WEEK 3 :)

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!!! :)

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

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!

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!!

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

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

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:)