God has a great sense of humor

I love my life.

Seriously. Every day I am saying "okay THIS is the new best day of my life!"

Every. Day.

Everyone should serve a mission. They're the bomb.

And let me tell you why...

You know how we have to get OYMs? Well just about every missionary has a love/hate relationship with them. We are told to talk to everyone that we see but on some days that's just too hard because we have so many appointments and so we end up running around a park or parking lot talking to the 20.

One day this week we were talking to people at the park. I wish someone was videotaping us because the darndest things happen when we're getting our OYMs...

A couple of times a week we are interrupting some couple making out or cuddling or this week it was spanking each other and there is honestly nothing more awkward than saying "Hey sorry to interrupt, but I'm a representative of Jesus Christ and I was wondering if you wanted a blessing by chance…" 

9 out of 10 times they laugh in our face. Good times!

So I am walking away from said situation when I see a couple walking with their backs to me on my right and a man watching his dog run around the park to my left. I needed 3 more... This is where it gets hard. Most of the time I can't lie I run after the couple because I am that much closer to being done, but every once in a while I feel a little guilty and go for the lone wolf.

This was one of those nights and I'm sad to say... Big mistake.

Of course! He just wanted to bash. It was lame. He was trying to be nice because I'm a girl and all, but he just wanted to tell me about everything he doesn't like about not only the Mormon religion but others as well. Sister Olsen ended up coming over to make sure I was okay and realized what was going on and so we all ended up sitting down having a nice little talk until it got dark.

I was pretty frustrated afterward because he did all of the talking, so we didn't really have a chance to testify or invite him to do anything, but we did try to make one point clear...

He kept saying "you guys believe you are the 'new and improved' with your modern prophets and commandments blah blah blah" but he seriously said it over and over again. 

He finally took a breath so I took my chance and said "I really respect you and am impressed with the knowledge that you have, but I want to clarify one thing…we don't in any way believe that we have the new and improved gospel. It's the same exact gospel that Jesus Christ established. It was RESTORED."

He said I was wrong and continued so we ended up walking away in silence then Sister Olsen goes "God has a great sense of humor". I asked her why and she says...

"I needed 7 more OYMs and there was a single lady walking right toward me, but there was a family of about five a little farther off and I couldn't decide what to do.  I went back and forth, back and forth, then decided to go with the family. Literally as soon as I turned toward them, the sprinkler turned on and hit me right in the face. The Dad saw everything it was greattttttt".

Haha I was grateful for my bashing friend Benny after that. :)

Here's another great OYM story for the week…

Sister Olsen and I have been trying to be better about what we eat so we decided no more desserts... It was a killer. 

Every night when we walk in our apartment I say "sooo who wants a cookie!?" We pathetically look in the cupboard and start munching on some styrofoam aka plain rice cakes. Yuck.

So it was late one night while we were OYMing and Sister Olsen turns to me and says "I really want a cookie" Yeah Im not strong enough for that so I say "I'm in!"

We decided to run into Vons (Safeway) and grab cookies from their bakery. We had 3 dollars left over from some money a member gave us for dinner and I had two dollars in my wallet. We were walking in all giddy about what we could get with our $5!

We're pathetic.

We went in and walked past the deli where there was a black lady talking to the deli lady. She looks at us and goes "Hey are you Mormons!?" 

We turn around, still all giddy, and say "Yes we are!" 

She smiles, says bye to her friend and then asks for help. She tells us a story about how her house burned down the night before and her family is in the Super 8 and they have nowhere to go. She keeps telling us that she's not lying and that she doesn't have enough money to keep the room for one more night. Then I kid you not she says "I am just 5 dollars short, do you think you could help me out?"

I can't lie, I paused then sort of giggled to myself and said "Well, I have some really good news. We have exactly $5" as I reached into my bag and grab it. I look up to hand her the money and she has tears streaming down her face. She hugged us and said thank you over and over and then we went our separate ways...

Isn't that so cool!? I have such a strong testimony that God puts us right where we need to be. I have no idea if she was telling the truth, for all I know she could have used the money for drugs, but I don't care because I know that the money was not mine to have, it was hers.

Goodness I seriously haven't even gotten to the best part of my wholeeee life.

When I came to Hemet I walked into two baptisms. Carey and Harmony. They are teenage girls that decided to go to church with Carey's grandma, then decided to take the discussions, then decided to go to seminary, then decided to go to trek last week, get baptized yesterday to then go to girl's camp next week... Nbd.

"This is our ward mission leader and his buddy Luke, Harmony, Carey, Sister Olsen,
me and Sister Buskie. Oh happy day!"

So on Saturday we were just about to leave to go type up the programs for the baptism, which was super great because we had the youth do everything and our ward mission leader, who lost his left leg on mission (two transfers before he went home he was hit by a train) was going to baptize them.

When we get a phone call from Maria.

I answered the phone and she says "I want my kids to be baptized in English ward tomorrow. What do I have to do to do that?"

Yes, Im serious.

All week we were talking to her and the Elders trying to explain that going to Spanish ward was going to be best for their eternal family. (I wrote all about it last week.) It was super emotional for me. But this week Maria kept telling us that she wanted to go to the English ward, so then we sent the Elders over and she agreed to go to the Spanish ward...

Side note…one of the elders "convinced" them by saying "if this was a $10 church and this was a $1 church, which one would you choose?" Obviously Felipe said the $10 one and then the elders says "that's the Spanish ward".

Idiot.

When they told us that and I said "woah what!? No! It's the same church! They're both $10 churches!"

Seriously Elders, get it together.

Anyway, when Maria called she also said that she doesn't want the Elders coming over anymore and that she wants to go to English ward to which I responded...

"Okay, we can do that. Can we come over at 7 to have them interviewed?"

Which we did. Which they rocked. Which made yesterday the best day of my mission.

But it gets even better...

The baptismal font is in the Primary room and we scheduled the baptism right after church so people could just stay a little longer for the baptism. Well while we were in the hall taking pictures everyone starts flooding out of the Primary room, literally 5 minutes before it starts.

So many people came to the baptism that we had to do it in the chapel...how cool is that?

When we went back in the Primary room for the actual ordinance it was PACKED. Half of the people in there had to stand.

Sister Olsen and I were standing at the top of the stairs so we could give them a big hug with their towels as they walked out...it was seriously the best thing ever.

The spirit was so strong and it was amazing to watch Brother Bagley baptize them. He had to have his buddy Luke hold him for balance, but it was flawless and the first time he has baptized since his mission.

Oh and when it was Gweneth's and Felipe's turn, Bagley did it in Spanish. Which brings tears to my eyes just writing about it because we didn't know that he was going to do that and it made it so that the 3 family members that were there could feel the spirit through the power of the priesthood.

"Happy Sabbath with the Gonzalez family!"

I love my life. I seriously do. I wish you could all come and be at these baptisms. They are the best.

This mission is the best. This week we also had our last multi-zone with President and Sister Smart. 

Ughhh I can't even write about it without crying!

It was all good until the end. President did a Q & A about how it was all going to work and then he had Sister Smart bear her testimony. So grateful I was sitting next to my girl Anderson because we were sobbing. Actually the tears all started when one of the elders during the Q & A asked President if he could extend. It was weird, it was awful, but it was good. I know that President Mullen is called of God and that he is going to be great, but the best way I can describe the whole experience is it was like saying goodbye to my parents all over again.

We sang the closing hymn "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" which we always stand out of respect for them. I actually pulled myself together during the hymn. I don't know how, lots of prayer I guess. And then we sat down for the closing prayer... I must have missed it when it was announced, but President Smart said the benediction.

In 3 Nephi we read about Jesus praying over the little children but that they can't write what he said because it was too sacred and too powerful. This was sort of like that, just not as sacred. He expressed gratitude for our work and then began to bless us. He called upon the authority through the priesthood keys that he holds and emotionally blessed us. There were a lot of people crying after that.

"Last time with President and Sister Smart"

"I wish we took an actual picture of it, but this is me asking President if I can hug him…
he said yes :)"

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve. I know I say that a lot but you really don't get it until you serve. The mission is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I love you all,

Sister Nelson

(email received June 23, 2014)