Week 48

Monday, January 18, 2016

Hi mom!!!!

I am ok :) I am a lot better than last week and the week before that and the week before that too.... I am just all around a lot more happier :) I found out that I lost about 12-15 pounds and that made me happy :) I got that juice, the aloe vera juice... The one that you said to get and that sister Reeder recommended :) I don't like it, it is really sour and nasty tasting, but I take it because I love you and I love sister Reeder and because it was expensive.... I also really need it to survive... :) So I do it :) um.... This has been a better week than I thought that it would be :) I love my mission president and his wife and I am so happy that they are here :). I am feeling a lot better :) And so it has made it a lot better with our investigators :)

We finally have some good investigators that can progress and really do have the potential to be baptized... I am so happy and excited :)

Sister Rosalie is one of them :) She is a referral from one of our investigators! I gained a testimony this week of referrals talaga! I know that there are people that are ready for the gospel that we can't find if we don't use referrals. Like part members and just other referrals that come from others... I know that they are amazing! Anyways! so we had taught her once and then we hadnt been able to teach her again, and so the other day, we were out and our one appointment wasnt there, and so I said lets go see if she is there, and so we did and she was there and she was ready to listen! She has such an willing heart and is so ready to listen to the gospel! She said that she believes in the bible and the experiences that she shared with it are amazing and it was an amazing lesson! She then willingly accepted a baptismal date! It was awesome! I just about fell to the ground with excitement!!!! We have struggled for so long with that!!!!

And then we had another Nanay that we extended a baptismal date, and she said yes, and then hopefully she will be able to come to church next Sunday!!!! and then we got some awesome member referrals and part member referrals and I am just so excited to go to work and to see this awesome work progress here in Milaor!!!!! I know that this is all true! It was just a really good rewarding week!

I love my companion!!!!! She is so funny and she has one of the biggest bestest hearts that I know :) I learn so much form her everyday and in every lesson! She makes me happy and I am so happy to be her companion right now :)

I hope that you all stay happy this week! I know now with out a doubt that we have a Heavenly Father and that he loves us and that he weeps with us when we are sad. He never ever EVER gets angry with us, he only becomes a little disappointed with our choices but he always loves us and he will always give us blessings and ways to feel his love :)

Mahal ko kayo!!!! Ingat kayo palagi!!!!!

Love Sister Emma Kate Nelson :)

I asked for pictures...thus is what she sent...she is all girl...sure do live her and miss her.
These are her shoes she wears.  At least her feet look healthy😄

Week 47

Monday, January 11, 2016

Hi Mom!!!!

Thank you mom for that awesome email with the amazing story! I think that is what I have needed for the longest time, actually this whole transfer :) I have been struggling with being depressed and with being happy, and just over stressing myself! I know that I just need to remember to take time and see and listen and all that other stuff to make things good and happy in this time of my life where I really won't get it again! Thank you for being so happy and for being inspired to send that to me! I love it!

So this has been a really good week. I have struggled with anxiety and depression, and a lot of other emotions because I have been feeling that all that I have been doing hasn't added up to anything and that I just keep messing up and failing at this work, but I learned a lot this week and saw a lot of miracles that helped me realize that I am not failing or doing anything wrong. I remember that there is this one EFY song that says God must like broken things because it is only when we are broken that he can fix us and make us better! It is a hard and challenging process, but I know that it is possible!!! I know that he only does it for our benefit, and to make us who he wants us to be!

I love my companion! Sister Sulunga! She is amazing and has an amazing testimony and is very diligent in her studies and makes me happy and laugh everyday! I am happy that we are companions and that God made everything possible for us to be companions at this time :). We had some good work this week and she did amazing! She is soo funny and I love her!

So!!!!!! We have investigators this week finally!!!!! So one night we were Oyming, and we talked to this one sister, Sister Rosie, and she was like I don't have time but you can come back tomorrow, and so we gave her an articles of faith thing and we just prayed that she would be there for our return appointment. So the next day we went back and she was waiting for us! So we started to talk and we asked her if she read the Articles of Faith, and she said yes! So we totally taught the Restoration with the Articles of Faith and it was such an amazing lesson and then she said she would pray! Well on Saturday we went back and she said she prayed and that she knew that it was true!!!! I wanted to fall off my chair I was so shocked! This was just an OYM! I was so happy!

And then there is another one Sister Mariam. She is pretty cool too! We taught her and she was like ok, but she said that she would come to church and just see what it is like, I am so excited about them, and hopefully they will progress and will come to church next week!

Then we got a member referral! It was also a good lesson, the referral really began to trust us and to listen, and it was so awesome! I love her and I am so excited to go back and teach her, hopefully she is at home this week!

It has been a good week with work and everything! We had a Philippines Area Brodcast last night, and the area presidency talked about their goals this year and the next five years, and how we can achieve them and just continue to build the church and become stronger as a whole! It was really good :).

My health is ok. I am still alive right?! I am ok really though... I like the weight-loss, so I won't really complain, Sister Reeder said last night to go and spend PHP 900 and buy some alovera juice for my immune system. I told her that I think I am ok, but if it gets really bad, I think I might, but right now I think that I am ok :) I still eat a lot of food promise :).

We had zone training this week, and it was really awesome! It was such a good one. We got a new standard of Excellence for this year and it went higher, and I stressed over that, but it is ok because they, the zone leaders, talked about Faith and Obedience and how that is hope we can achieve the new standard of excellence! I know that it will be hard to achieve this but! I know we can do it because God trusts us! I love it and I am ready to rock these up coming weeks!

So I love being able to see all the miracles that happen in our lives every single day! It makes life just a little more sweet by looking for Him and for trying to do what he needs us to do! We had exchanges this week and everything was going pretty good! But I learned a lot! I learned a lot about myself, and things that I need to do and need to change and be so that God can make me what he wants!

I love you all and I hope that you all have an awesome week! I am so excited to work this week :) Have an awesome week Loves!

Love Sister Emma Kate Nelson!

Week 46

Monday, January 4, 2016

Hi Mom!

I am good on this nice Philippines day :) It is really early in the morning, and it is going to be a good day :) I am excited for p day, and for this next week :) It was a good but kinda hard and long week last week, so we shall see how this week goes :) We are excited to work hard and to become ever better missionaries right now in our missions! I love my aki and I think that she is so amazing and I am so grateful to be her companion everyday! She has such a good heart and a really strong testimony. She makes me laugh all the time :). I love her to death!

Nanay Elizabeth is good. We got her to tell us if she smoked or not, and after like 5 times of asking her if she smoked and if she was telling the truth we were finally like, Nay! Brother Eugene told us that you have been smoking! And then she said Oo, when I go to the CR... And we were like, well... ok, at least she told us and we were able to move on from there.... our next lesson was then about being honest and about not procrastinating the day of our repentance! soooo..... It was a good lesson! um, we found a lot of new investigators this week! I am excited to return to them. They have a lot of potential to progress, all we have to do is get them to church! We are so excited this next week!

I am ok.... I have still felt a little better... Besides that, I am good. my stomach still hurts sometimes... but I hope that changes this week as I start eating healthier this new year! Ima come home skinny :) Thats honestly my goal :) but of course, the work of the Lord comes first and is way more important than that silly goal, basta that is one of my goals, so Ima try it :).

Oh yeah!!!!!! Happy New Year!!!!!!! I have decided there is no better way to celebrate new years than the way they do it in the Philippines!!!!!!! It makes me happy!!! Like there were more fireworks than there are there on the fourth of July!!!!! It was so much fun!!!! We also got some good pictures!!!! But Those will be some other time when I have a computer that will read my card reader.... dang it.... I even told myself today I would send you all some pictures!!!!

I love your thought! It is so amazing! I love the conference Ensign! It has been good to feast my soul on that and then the Ensign just in general! I love the prophets and how every month we get new food, and then every day when we read our scriptures we get food.  It may be our favorite scripture that we learned something new, or it may be a scripture that we have never read before with a whole bunch of meaning! I realized that's why the scriptures never get boring to us, is because they are always full of new insights that we have never seen before, and then I thought that only God could do something like that :). It was a cool thought in my personal study yesterday!

I love you all so much! have a good week!

Love Sister Emma Nelson!

Week 45

Monday, December 28, 2015

Hi mom!!

I am ok today! I had a good weekend nothing too exciting... I just had a wonderful experience fasting. I know that it is true, and that it really does work! I love being a missionary, and partaking of the sacrament! It makes me happy and I love my savior more and more as I keep the Sabbath Day holy. It makes everything better :). This work with the right attitude will make anyone and everyone happy :D So It is amazing to see that in my life!

I don't know the temperature here.... I kinda don't want to. I just know that it is hot and that it will only get hotter before I come home :) I miss being cold. Of course the snow comes the year I am not home :) Hahahahahaha So about talking about unnormal things, after we got off of skpye, I realized that we didn't really talk about anything important.... We just sat there and talked like we always do :)

Being a part of Family Prayer was my highlight! I miss that talaga! And then just feeling like I am home... It was awesome!

Nothing really exciting happened this weekend talaga... We got nanay Elizabeth to be honest with us.... That took a  while, and it hurt me.... Hurt that she was lying to us.... But at least she told us. :)

um... Sorry it is really short... I told you everything on Saturday :) just Please pray for the area.....

I love you all have an awesome week!

Oh! I will send my testimony next week :) Maybe :) Kung may time....

Love Sister Emma Nelson

Week 44

Monday, December 21, 2015

Hi mom!!!!


I am ok today, I am still alive and smiling! It is a nice warm day here in the Philippines... I don't really feel like it is Christmas because it is still August here... Maybe if it were more cold and like home I would be more homesick, but I am cool with it! I am happy that I am here and not thinking about home too much :)

I survived transfers! I have a Hawaiian companion, and she is amazing! She is so diligent and hard working in the language and in being a missionary :). I love her tons and tons! I know that I am meant to be her trainer and that she is meant to be my aki. I know that all that happened for her to be here know is she was just waiting for me to finally be ok and to be ready to train her :)

Sister Gonzaga went to Pamplona and my other kabahay got transferred too! So it has been a very long, hard week..... Adjusting and making everything ok. I am ok right now, my stomach has been sick. Like for a while every time I ate, I couldn't eat a lot, and it just hurt, but now! I am ok, I love food again, but I want to keep what I lost off, so its a lot of water and Gatorade, and fruit and veggies. I got this!

So we had some amazing lessons this week! We taught a recent convert, Brother Leaolpldo, and he has one of the best testimonys that I have ever seen... In the last six weeks this was my first time to teach him, but he opened right up to us and he has an amazing testimony! I love him! Sometimes for tatays, I would just love to hug them because they are the sweetest people ever!

We also taught nanay Elizabeth.... She is struggling with some WOW Problems... I have some problems with this ward, so I am at a loss with what to do with her... But it is ok, because I talked with President Reeder :) I love him too! Anyways...

I really will send my testimony next week!!!!! Do you want it in English or Tagalog? Enjoy your Star Wars!!! on Tuesday! I will see you all on Friday!!!!!!! Have an amazing week!

Mahal ko kayo!!!!

Love Sister Emma Kate "Lulu" Nelson

Philippines Naga Mission

Week 43

Monday, December 14, 2015

Hi mom!!!

I am ok!!!  Even though it is signal number three we still go around and do missionary things :)  I got a phone call again this morrning. It was a little stressful but I found out that I am training again, and I am a little worried about this transfer... I don't know if I can do it... I am excited though that I have another baby! I love them and I am sad that Sister Gonzaga is being transfered, but I am excited for her to be in a different zone :) I am excited to be a nanay again. Hahaha Pray and fast with me eh!

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! We shall see my Taglish... It will be pretty bad... Like unless we are in language study, I don't speak English... Unless I can't say it say Tagalog.... But it will be fun :)

I miss you all too! I loved the Christmas Devotional last night... It was soo beautiful! I loved everything! Elder Beadnars talk was sooooo amazing! Christ is the Light of the world! Everything about him is about light! There was this one thing that I read this week that made me stop and think. I read this quote by Thomas Edison he said something like this, "If we all did the things that we were capable of doing, we would litteraly astound ourselves." I know that is true! And then it went on to say that we are Children of God, and that we shouldn't shrink in our callings and down play ourselves in order for our (Talk about hard to speak english now.... Like gusto ko magtagalog.... Wow.....) fellow men to not feel insecure.  Our playing small does not help the world. When we let our light shine we allow others to let their light shine too! It was so amazing to read that and to think that if I don't do my very best I will not be satisfied ever, and I need to be me and to let my light shine! It was a good thought!

Dang it!!!!! I am going to miss the big game while I am gone!!!!!! No!!!!!!! HAHAHAHA I will be thinking about this game in Church :) HAHAHa not that I really care... :p I am jealous now of the food!!!!! It sounds like fun the snowman soup! I miss being cold.... Last night we saw the outside of temple square, and I missed it a lot.... It is a strange feeling.... Like I miss it, but it is a... light feeling? Its more like I miss the things that I am used to but not really missing the things... Gets nyo ba? I am sorry it is just a little easier to speak Tagalog.... Like really though.... Like I am not homesick... maybe because it doesn't feel like Christmas... Like it isn't cold, there is no snow, and its just not the same. But its cool :) Haha punintended. Hahahhaa I am sooooo funny :) JOKE LANG NOT!!!!!! I am also a little stressed, so its cool :P Yup... tapos na....

How is Kenny by the way?

So Life is good here in Milaor! Sister Elizabeth was baptized on Saturday! She was baptized by her son that was bptized about a year and a half ago. It was so amazing! She was close to crying, and then even better was President and Sister Reeder came because we are close to them :) I love them, and I am so happy that they are my mission President and wife :)

Nothing new really.... I love being a missionary and I love life!

I love you all soooooooooooooooo much! I am coming up on my ten month mark... I will be home sooner than we all know!!! I promise it will go by soooo fast! It already has! You are all sooo amazing and I pray for you all the time!!!! You can do all things!

Love Sister Emma Nelson

Week 42

Monday, December 7, 2015

Hi mom!!!!

Sorry to bother you as you watch the devotional. I will watch that next week!!!! I am so excited! It really doesn't feel like Christmas... Like it isn't cold, its not rainy, and it just isn't the same... But I am so excited to have Christmas here! We found out that on the 24th, 25th, or 26th we can skype! I am so excited to skype and to see your beautiful faces, and to talk with you! Just as a warning, it is a little hard to speak English... Like its fine to think it, but it is a little harder to speak English... Like Sister Gonzaga wants to learn how to pray in English, so I sometimes pray in English, but it is a little to hard, so I give up and Tagalog na lang!

I will have a baptism This Saturday! Nanay Elizabeth passed her interview and I am so happy for her! It was a long hard process, but she passed! She cried when she passed, and what is even more exciting is that she is excited to go to the temple in a year to be sealed to her husband and to partake of the other blessings that we receive through the temple! I love her and it was an answer to prayers! She is one of those ready souls that knows for herself that this church is true! She is excited to work with us after she is baptized! She will be a great strength to the members here in Milaor!

So beyond that... What else happened this week.... I turned 20!!!!!!! I had an awesome Birthday! We had weekly planning and we droped all of our investigators! HAHAHAHA I wish that was a joke.... We have about 6 investigators, and only two are progressing... I love missionary life! This is so normal and I have hope that we will find new investigators that are ready for this gospel and are just waiting for us to OYM! Which reminds me! So on Wednesday we were punted! Like we had no lessons and it was just... like, ok morning work is inspired, we are out here for a reason. So we were walking and praying in our hearts. The next thing we know we are walking and we see this sister and she smiles at us and we were both like we need to OYM her. So we just said hello, and then she was like sisters, do you want to come to my house? We stood there for a second stunned and speechless. Then Sister Gonzaga was like Yes! And we were like sister where is your house? And she was like across the highway., and we wanted to cry. Thats the other sisters area. But we were like we need to go to know where her house is and to tell her that there are other missionaries that will come to teach her... So we went and we foud out that she was taught by the missionaries before, but had moved, and she hadn't see the missionaries here in Milaor. So we are talking, and then she was like sisters, I didn't bring you here to talk with me and to teach me today, but to talk with Joshua! And so we talk with this 19 year old boy, and as we started talking and sharing about missionary work and the gospel, he was like I want to serve a mission. This was after about 10 minutes of talking to him!!!!! We wanted to cry! It was so amazing that this happened, but the sad part is that this was in a different area!!!!!!! So we finally told them, like there are different missionaries in this area, but we will help them get here! It was so amazing to have that happen! We were punted like none other. Everything that happened that morning happened for that OYM to happen! It was so amazing!!!! It was a special tender mercy!

I love being a missionary! I love being 20! As we worked on Thursday, I just had the calmest feeling! Like you know me... You know some of those things... and I just kept walking around thinking this was going to be the best year ever. I am excited for this decade of my life! There is no better way I would have rather spent the last part of my teen years, and first part of my twenties than here on my mission! It was a good feeling to not be afraid... I know that I am ok :) I am sooooo excited to be twenty! I thought of Spencer when he turned 10, "Yes! Double digits!

So thats all that really happened this week that I can remember! I love being a missionary and being who I am and helping in this work! I love Christ and his Atonement! I had a cool thought yesterday as we watched The Testaments with Nanay Elizabeth, and how it talks about the Atonement, and I related it to Trek a long time ago. So there was one part where the sister had to pull the hard cart by herself, and her husband was in the back, and we as youth were not allowed to help, we couldn't say anything, but all we could do was watch and pray for her that she could do it. As I watch the suffering of Jesus Christ yesterday, I thought of that, and that's how it was with us at that time, we couldn't do anything, all we could do was watch and pray for him... It made the Atonement more personal and more real yesterday as I thought about that...

It has been a good week! I love being twenty! I love being a missionary, and I am so excited to celebrate Christmas! I love you all and I hope that you have an amazing week!

Love Sister Emma Kate Nelson