Elder Nelson's Companions

Area: Érd
Elders Sterri & Hall - May 5 to May 22, 2014
Elder Hall - March 19,2014 to May 5, 2014
Elder Zwingli - Feb. 19 to March 19,2014
Area: Dunaújváros (Zone Leader)
Elder Jones - October 23 to Feb. 19, 2014
Area: Szeged (Zone Leader)
Elder Miller - July 31 to October 23, 2013
Elder Bracken - June 19 to July 31, 2013
Area: Pècs
Elder Bennet - May 8 to June 19, 2013
Area: Szombathely
Elder Brown - March 26 to May 8, 2013
Elder Cutler - Feb. 20 to March 26, 2013
Elder Gould - Jan. 16 to Feb. 20, 2013
Area:Veszprém
Elder Forsyth - Dec. 5 to Jan. 16, 2013
Elder Bowen - Sep. 12 to Dec. 5, 2012
Elder Knight - July 31 to Sep. 9, 2012
MTC
Elder Gould - May 16 to July 30, 2012

Last Week in Hungary

Dear everyone,

Words cannot even begin to describe what I am thinking and feeling right now.  It is the weirdest feeling to know that 2 years has just flown by and it only feels like a few seconds.  All I can say is that I am so grateful.  SO SO grateful.

My last week was nothing but miracles.  I was able to baptize K, an amazing girl that Elder Hall and I met with at the beginning of our time together.  She was glowing and as I pulled her out of the water, her face just lit up with a beautiful smile.  She got dressed, headed upstairs and said to us all, "Can we do it again?!"  It was a beautiful moment.

We worked hard, Elders Sterri and Hall, along with me and we made some amazing memories.  We had a little farewell party for me at English class and on Sunday after the meetings, the Érd branch surprised me with a going away party.  They gave me the gifts and I got a little teary eyed when the entire primary came up to me with hugs, just asking me not to go.  

As hard as it is, I am just so grateful to know that I have given all my heart to these people.  I am going home with no regrets and with the knowledge that I became the man that the Lord needed me to be.  I will miss this people though.

I will miss their hearts and their wonderful spirits.  This really is a small piece of heaven and I know the Lord called me here for these people.  I was able to call an investigator I baptized a year ago to say goodbye and she just lit up when my voice came on the line.  At the end of our conversation, with a shaky voice, she told me that if all I did while I was here was find her, that my mission was worth it.  

The mission is anything and everything you make it.  If you spend your mission chasing your dreams, you will wake up one day to realize that you have been living your dreams all along.  The mission is a miracle and has given me so much.  Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel for my mission.

To finish, I would like to bear my testimony that I know that Christ is our savior.  He is the key to happiness and has made happiness possible through His church.  This is His kingdom on the earth today and if we become those who practice their faith, we will be so grateful and will never be disappointed.  We will receive all the blessings that our Heavenly Father is just waiting to give us.  

I have a strong testimony of obedience.  Through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, we slowly unlock the door to happiness through the blessings of our Father.  

I also have a testimony of laughing.  Obedience, the gospel of Christ and the Plan of Salvation are all meant to lead us to an endless fountain of joy.  If we are living the gospel, the evidence thereof will be the joy in our heart and the smile on our faces.  If we have not simply gone through the movements, but have become who the Lord can make us, we will be exposed to an uncontrollable smile and bottomless laughter.  

In these past 2 years, I have not only been a missionary, but I have become.  As I am now, I have walked in my Saviors shoes in word and deed.

The church is true.  This is His work.  I LOVE MY MISSION!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 93

Hey everyone!

I will keep this short because we skyped with our families yesterday, but I wanted to share some miracles we experienced this last week with our new companion, Elder Sterri.

First of all, I haven't laughed as hard as I have in the past couple days in my entire life!  It has been such an entertaining ride!  We have been throwing ourselves in the work and through a chain of miracles, we found 13 new investigators this last week and 4 of them accepted baptismal dates.  I won't see these baptisms to the end, but it is just such an amazing feeling going all the way to the end.  There is no better way to go out.

One of our new baptismal dates has such a cool story as well!  I love finding on public transportation finding and the other day, I saw a 30 year old woman studying dentistry on the train.  I just sat next to her and told her about our missionary lifestyle and English class and then, she had to hurry off the train.  Before leaving, I gave her a flier with our phone number on it.

She called later and we set up!  She is just enthralled with the gospel, it has been so great.  The night we gave her a Book of Mormon, we called her later and she was already through the beginning of the 1st Nephi.  MIRACLES!

There was many other things that happened, including Stake Conference when I saw all of my old branches that I served in, but it was just an awesome feeling to know that I gave my mission my all.  There were just countless church members coming up to say goodbye to me and I just felt so grateful for my mission.  I am going home soon, but with no regrets.  

Life is wonderful and I will make this week count!  Smile this week everyone!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 92

MIRACLES!

SO I have some awesome news.  We received a new companion for the last 2 weeks of my mission.  President felt prompted to send him out here for my last couple weeks, so I am excited to be serving with Elders Sterri and Hall.  I knew him from before because I was a zone leader for a bit, so I am sure that we will just see even more miracles!

This last week we had a beautiful baptism.  S was an answer to our fasting and prayer.  She just fell into our lap after meeting with the missionaries in Budapest for a while.  She was just glowing!  We were able to meet with her mother already as well and she came out to support her daughter at the baptism.  It was really a cool experience!  

We have just been working so hard, all the way to the very last moments.  While tracting this last week and by working through our current investigators, we are starting to teach families and just some amazingly prepared people.  I know that the work we are doing now will not just last for these next few weeks, but for a long time to come.  YAY MIRACLES!

My funny story for the week comes from my splits on Friday with Elder Dellenbach.  After meeting with one of our investigators in a retirement home,, we realized that it started raining BUCKETS outside.  It was so ridiculous.  We were determined to make it to our next program though, so we sprinted through the rain for a mile or two.  We were soaked, making a good memory and split.

Sorry for the short email this week, but my time is running out!  I have to make these last 2 weeks count!  All I can do is smile!

Hungary Week 90

Hey everyone!  

So this will be my shortest email yet, but it is because things are going so well here!   It was awesome to see the branch pushing the work forward as we saw 13 investigators at church.  Half of those people were brought as referrals from the members.  It was just such a wonderful feeling to see the chapel full of people.  I just can't even describe the feeling it brought to our hearts.  

We had a wonderful woman who was an investigator from Budapest come out to Érd this last weekend.  She is closer to us here in Érd and the spirit touched her heart.  She decided to push forward with her previously set goal of being baptized on May 3rd, but now it will be into our branch.  The Lord really does make miracles.  We were praying to find that person that needed this branch and that the branch needed and He just placed her in our path!

The church is true and miracles happen!  Easter was a HUGE miracle, but I will save the story for next week!

Smile this week!

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 89

Hey everyone! 

It has been quite a week to remember.  It has been one that has had its ups and downs.  We, as a companionship, took the time to center our efforts more on the Savior and His will.  We strived to involve Him more in our finding and teaching.  The crowning moment was on Sunday as we invited many church members to fast with us for the hastening of the missionary work here in Érd.  On Sunday, the Lord answered our prayers and we saw 7 investigators at church and nearly all of them were in tears at one point or another during our testimony meeting.  We have decided to keep the spirit of the fast and continue to fast every Sunday until we see our first baptism together.  It is going to be wonderful!

Elder Hall and I also did all we could to improve whether in obedience, intentions, goals and many other aspects.  It was a humble experience seeing the change the Lord brings into our lives due to obedience and diligence.  We were able to witness in church the announcement of one of our investigators baptism.  He made the decision after sacrament meeting and during gospel principles; he shared his thoughts on the gospel of Jesus Christ and told the class that he is going to be baptized.  

Outside of that, we had the opportunity to have one of our investigators we recently put on baptismal date share her testimony with us as we walked her home after family home evening.  She asked us how we are going to have family home evening after I leave and I simply told her that she will be able to receive callings to hold activities like this.  We helped her see the vision that our goal is to have the members supporting the other members, not just the missionaries.  She sounded very excited!

It has just been a huge testimony builder for me to see the miracles I have. I am just so grateful for my mission; it is just going by way too fast.  I will trust in the Lord though.  He really does know best.

On a sad note, I felt the prompting to stop my work out before finishing today and while walking back to our apartment, we ran into a friend of one of our baptismal dates.  He lived in the building next to us, but we received word that he passed away.  Elder Hall and I just didn't know what to think, but all I can say is that I am grateful that he started gaining a testimony of these things when he did.  I am so grateful for the plan of salvation.

Everything is going great; I am just trying to sprint to the end.  The Lord has blessings in store and I can't wait to receive them.  I am a blessed man!  How can I not smile at a moment like this?

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 88

Hey everyone!

Sorry this is a little shorter, but time is flying by too fast!  Only a month and a half left and still so much to do!  

First of all, I LOVED CONFERENCE!  It was a nice gift because I was able to watch it in Hungarian and I felt like I was watching it in English.  It was just reaffirmed to me that I was called here for a reason.  Some of the church members grabbed me after and told me that they are sad I have to go home after learning Hungarian so beautifully.  I just feel touched.  I also loved all the messages in conference as well!  I just loved how all of the speakers turned their talks back to Christ.  They clearly connected the dots back to our Savior.  That just touched my heart and helped me recognize my need to turn more fully to Christ!

This week was good.  We were able to work hard and put a man on baptismal date!  We challenged him to try the promise in "The Book of Mormon" and he received peace in his heart and mind.  He told Elder Hall and I at conference that it is true.  With the church members, we were able to teach him the "Plan of Happiness" in between sessions of conference.  It was most definitely a memory for all those who participated.

We had a rough time with some of our baptismal dates, but thanks to many prayers, we were able to re-contact most of our baptismal dates by the end of the week.  The Lord really does answer prayers.

Things with Elder Hall are going great!  He was out for a day and a half due to sickness, but I was able to set up with many of our investigators and some members due to work while he was sleeping off his sickness and today, we are treating it as a normal work day outside of emailing.  So we won't let this little sickness stop us from making this transfer amazing.  It's his first transfer and my last one, we have to make it the greatest!

This week is going to be great though.  We are going to make so many miracles and do so many great things!  I just can't wait to share them next week.  Until then, keep on smiling!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 87

Hey everyone!

It has been a great week!  We have been able to see so many miracles and we were able to set our first baptismal date together.  We are pushing ourselves as hard as we can and the miracles are coming, one on top of the other!  I am just so grateful to be here right now.

We were able to put an AMAZING man on baptismal date this last week.  His 16 year old daughter was baptized a number of years ago and shortly after her baptism, his wife decided to be baptized!  She was baptized by one of the beloved MTC teachers.

This man was on and off baptismal date for a while, until his wife became sick and later passed away in 2013.  This man seemed to dwindle and distance himself from the church as a result of the experience.

When I was with Elder Zwingli, we had the prompting to call him and he accepted us back into his life.  We were able to talk about temples and the possibility of being sealed to our spouses for eternity.  We challenged him to be baptized and prepare to enter the temple next year to be sealed to his wife and family for time and all eternity.  HE ACCEPTED.  Elder Hall and I were just jumping for joy!

It was a good week!  It has been great to serve with Elder Hall so far.

This week had some hard turns as well though.  We had a number of investigators who are scheduled to be baptized in the next couple weeks not show up to church or read from the Book of Mormon.  We also had to let go of some investigators that have been meeting with the missionaries for YEARS, but are just refusing to make some steps.  It was a great week for teaching, but hard for us to see some of these people not doing their part.  I am sure the Lord has blessings in store for us though!

We are having fun and making the most of our time here as missionaries.  We have seen miracles on miracles and I am just so grateful for all the blessings I have received.  Although the time is flying by super fast, I know that each little experience I have is for my benefit and will be a foundation for my life.  I couldn't be more grateful for my mission.

Have a wonderful week everyone and don't forget to smile!

Hungary Week 86

Hey everyone,

This has been one to remember.  I received my new missionary and we kicked off our transfer very strong!  His name is Elder Hall and he is from Boise Idaho.  He is about 6'5 and a HUGE basketball player.  He came out ready to go and we have been working hard since minute one!

The first day and a half was the funniest part of our transfer thus far.  We quickly headed back to the apartment, threw down Elder Halls stuff, planned a few lessons and got to work!  We had around 10 programs in the first day and a half at the end of the day, he said, "I had no idea I was called to Mexico!"  The work is just booming and moving forward at a rapid rate!

By Saturday, we were able to get out and start doing some real tracting.  We were walking down a sunny street and I told Elder Hall to start up one of our tracting approaches.  He looked at me and said that he didn't know what to say.  I just told him, "When in doubt, tell them you are new."  

At the first door we knocked after saying that, an older woman came out and asked what she could help with.  Elder Hall just looked at her with a smirk and mumbled something.  She looked at him in a funny way and he just says, "új vagyok (I'm new)."  She laughed and he just kept it going with questions.  After he finished what he knew to say he looked at me.  I explained who we were and asked if we could come in.  She smiled and invited us in.  

I don't have much time to share, but I am just so grateful for my mission.  I am so grateful to have had seen the miracles I have.  I know there is only more on the way!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 85

Hey everyone!

Well, I have officially started my last transfer.  It feels so weird!  At times I still feel like I just gotten here, but at others I can hardly remember what life is like at home.  All I know is that I want to give this last transfer my everything.  I am training, so hopefully I can start my new missionary off with an absolute wonderland of missionary work that he will hold as a standard for the rest of his mission.  I just can't wait for the miracles we will see together!

I am so grateful for the wonderful zone conference we had.  We had a member of the 70, Elder Timothy Dyches come out.  He is the former mission president of the Portland, Oregon mission!  It was awesome to make the connections we were able to.

Going into the conference, I was doing a lot of reflecting on my mission and I looked back and still look back with a smile.  I have no regrets.  What touched me most was after the zone conference when I thanked Elder Dyches.  He looked at me with a smile and said, "I wish you could have served in the Portland mission!" 

This experience provoked a chain of memories.  The first experience I thought of is when President Teixeira, the Europe area president, came up to me after mission leadership council a few months ago.  He came up to me and talked to me about my ambitions as a missionary and my after mission plans.  He placed his arm on my shoulder and said, "You are doing a great job."

I even had a similar experience during PEC this last weekend.  Branch President Gonda looked down at our progress record and said, "Thank you Elders for your diligent service.  Elder Nelson, I extend a special thanks to you for bringing the change you have to Érd and the missionary work.  You are a wonderful missionary."

I just know the Lord has blessed me so much throughout my time as a missionary.  The reason I have no regrets is because I have held true to myself, God and His commandments since day one.  I have not been perfect, but the Lord sees me and my efforts.  He sees my love for Him and He has blessed me more than I could have even dreamed. 

Elder Zwingli and I finished this last week VERY strong.  We were able to make some huge miracles, finishing the week with FAMILIES at church.  We were just smiling ear to ear due to the plethora of amazing experiences.  I am just so grateful for the mission.  I can't even begin to express how happy I am.  It's rough now because now I have to think about stuff outside of the mission!  Schooling, career and life after the mission.  It is going to be rough jumping back into life, but I know that the Lord is shaping me into the man I need to be through my mission.   

Life is awesome and don't forget to smile everyone!  

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 84

YAY!

This week was so great.  I just love being a missionary and seeing miracles.  I just am so grateful for all my opportunities and blessings.  This last week, we set 3 new baptismal dates, worked VERY hard, I had an amazing birthday and I just saw blessings upon blessings.

I don't have much time because we have so much going on and my P-day is shortened because I am going back to Dunaújváros for some baptisms this weekend, but I will share as much as I can!

We had some amazing programs this last week, but one of the biggest miracles happened yesterday.  When I first got here to Érd, I called a young mother that met with the missionaries a while ago, but fell away.  We tried to pull a meeting together for a while and just yesterday we were finally able to meet.  

We met her little 10 year old some and sat down to hear her story.  She fell into depression and just a bad crowd in 2012 and her life simply fell apart.  We talked to her about the happiness the gospel brings and a smile was brought to her face.  We asked if she felt the spirit as we spoke and she said that a peace was finally in her heart.  We bore testimony about the power of change and challenged her to baptism on April 5thand she was excited to accept.  AMAZING!

I also had so many birthday wonders.  We had 7 planned programs on it and I got 2 cakes!  We were fed lunch by an amazing member named Anikó and my English class made me a cake!  A few English class students went behind the pulpit to light the sparkler which turned out to be closer to a flare!  It was so funny!

Last Monday we were in Budapest as well.  It was so nice to be with the other missionaries!  I have a lot of friends up there right now, so a few of the missionaries took us up to the Buda castle and the Gringos Amigos, a Mexican restaurant.  There, they bought me a brownie and put birthday candles in it!  I just feel grateful.  Life is good!

Transfers are coming up next week.  This is my last big transfer.  Super weird how fast time flies.  

Life is good and miracles are coming.  There is a lot happening this next week.  We will see baptisms, Elder Dyches of the 70 and we are going to see the Atonement at work with our investigators!  

Smile this week everyone!  Life is good!

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 83

HEY!

This week was absolutely epic!  We saw a bunch of miracles and I am so grateful for each and every moment I have here!  I don't have too much time to share my miracles, but I have two amazing stories to share.

The first, Zs.  Zs is an amazing girl that we met on Tuesday.  On Monday night I heard yelling outside of our apartment building at 10:45, so I investigated of course!  I opened the window to watch an angry ex-husband throwing rocks and scream at his ex-wife.  The ex-wife opened the window and called for the police and the guy fled. 

The next day, I had the feeling to tract in that building and we found an amazing girl.  She is 26 years old and we woke her up tracting at 10 in the morning.  She told us to come back in 10 minutes, so we did!  After sitting down, she opened up and expressed how grateful she was that we were there because she had a dream about us!  The next day we went back and taught the restoration and invited her to be baptism on April 12th and she seemed super open!

The next story takes place on Wednesday!  We taught English class and there was a new guy that came.  He was 27 years old and was intensely listening as I shared the spiritual message.  After class, he came up to me and asked to meet.

On Friday he shared his life story full of mistakes and wrong paths.  At the end of his High school career, he got into drugs and never finished.  He came to English class because he is trying to turn his life around.  We met and bore testimony of the power of Christ's Atonement and invited him to be baptized.  Our friend M is going to be baptized on April 12th.  I LOVE MY MISSION!

Last note, God finally answered my prayers more firmly in regards to what I need to do after my mission for studies.  I have been planning for the past 4 years to become a surgeon.  I always felt it would be amazing, but I never felt a confirmation.  This last week I thought of all my experiences throughout my mission and life.  I thought of the irony that I have always been sent to a struggling area or a weakened companion and then it dawned on me!  I need to become a psychologist.  This was something I never expected, but the Lord seemed very insistent in pursuing this course.

Now that I received this amazing answer, it makes me want to work even harder!  The Lord has blessed me so much throughout my mission, I just can't wait for the answers He has yet to give me as I continue in this work with all my heart, might, mind and strength.  

I LOVE LIFE!!!! Smile : )

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 82

EPIC WEEK!

We saw so many miracles.  The Lord really knows what we need.  We just need to trust in Him and His will.  Coming to Érd was a little confusing for me, but I know that there are people here that I need to help.

When I came here on Wednesday, I was informed that we had 2 progressing investigators.  Well, those 2 amazing people were baptized this last weekend!  B and P were just glowing as they were baptized.  Although I never even had a program with B, she asked if I would confirm her on Sunday.  I still can't help but smile thinking about them and our experience.  It was so special!

So, with those 2 investigators being baptized, we had the work here reset!  Wednesday, I heard about the situation and Elder Zwingli and I got out and got to work.  We just drove ourselves into the ground working overtime with our hearts full of prayer and with a little fast thrown in.  In 4 days, we found 13 new investigators!  The Lord heard our prayers.

We brought our progress record to church on Sunday and the branch lit up with joy and we could see their excitement!  They were all raving that this is the time they had been praying for.  They were excited about MISSIONARY WORK.  I couldn't help but smile and know that the Lord put me here for a reason.  The Lord really does answer prayers and knows best.   We just need to learn to trust a little more in His almighty hand.

My email is short this week, but it is because there is too much to do!  My time is running out as a missionary and I need to seize the moment.  I just can't wait to share the miracles we see next week. 

Smile this week everyone!  Make a miracle and be a miracle in someone else s life.  

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 81

WOW,

I was blindsided again by transfers!  I am leaving Dunaújváros and moving to a smaller city right outside of Budapest called Érd.  I am going there to get to know the area for a month, so I can get a new mission in mid March.  The only hard thing is that this is just like when I left Szeged, we went from pretty slow work, to 12 baptismal dates and I left right before many baptisms.  Here, as of the weekend, we have 13 baptismal dates and we are planning on having 4-6 baptisms on the 15th of March.  It is just hard to leave right before seeing their miracle of baptism and the results of all the hard work.  I am sure the Lord has a plan for me though.

This last week, we had stellar experiences.  Our days were full of adventure, plannings for zone training, zone trainings in Székesfehérvár and Pécs, a lot of programs, baptismal dates, miracles and joy.

In our zone trainings, we were able to focus mainly on two points:
1. What a successful missionary is
2. How to invite people to make one of the biggest changes in their lives, BAPTISM

We were able to use the experiences of all the people I have been able to split within the past couple weeks because with Elders Ralph, McCurdy and Brown, we set someone on baptismal date!  Elder Ralph just found the person who is on baptismal date, but we were challenging baptism the whole time we were together.  It was awesome to get the missionaries involved and have them share their experiences changing the lives of those they teach.  They all just seemed to glow!

At the end of the training, we challenged two things:
1. Watch the German baptismal challenge everyday for a week (a little clip from the Preach My Gospel DVDs)
2. To follow the 1-2-3 steps to conversion (1st program-contact the person and get to know them, 2nd program-soft baptismal challenge, 3rd program-baptismal date (Latest))

Miracles will come from this!

I also split with Elder McCurdy, the district leader in Pécs.  We were able to talk about EVERYTHING (goals, dreams, challenges, life, etc.).  It was just amazing because we were able to be EXTREMELY effective, set a baptismal date, have a bunch of programs and find some amazing people.

We met this HILARIOUS woman while tracting.  I told her that we brought some questions to ask everyone and asked a couple.  We talked about her religious background and what makes her happy and then she saw our name tags.  She flipped out and asked if we weren't Hungarian.  I broke into to English and asked, "Do you speak English?"  She just started flipping out with excitement, then went off on how she lived in Canada.  She asked if we could help her practice English and then she said, "There isn't much difference between Canadian and American English right?"  I then said, "Not too big of a difference, eh (Like a Canadian)."  She then laughed and said, "YEAH! F**king eh!"  Elder McCurdy and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter.  I haven't heard someone properly pronounce an English cuss word in a LONG TIME.  She was amazing though and we are going back to meet her family soon!

The work is just going fantastically.  People are excited to get baptized and we are seeing miracles on top of miracles.  I am going to miss Dunaújváros, but I know that it is going to be a great last weekend for Elder Jones.  His last weekend as a missionary will be a weekend full of baptisms and miracles; I hope I can come back for it.

I LOVE MY MISSION

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 80

OH MY GOSH!

This was a legendary week and one of the most blessed weeks of my mission and my life.  Our fasting and prayers were answered MULTIPLE times, we set many new baptismal dates with the future youth of this branch, I was able to make miracles with missionaries from our zone on splits and I am just floating on cloud 9 just thinking about all that is waiting for us in the not too distant future!  This truly is the time of the harvest and we are going to rock the city and zone before this transfer ends!  It is just hard to express my joy in words right now!

To start, I had an amazing split experience with Elder R, a missionary serving in my first area, Veszprém.  He is just a great young missionary in our zone.  He reminded me of myself when we went tracting here in Duna as he just sat on the edge of his seat ready to jump in and testify of the divinity of our message.  I started the split with the classic question, "What do you want to get out of our split?"  He looked at me and said, "I want to become a bolder missionary when meeting new people to teach."  Well, we did it!

We started the day with a 2 hour tracting block and found an amazing woman.  She opened the door with a smile and let us right in.  We went in and shared with her the restoration and our conversion stories.  She then accepted a return appointment so we could give her a copy of the Book of Mormon.  2 days later, when we went back, Elder Jones and I put her on baptismal date for April 5th.  I called Elder R right after and I could just hear the joy in his voice. He went into district meeting right after talking to me on the phone and was able to share his experience with his district.  I still get goose bumps thinking about it!

Another cool thing happened in result of splits, except this one is in regards to my splits with Elder Brown two weeks ago!  This weekend, Elder Jones and I were able to put R and L, two awesome girls around the age of 20, on baptismal date for March 15 along with I, the woman Elder Brown and I put on baptismal date.  When I was on splits with Elder Brown, we prayed about where to go at the late hour of 7:30 and we were prompted to go streeting.  When I parked, I saw R and L in the distance.  We were able to walk them home and teach them about the standards of the church (The Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity).  They were so excited to hear this!  To finish, we were able to offer a prayer for R's sick grandmother.  Long story short, these two girls continued in prayer and the grandmother was released this last weekend from the hospital!  

Well, we heard all of this on Saturday!  They came to our branch Farsang party (similar to Halloween) and we were able have a bunch of fun.  I was dressed up as a nerd and Elder Jones was dressed up as an archer.  After spending a little time playing the games with the branch, we pulled a member and the girls aside and were able to have an amazing program with them.  We talked about the power of prayer, the changes repentance can bring and the gift of baptism.  We gave them a baptismal date and L her own copy of the Book of Mormon.  We left with huge smiles that only got bigger when we saw them holding the Book of Mormon praying with gratitude in the parking lot.

I called Elder Brown and he was just so excited to hear.  I then encouraged him to help É, one of his baptismal dates, get ready for March 15 as well so he can come back for some baptismal interviews with the people we helped come closer to Christ on splits.  I can hardly wait!

I don't have much time, but I have an AMAZING last experience to share about M, an awesome 18 year old girl we meet with.  We met with her family a couple weeks ago and gave her a Book of Mormon and shared the promise in it.  Since then, it has been hard to get a hold of her, but a week ago, from today, she called!  We were able to meet her while she was here in Duna.  We met her at a small restaurant and she poured out all the miracles she had experienced since we met!  

She tried the promise and with the biggest smile, she looked at us and said, "I got the peace and happiness you were talking about!"  Elder Jones and I couldn't help but freak out in joy.  She then said, "This weekend I had a dream and I was baptized while wearing white." 

Elder Jones and I dropped our jaws, not only because that is an AMAZING experience, but because we began a fast on SATURDAY NIGHT.  We put her on baptismal date on spot for March 15.  My heart is just so full of gratitude!

Miracles happen I tell you!  All it takes is a little faith!

Have a great week everyone!  Make a miracle!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 79

MIRACLES!  

I am so happy right now.  Time flies too fast on the mission, but all you can do is love each and every moment.  We had an epic week though!  It was full of adventure, miracles and new baptismal dates!

To start, I was able to go on splits with my old companion from Szombathely, Elder Brown.  It was so awesome to see him again.  He is district leader down in Kaposvár, so he came up to Dunaújváros with his companion to experience the miracles of Duna!  It was nice to catch up on life and everything.  It was so crazy to hear him speak because he was just a young missionary when I saw him last.  Now, he is almost in his 11th transfer! 

We had a day packed of programs.  The pinnacle of the day was meeting with an amazing woman named I.  She is about 65 and one of the most open women I have ever met.  Elder Jones and I tracted into her on Thursday and she pulled out her Book of Mormon that she received 10-20 years ago.  Her receiving of the Book of Mormon inspired her to buy one of her first Bibles as well. 

After meeting on Thursday, we asked to come back the next day.  Elder Brown and I taught the Restoration to I and she was just so accepting.  The spirit filled the room and after breaking down some scriptures, we invited her to be baptized on March 15 and she graciously accepted.  It was amazing to see her smile radiating the room.  After accepting, she asked us if she could come to church!  Elder Brown and I just looked at her with our jaws dropped.  AMAZING program.  

After our splits, Elder Jones and I kept going in boldness and challenged a couple we met a week and a half ago to join I on March 15th and be baptized.  They accepted with huge smiles.  

Elder Jones and I also just saw miracles on miracles finding new people and meeting with current investigators this last week.  We were literally hurrying from program to program. 

We were very excited as Sunday rolled around because many people were set on coming to church, but Dunaújváros was then hit with a HUGE ice storm.  We woke up in the morning and our car was covered in ice.  We spent the first part of our day chipping away at the windshield.  After getting in the car, I rolled down the windows revealing an ICE WINDOW!  It was so cool to look at!  We just poked it and it shattered everywhere.  

We showed up for our mission meeting at 7:30, but no one was there.  The branch president was thinking about cancelling church, but the Lord came through for us and a few of the members were able to make it out.  Our 10 investigators planning on coming slowly dropped call by call.  In the end, one of our 65 year old investigators got up the bravery to make it out along with that amazing couple we put on baptismal date this last week.  The Sisters had 2 investigators as well, making the investigator to member ratio very split.  It was definitely a miracle Sunday!

Miracles on miracles.  I am just so grateful for my mission.  I am sure that these last couple months will hold so many memories.  I am so grateful to be here.  I feel like I have finally come to terms with my mission coming to an end and I have found a good balance.  I recognize that the Lord has great things in store from me after my mission, but I want to live these last months even better than the first.  I want to make miracles and I am just living and loving the moment I am in now.  It is a good even keeled balance and trust in the Lord's eternal plan for me.  

Smile this week everyone!  Miracles are coming our way!

Sok szeretettel,
Elder Jake Nelson