Hungary Week 78

HEY!!!

Sorry if my email is a little shorter this week.  There is some computer problems with the place we are emailing, but I still want to share a miracle or 2!

I had quite a week full of ups, downs and blessings.  The beginning was a little more interesting.  In one day, a strange man answered his door naked and later I saw him by his apartment complex and he grabbed my bottom!  Elder Jones got in the way of me turning around and hitting him, but needless to say, interesting beginning to the week.  The spirit must have helped us out in that situation!

The Lord blessed us after our interesting experience though!  We were able to find some really amazing people and meet more of that AMAZING family from Michigan.  They are SO prepared and these things are the perfect help for them.  It was very needed considering 4 of the 5 people at church 2 weeks ago were sick with the flu, not including the additional 3-4 investigators with the flu.  So we weren't able to meet with all our amazing investigators, but due to our effective finding, our work is going to bounce back to even better than before.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I had a great split with Elder Alldredge.  He was a very good friend of mine in the MTC and it was refreshing catching up on things and see the changes we have made since being in the mission field.  He was up in Budapest and I went up with him.  It was a "Sons of Mosiah" experience for me, I was just so happy to see him sticking strong to the gospel and see where he is now. 

I have been able to reflect on my mission a lot lately.  I am nothing but so happy about the work and the standard I set for myself from the first day of my mission and I intend on nothing other than achieving newer heights and greater things before my time as a missionary quickly passes.  I have been so blessed and the Lord just gives me a greater and greater testimony that this is His work.  The Lord gives us vision, but the application is placed all upon the person.  Looks like I have a lot of work to do, so I better get working fast!

I love you all!  Have a great week everyone!

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 77

HELLO!

Emailing is sometimes very long, but it is pretty great!  This week was a great one!  We were able to see miracles on top of miracles!  

It all started on Tuesday after emailing, we got a little caught up in programs even though it was P-Day.  We had just stacked programs from 4 on.  The highlight of the night was meeting again with an amazing man.  Two weeks ago, due to the beginning of the year being a little more slow, we didn't have as many people at English Class.  I met one of the coolest guys ever, Z.  He is a family man who heard about our English Class a while ago and wanted to try it out.  

After starting the English Class, he opened up a bit and we just started talking because he was the only one who showed up for the advanced class.  We just talked about our families and we shared our backgrounds.  It was such a great opportunity to get to know him.

After a while, the topic shifted over to missionary work, naturally.  He wanted to know why I was here and what I wanted out of my experience.  He was touched and we finished the class with Moroni's promise for the spiritual message.  Well, this last Tuesday he came back!  I asked him at the end if we could visit his family and he accepted!

He has such an adorable family.  He has a little boy who was dressed up as Spiderman and I was able to show a picture of my nephew dressed up as Spiderman I so happened to have with me.  The little boy looked at it and was like, "Look mom!  He's like me!"  

After to getting to know one another, we were able to gather the two boys, Z and his wife together and sing "When there's love at home."  The spirit filled the room and the 2 boys listened intently.  It was a moment I won't forget.  At the end, we shared our testimonies of our Heavenly Father and planned with them to come back later.  It is moments like this that answer my questions of why I am where I am.  MIRACLES

After that, we were able to really help 2 families that are on baptismal date through the members!  We have been able to work with these amazing people for a while, but they have had a hard time finding confidence in their knowledge, because their baptisms are coming up soon.  We brought some members to simply share their conversion stories for a spiritual message and it seemed as though the people opened up and created some bonds with these church members they have hardly talked to.  It was fantastic.  

Miracles are happening here and I am just so happy.  Life and time is flying by too fast, but I am enjoying every moment of my mission.  I am where I need to be, and that is a great comfort.  The gospel is true and there are only more great things to be had next week.  

Smile this week everyone and make some memories!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Elder Jones is getting in shape for the trip home!  He is in his last transfer so I whipping him into shape! 

Hungary Week 76

The transfer calls came!

I have been on the edge of my seat for a couple days now because I have no idea what's going to happen with the time I have remaining and the unexpected happened!  Elder Jones and I are staying together longer than any missionary companionship I have heard of coming from this mission.  We are staying together in Dunaújváros.  Everyone was prepared to say their farewells to us, but the Lord had different plans I guess.  We have already been together 12 weeks, so why not more!  It will be good though because we have many baptisms coming up this transfer and our investigators were scared to see us go, so we get to see a bunch more baptisms together.  

The strange thing is that I may be in Dunaújváros for a VERY long time now.  We have 9 week long transfers, but there are mini transfers thrown in the middle due to missionaries going home due to the big switch between 6 week and 9 week transfers.  Either way, Elder Jones goes home at the end of this 9 week transfer and if we stay together until the end, it means I get to stay here for 5 transfers and go home from here as well!  We will see what the Lord has in store for us though!

This last week, we saw MIRACLES.  We were able to find 9 new investigators and they all seem very excited.  We were able to find a lot of them from the area book, so they were people who met with the missionaries before, but for some reason or another stopped.  It was very nice!  We were also able to meet many people through tracting and referrals. 

I think the most randomly awesome people we found were some people from Detroit, Michigan!  It was a mother and son who have been living here for a couple years.  They were over at our investigator's house!  We walked in and saw them and introduced ourselves in Hungarian and then we realized the mom wasn't Hungarian.  Elder Jones then asked if they were from America, and the mom told us she was from Detroit.  She then called to her son and said, "Hey Americans" and the kid jumped up from the computer saying, "No way!  You are from America!"  It is awesome because they completely remind me of my aunt and cousin and Elder Jones' home town is only an hour away from them.  We are SUPER excited to meet with them again this week.

We also had a miracle as we tracted into an old investigator of the Sisters.  Elder Jones was going to baptize him on the day M was baptized, but he didn't show up to his baptism.  We never really knew what happened, but then on Friday night, the Sisters got a hold of him!  The very next day, Elder Jones and I looked up some investigators who met with the missionaries 1-2 years ago.  We were able to meet with them and set up a new appointment.  After meeting, we asked them if they had friends in the building we could talk to.  They didn't have too many referrals to give, but we still decided to tract out the building anyways.  On the last floor of the building, L opened up the door with the biggest smile.  Elder Jones and I started screaming and hugging him and he just laughed and invited us in.  He had some rough experiences in the meantime and just wasn't sure if the church was for him.  He started going to other churches and solidified his testimony that this is Christ's church!  He was at church the next day and going down the path again to enter into the waters of baptism.  AMAZING experience.

This week, we were also able to make mission goals for the year of 2014.  It is amazing to see the work going the best it has in YEARS.  We looked at spreads from the past 15 years and we are seeing unilateral increases in all aspects of the work.  It is just astounding to see the miracles the Lord has in store and has already made for the people here in Hungary!  We are getting more missionaries, the leaders in our mission are leading through example and we are seeing a zest for the work that is contagious.  Things really are picking up and there is nowhere to go but up.

I have been able to do a lot of reflection this week as well.  I am just so grateful for my mission and the strength it has already been in my life.  My faith is moving forward in leaps and bounds.  I see the blessings and miracles I am given more and more as the days pass.  I truly know, from the bottom of my heart, that this is the church of Jesus Christ and only through the knowledge and faith this gospel gives can one find that true and lasting happiness we all seek.  

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

Sok szeretettel,
Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 75

Hey everyone!

The holidays are over!  I never thought I would be excited to get back to a regular week.  I am a strange one, what can I say, but this week was so great!  It was full of miracles and happiness.

Monday was awesome!  We were able to extend a baptismal challenge to the head of an awesome family.  I, his wife K and their mother M are going to be baptized on the 1st of March.  The baptismal dates are just flowing in our companionship and throughout our zone.  It has really been amazing to see all the miracles extending from our hard work.  The only strange thing is getting closer and closer to setting baptismal dates towards the very end of my mission.  Oh well, I just have to enjoy the time I have!

Tuesday and Wednesday were very interesting.  We had our P-day from Tuesday night through Wednesday and when we started tracting on Tuesday morning I knew why.  The city was SHUT DOWN.  The apartments and homes were either empty or full with people for a big party.  As the night rolled around, more and more people seemed to roll out. 

Elder Jones and I were able to attend a branch party!  There was food, games and fun!  It brought back memories with my family as I played the board game "Ticket to Ride" with some church members. 

After the party, we arrived home for curfew at 10 (For the holiday) and read the Book of Mormon.  We were given a challenge by President Teixeira's wife at the beginning of November to read the entire Book of Mormon before the end of the year and on the night of the 31st, we finished!  At 11:45 I knelt down to pray about the Book of Mormon and the Lord, once again, gave me that answer I desired.  The Book of Mormon really is true!  There is nothing more sweet than a testimony about these things.

Wednesday, we were able to play some board games in the branch house with the sisters and make cupcakes for M's birthday (The woman who was just baptized on December 28th).  Her face lit up as the four of us showed up with the delicious dessert.  It was a memory for sure!

Thursday, I was in Pécs!  I had some AMAZING experiences with Elder Weaver and a church member.  M is 20 and was just baptized.  We met with him around noon and then told him about our plans to go tracting the rest of the day.  He quickly asked if he could come as well.  

While traveling I talked to him about serving a mission and how much help it could be in his life and he seemed to just brush it off and change the subject, but of course I didn't just let it go!  He said he wouldn't want to serve because people don't listen, so I made him a deal that if tracting went well, that he would serve a mission.  Well, he accepted!  

We got into the first building we saw with the first bell.  After that, we met with MANY people, only to have 4 people say they weren't interested in a jungle of 20 or more doors.  After, I simply looked at him with a smile and he said, "FINE!  You were right, there are nice people."  I can't wait to see where he gets called to!

Friday and Saturday were full of adventures.  We were able to meet with a lot of great people and see miracles on miracles.  Doors were opened and we were able to meet with many.  One of our Sisters also got very sick, so we were able to get her to the branch house and get her a blessing.  I love blessings!  Then, with doctor’s orders, we were able to go to the store and get all the things she needed.  

Sunday was so much fun!  We had some awesome people at church as well!  My favorite was 2 girls about our age.  We met with their mom and things just didn't seem to work out because she had suffered a stroke and has a hard time understanding the concepts of the gospel due to the trauma she has suffered.  As we were leaving our last program with the mom, we ran into them!  They were coming back and we simply invited them to church.  They laughed and said "We are totally going to go."

Long story short, they came!  They showed up a little late and seemed very tired due to a party they were at the night before, but the church members just smiled and made friends with them fast.  It was really awesome to see.

After church, we still had a long ways to go to achieve our goals, but 7 hours of work later, we came home dead tired and with smiles of fulfillment.  It was a great day!  Most definitely full of adventures, ups and downs, but it was one to remember!  

Life is great on this end, but I can't wait to see what the Lord has for me next.  Transfers are next week, so I will have P-day on Tuesday, so I will make sure to share the news!  

Have a great week everyone and remember to smile!

Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 74

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sorry I couldn't email last week, our Skyping counted for email time.  This week we don't have much time either, but I want to share some great things!

We were able to see a baptism this last week and make Christmas for MANY people.  Throughout those three days of Christmas celebration, we were able to meet with 12+ families and investigators.  It was miracles on top of miracles.  Elder Jones and I bought each other Christmas presents and we also exchanged stockings with our wonderful Sisters here in Dunaújváros.  It was a Christmas to remember, with a wonderful Skype conversation to top it off.  The Lord really does provide for us at all times and in all places.

This last Saturday I was able to baptize M, an AMAZING woman.  Her smile was contagious at her baptism, despite the fact that she was VERY scared of the water.  Whenever she would start getting really worried, I would say "Don't worry, I am a certified life guard!"  It calmed her right down!

I was also so happy to hear a wonderful couple from Szeged was married and then baptized this last week.  The baptisms conflicted, so I wasn't able to witness the event, but I couldn't be happier for them. 

Miracles are happening and I am just shocked with how fast time is flying, but I am sure that this last bit of my mission will be the greatest.  Miracles are coming and I can't wait to share them!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Jake Nelson

Ps.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I will share more holiday details next week!

Hungary Week 72

BOLDOG KARÁCSONYT!

I love Christmas!  I have been amazed by the miracles we have been seeing and I am so excited to visit all the people we are planning for Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  To keep our investigators progressing with excitement, we have set up with many of them for the holidays to drop in and share the message of Christ's birth.  It is so wonderful seeing these people we love so much making time for us on these special days.  I am sure it will be a great opportunity to meet with their families and friends as well! 

So, as I previously mentioned, Elder Jones and I are still going strong.  We are going to have another baptism next weekend, so I can't be sad about that one!  We received a challenge from President Teixeira of the Seventy to get the work functioning so well as to have weekly baptisms.  Well, Elder Jones and I are finding more and more people just waiting for the gospel and it seems as though the fulfillment of his challenge is just around the corner.  There are so many people ready in this wonderful city and Elder Jones and I are finding them!

A good example is Wednesday, the transfer day.  We went tracting and we tracted into a woman that wasn't too interested, but then referred one of her neighbors that lived close by.  We headed straight over.  As K opened the door, her face lit up.  It was so adorable to see her eyes just beaming with excitement.  She was so excited to hear about our message that she called in her adorable 93 year old mother.  After that, she invited us to come back that night to meet her husband.  It was AMAZING.

At the end of our lesson with K and her family, I bore my testimony about these things expressing that "I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God."  She then looked back at me and said, "So do I!"  Miracles really do happen!

We were also able to take T, the guy that was baptized last week, to a program with us this week.  It was awesome to hear his testimony and just feel the depth thereof.  It was just a feeling like, "Wow, I helped this man be baptized!"

We also were able to play a part in some branch Christmas activities on Saturday and Sunday.  We helped decorate the Branch house for Christmas on Saturday night and then all of the neighborhood families came over and the kids were able to see Santa!  Here in Hungary, the children don't just sit on Santa's lap, but have to sing a Christmas song to him to get their gifts.  It was so adorable and I learned some Hungarian Christmas songs!  It was wonderful.

On Sunday, we had a lunch after church.  We watched a Christmas devotional for the third hour and then gathered for a little "family meal."  I brought a soup that I made up between 9:30- 10:15 the night before that turned out surprisingly well.  We also had some classic Hungarian dishes as well.  We were able to mix and mingle with the non members and we were able to get to know about some of the amazing part member families in the branch.  It was amazing.

In funny news, Elder Jones and I got stopped by the police this last week!  We were tracting at around 7 pm on Friday night and someone thought we were buglers (The one bad thing about wearing all black).  The most awkward part was the cops stopped us as we were exchanging information with an awesome girl we tracted into, it was an adventure though.  As one of the cops was taking down our information, we started talking with the other.  He brought up how much he loves genealogy and how he adores our website called "family search."  We told him about our resources in our branch house and gave him our information so we can meet sometime.  The Lord works in mysterious ways!

Well, I wish everyone a very merry Christmas.  Don't forget to love the holidays and keep on smiling!  Invite the missionaries and your friends over and remember, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!  Make some miracles and share the sweet song of the gospel!

Sok szeretettel,
Elder Jake Nelson

Hungary Week 71

Hey everyone!

So I just got my transfer call, because they are coming monthly as of late and I am staying here in Duna with Elder Jones for Christmas!  Now, I just need to spread Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear!  Merry Christmas!

 

This week was great!  We were able to baptize T!  It was so awesome, after I baptized him, we walked up the steps to the bathroom and he gave me a huge hug while thanking me for helping him into the waters of baptism.  It was one of those moments when I felt like I was in the right place at the right time.

 

Other than that, Elder Jones and I saw some MAJOR miracles with 2 families.  About 2-3 weeks ago, one of our investigators referred her daughter and her daughter's family.  We met them for the second time this last week and it was absolutely AMAZING.  The parents are having trouble with their kid going down the wrong path and we were able to teach about the power of prayer.  At the end of the lesson, the mother said one of the most sincere prayers I have ever heard, just pleading for answers to help her son go down the right path.  She wasn't religious, but in her prayer, she turned to God and promised to pray with faith everyday from now on.  It was so touching.

We had a similar experience with an older man named P.  His wife died 4 years ago due to her mental state being destroyed by dementia over the course of MANY years.  When his wife died, his relationship with someone really close to him fell apart.  We were able to pray for help and answers in regards of this loved one.  At the end, he looked at us with tears starting to gather and thanked us.

My email is short today, but we saw so many miracles, from our mission leadership training on Wednesday to our celebration of Sister Hinckley's birthday on Monday, we had no down time.  The work is only meant to pick up and we are so excited for this month of miracles.

I will make sure to share all of our amazing miracles next week, but until then, don't forget to smile!

Sok szeretettel,
Elder Jake Nelson