentines Day, I had gone to institute and nobody was there! (AKA no free Pizza from Brother Elms) So, I had three options:
1. Quiznos
2. Panda Express
3. A healthy salad or sandwich from the cafe in Pierpont Commons

As it was Valentines Day (a day for eating unhealthy things such as candy) I decided to go for Panda Express. This was a surprising choice for me, I don't appreciate Panda nearly as much as I used to. This, likely because of over use in high school and my freshman year here at U of M. I got fried rice, orange chicken, and mandarin chicken. (if your mouth is watering... trust me, it wasn't that great) As I was checking out I almost forgot my fortune cookie! Thankfully the girl working called out to me, "Don't forget your fortune cookie!" I took it and the thought crossed my mind... I think my life would have gone on just fine without this fortune cookie.

Anyway, I finished my mediocre lunch while reading on my Kindle. (best reading device EVER) Then, as I was gathering my things to leave, I again almost forgot my fortune cookie. I glanced back at the table and there it was. I opened it, half expecting it to be some ridiculous comment about how I'd find love by the end of the week.

(No, this isn't the fortune cookie that changed my outlook on fortune cookies)

I opened my fortune cookie and here were it's words of wisdom:

Yes, it now resides in my journal

Now to some of you this may seem like any, ridiculous fortune cookie. For me it is very significant! I have told a few people, but not everyone! I am officially going to serve an LDS mission as soon as I graduate in May. My papers are done, and all I have left is my interview with the Stake President. This fortune cookie was a pleasant surprise, and very fitting since I had just had my interview with my Bishop the day before:) Not only was my fortune cookie a pleasant surprise, it was a much needed pick me up from a stressful day.

So, a few things I have learned this week...
1. Fortune Cookies might have some, occasional value
2. Never underestimate the probability of receiving valuable fortune cookie
3. Fortune Cookies have the potential to brighten a bad day
4. God works in very mysterious ways sometimes
5. Many people are VERY excited about me serving a mission and all of them hope I will serve where they served:)

Look forward to hearing about my mission call in a few weeks! (fingers crossed and prayers offered that it will come while my family is visiting for my senior recital!)

Dating Advice From An 8 Year Old

2011-01-31T19:05:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I am a nanny here in Michigan for Miran and Helaman Forsyth. Miran is a third year dental student. She has become a great friend and we LOVE talking about dating with each other. Helaman is eight and full of fun! He likes listening when Miran and I talk about dating:)

I have loved living with them for the last year and a half, and will miss them very much when the school year is through!! In the time that I have lived with Miran and Helaman, I have learned that Helaman is quite the advice giving boy. You ask him any type of dating question and he will always give you an honest, and generally accurate answer.

Last year, Helaman instructed my friend Bingyu that she needed to wear a red dress, red shoes, and a red shirt to get a man. Bingyu... have you purchased those yet??

A few months ago, Helaman told Miran that she needed to look for five things in a man. If a man has these five things, according to Helaman, he is ready to take your heart into his heart. This is deep stuff people!! He said that a man needed these five traits:
1. Sense of humor
2. Caring
3. Loving
4. Trust
5. Respect

When Miran asked if she could change the order, Helaman told her no. Apparently this is the order it was meant to be in:)

So, three or so weeks ago Miran and I asked Helaman how to get a kiss from a man. (Important to note that, in Helaman's mind, kissing and getting married are the same thing) So, without further ado... Helaman's 15 step "get a kiss" dating advice!!(Some of these required explaining... Helaman's explanations are almost as funny as the advice)

1. You have to learn his senses (explanation: what he likes! Smell, looks, and don't frown)

2. Never let him read the journal (I was writing all of this down in my journal and he was afraid somebody might read the wrest of my journal)

3. Never fall in love with another man after you fell in love with that man (Enough said!)

4. Never dress up wrong (explanation: crazy hair or a color he doesn't like)

5. Use wise choices [explanation: how you make your moves... and stuff (explanation: moves is how you talk in order or eat in order. His example was if there is lobster or chicken, eat the salad first)]

6. Don't feel embarrassed (explanation: when you are going to do all your moves)

7. **** Ladies! Prepare, this is my favorite and according to Helaman, the ABSOLUTE most important!****
DO NOT let another woman fall in love with your man, it will distract him from marrying you!

8. Do not wear long dresses (explanation: you might trip and that would ruin your date)

9. Do not make him mad (explanation: he will execute the date, meaning kill it)

10. Help him when he drops his stuff, he will like you if you help him

11. Do not wear long high heels (explanation: you could trip like the dress and make a mistake again)

12: Wear something fashionable [Helaman's idea of fashionable: short dress- to the knees, sparkles on the dress, and last... (imagine him staring at me while he thinks of one last thing to be fashionable) Don't wear glasses! Wear those things you put in your eyes (he meant my contacts)]

13. Don't burp (explanation: because Helaman burps a lot)

14. Don't have a wrinkled dress

15. Do it on a good day (explanation: on a day that you have no plans)

Living with Helaman brings laughter every day! Who would have thought an 8 year old could be so brilliant! With Valentines coming up, I hope all of you can take advantage of his dating advice:)

Get your scrapbook on!

2010-09-15T21:02:00.000-04:00

So, over the summer my mom was the camp director in her ward and one of the crafts we did was a scrapbook made out of a brown paper lunch sack! My mom got the idea from one of her friends and although it took FOREVER to assemble the individual packs for the girls, it ended up being a really fun project!

This is mine that I made... love the little cutouts of my family member's heads.

My family at Lagoon and Jordan's high school graduation!

There are pictures on both sides of the pull outs on the left... I think those are my favorite part of the whole book. You can make them as basic or elaborate as you want!

I love this picture of my youngest brother Beau. He looks so stinking cute... mischievous but still cute:)

Again, cut outs of heads to fit on the back!

I really loved doing this little book. It was so easy to make one of them and it is super cute and relatively inexpensive! You can make bunches of them and also make them to include more or less pictures... perhaps a future relief society activity could be spent making these!!

Since I was already going crazy with scrapbooking, I decided to continue on and use a kit my mom got me for Christmas that I haven't really even looked at. She got a really great deal on the kit and it comes with the book and plastic page covers, as well as TONS of accessories such as stickers and paper punch outs. It was fun and I realized two things about scrapbooking: 1- it actually doesn't take that long to create something pretty cute and 2- I think it is a more exciting way to keep a journal! For me seeing the picture brings back more memories than re-reading about something from the past. Here are some pics of my first attempts at an actual scrapbook!

So yes... there is my beginnings of scrapbooking. I can't decide if I like a lot of pictures on one page or just a few with fun and cute decorations. What do you think? I can't say my scrapbooking days will continue any time soon because school is crazy already!! But! Hopefully after graduation or something! (it is my last year!!) Does anyone have other ideas about cheap scrapbooking like the paper lunch bag idea? Those are the best kind!

Long time no chat!

2010-07-30T14:19:00.000-04:00

So, every year when I come home for the summer... my internet interaction is severely diminished because I work so much! I realize that by not checking my facebook or blog dashboards I can end up missing out on 10 recent wedding engagements, friends returning from missions, friends leaving on missions, and other surprising and exciting news that I am not yet at liberty to share... (you will find out soon enough) My summer has been good for all my friends who care:) I have for the most part been working about 60 hours a week and although my feet aren't too thrilled about it, my bank account appreciates the growing numbers.

Summer vacations thus far include cleaning crew in St George for Zach right after he purchased his first house... (photos will have to come later... I can't get them to download)

I also got to go to my heaven on earth Lake Powell with my friend Landon and his family.

This week will be the vacation many have been looking forward to! Carlsbad California! Now when introducing this as a vacation spot to a missionary serving in Utah, but from California he kind of laughed and said, "What in the world are you going to do in Carlsbad?" I am however, assured by my family that has been there that it is an amazing and relaxing vacation. I am very excited to be on the beach, in the sun soaking up some Vitamin D, with most of my favorite people:) (Those of you not coming, I do love you too!) I will have to do a picture blog or something when I get back.

I am hoping to go to Disneyland while we are there, BUT did you know that a ticket is $97!!! That is INSANE!!! Way expensive but I guess worth it since clearly people are paying it! Other than that, nothing exciting is happening in my life. I will going back to Michigan in a few short weeks and although the start of the school year is a bit stressful with Orchestra auditions I am very excited to come back for my last and final year of school! For now anyway...

Hope all is well with my friends and family I haven't seen for a while!!!

Love, Erin Nelson cna,stbbma

(my credentials as of now... stands for certified nurses aid, soon to be bachelor in musical arts thought you'd all appreciate my official title)

I Got Candy!!

2010-02-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

Well my friends! It's official! It is the beginning of Lent... Ash Wednesday! The day I give up all sweets, candies, chocolate... all the above (including juice) for forty days!! This was a fun, interesting holiday that I knew nothing about until I came to Michigan! Oh and I guess technically it is like forty-six days because I think they don't include Sunday or something like that. The morning of Easter I will allow myself candy... lets see how I do!!

Now some updates on my life...

Yesterday, February 16th, 2010, I received my first speeding ticket! The police officer was very nice and only wrote it over for 5mph instead of the actual 21mph... I know:) I thought wow he really saved me a bunch of money! Unfortunately no... the ticket is $120. Had he of written it for 21mph the price doesn't increase all the much. I am sure the points do though so I am grateful! In Utah you can do driving school instead of paying or to have the points taken off your record. Anyone know if you can do this in Michigan??

This semester is going well. I am back to playing my viola again (JOY TO THE WORLD!) This is very exciting since it has now been four months since I injured my hands. The problem has said to be linked to arthritis, tendinitis, and a possible stress fracture... we never really pinpointed which it was, but my pain was gone and that is all that matter. I had a busy playing week this week playing in church and a lesson with orchestra on Monday so my hands aren't feeling their best (typing isn't really recommended either actually) right now, but I know Heavenly Father will prepare a way for me to finish school on time!!

Helaman says I look angry... he is totally right!! Maybe this is why I have very few other action shots of me and my viola?? People are too scared to take a picture? So I thought I'd add a happy (old, and totally posed) picture of me and my viola from when I was like 13 or 14... ahh so young:)

Spring break is in t minus 9 DAYS!!! YEAH!!! I get to come home thanks to my Dad's skymiles (thank you!) without them and with my recent ticket... paying for a ticket home would have been impossible!! I am going to hang with the fam and RELAX!!! It will be much needed break/recoup to finish out my JUNIOR YEAR of college! COMPLETELY CRAZY! Only one year left and I will be Bachelor of Viola Performance Erin:) nice title right?

I am taking spanish and my upper level theory this semester. I LOVE spanish:) I really enjoy speaking it and learning how to speak it properly. Our recent learning include the imperfect tense that I don't completely understand the point of... any suggestions? My theory class is good... a little boring but we are learning about atonal music (which I love) so that is fun!

Well, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Happy snow day to my Michigander friends, Happy Valentines Day, Happy Presidents Day, and Happy Lent:)

Con Amor (my new favorite phrase in spanish! So much more exciting than the english version...with love=LAME!)

Microwave Safe and Hypocritical People for a Happy Thanksgiving:)

2009-12-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

First off I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! Mine was amazing in Arizona! I wore shorts... yes shorts! on Thanksgiving and I LOVED it to say the least! Here in Michigan it is in the 20s pretty regularly now, so 80 on Thanksgiving Day was awesome! My family had a nice dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's house and then we went to see the Blind Side. (which was AMAZING! seriously best movie I have seen in a long time!) Thanksgiving was followed by the wedding of my cousin Lindsay and everything turned out great! Notice also beautiful sunset behind my family! (plus Karli):) I was so excited to be in shorts and the warmth that I didn't even notice the sun was shining its last rays of sunshine that day. So amazing!! Beau kind of looks like a mouse but still very cute picture I think:)

So... I have been wanting to write this blog for a while now. I have been puting it off because I have injured my hands pretty badly and typing for extended periods is really painful, but my hands were feeling ok today so I decided I'd just hurry and get it done! The initial idea came from hot chocolate. I got home late one night, and wanted to enjoy a delicious cup of hot chocolate. So, I poured a glass of milk and stuck it in the microwave and prepared the chocolate powder to make my delicious drink. After one minute, the milk was the perfect temperature and I was ready for a sip. To my dismay, as I put the "microwave safe" cup to my lips, I had the sudden sensation of burning! My "microwave safe" cup just about blistered my lips it was so hot!! I couldn't believe it, how can people false advertise in this way?? I have had this experience with many different kinds of eating ware and can't believe how many things say they are microwave safe, when in reality you could fry an egg on them because it's so hot! How ridiculous! I am sure I am not the only who has ever experienced this, so I thought all of you would appreciate this since I am sure one of you at least has burned your mouth or hand on a "microwave safe" dishes.
The culprit (to the left)... no worries my lip is healed:)

The second inspiration for this blog comes from the movie theater my family and I went to on Thanksgiving to see the Blind Side. My mom, Zach, Jordan, Beau, Zach's girlfriend (and my really good friend) Karli, Megan, and my twin cousins Kylee and Shay, were at the movie theater an hour before it started so we could save seats for our 22 friends and family members coming. We were one of the first people in line and getting enough seats to save was no problem... keeping them saved was another story! We had 11 seats on two rows and I know! That is A LOT of seats but in all honesty, who hasn't saved seats at one point or another in their life? So we had the seats saved and so far people had been nice and when we told them that we were saving seats for family and friends, they just kept moving along trying to find seats. Maybe not happily, but still willing. Anyway, suddenly two women shove past my mom (who was sitting on the end of the seats we had saved). As my mom said in an extremely nice way I might add, "Oh, I am sorry! We have those seats saved" the first lady sat smack dab in the middle of all our seats and without looking at my mom she said, "if they aren't here, they aren't saved!" I couldn't believe it! I leaned over to my mom and said I hope she has never saved a seat in her life because if she has, she is a bit of a hypocrite! I then decided that at least it would make a great blog story:) Anyway, this is way too much typing and getting long but Thanksgiving was great... even with a healing burnt lip and people stealing our saved seats! I love the holidays!!

Signs that make you think... or laugh

2009-11-10T20:23:00.000-05:00

So today I was sitting at the bus stop, waiting for the bus (obviously). I started reading the many different signs posted and my eye was drawn to one the told of a cleaning crew that would come to your house to clean it for you. Some parts of the sign went as follows, and I quote:

DO YOU NEED HELP WITH YOUR MOVING CLEANING???? (there were exactly four question marks)

LET US DOING (yes doing) FOR YOU!!!!!

WE OFFER:
-A deep cleaning, we let your place sparkling, just ready to moving in.

and so on and so forth.... haha

I wasn't sure what to think of this sign... maybe call them and help them put one out that made grammatical sense.(I'm not sure that sentence makes sense either and I wrote it!!) But then (while laughing at how funny all those sentences sound) I realized... maybe that was their trademark! That is what they were going for... great cleaners... not so great with advertising.

I saw another sign that made me laugh the other day... I've never seen this before in my life but I kid you not it was real. (Maybe people who have seen these signs wont find them so funny?) Isn't a farmer, in a tractor, crossing the street semi obvious?? I would hope that it is a given that in a farming area, farmers might cross the street now and again! I think the main reason it made me laugh is because they put up deer crossing signs to help drivers to look for the deer. Drivers need to look for deer because the deer aren't very intelligent when a car is coming at 50 mph! They don't run away from the car, they run into it! (Anybody who has hit a deer can attest to this) It makes it seem like the farmer is an animal that doesn't know what to do when a fast car is coming! Too funny!!

I decided a post about funny signs was necessary after seeing two that made me laugh in less than a week. I remember my brother Zach sending home all sorts of funny signs while he was on his mission.... I wonder what funny signs other people have seen. Here are a few that I found after doing some google research. Enjoy!!

At least they are honest right?

Make sure you catch the fine print... sorry kinda small:)

hmm... I'll have to think about that if I ever run into that sign

Maybe they were predicting the future?

I am glad our tax dollars are going to signs like that:)

This is when you start going crazy

Glad I don't live in that city...

I just found this one... couldn't resist! haha

Ironic??

Happy Halloween:)

2009-11-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

So, I love Halloween for one thing... but this year was extra fun because I got creative with my costume (with the help of my mom and a 10 year old) and had a fabulous birthday! I was out in the lobby at Hill Auditorium after the USO/UPO Halloween concert and saw a little boy dressed as a waiter with real food glued to the tray. I thought it was BRILLIANT! So I decided to copy his/his mom's idea and be a waitress! I borrowed an apron from work, dug out my EFY name tag, and went to work deciding what foods I wanted to have on my tray. My mom suggested wine glasses with a piece of cake so I started getting creative. I bought two cute wine glasses (which are both now broken... they didn't even last a week!) and a plate. Then I bought two jello packs orange and red, some styro-foam, and frosting. The finished product looked great and I think people loved it. One of the greatest costumes I have ever done!! I then glued everything to the tray and it looked completely legit! I did end up turning it over too quickly and lost one of the glasses. The other one lasted until last night when Helaman accidentally knocked it over. At least one lasted throughout the Halloween celebrations! So that was fun!

My birthday was also great... it felt like a five day birthday which anyone can appreciate. It was my 21st birthday so people seemed extra thoughtful. Some amazing friends in my ward sent me flowers! They are BEAUTIFUL! I am doing everything I can to keep them alive and well for as long as possible. My mom also sent me new make-up (always a favorite!) and a v-slicer! I have already used it many times and I am loving having it around our apartment. My dad gave me $100 which was also GREAT! People in the ward also took me to various meals, with cards and gifts on top. It was great and I couldn't have asked for anything else!