The most spiritual experience of my life!

G'day Everyone!


So I know that I said I wasnt going to be emailing this week but I guess I lied! It is ANZAC day and everyone is on holiday but our hole in the wall Internet Cafe stayed open. I wish I would've known that I was going to email this week because I wish I got an update on how things are going but I'll just wait till next week. So first of all Transfers are here! I'm staying in Dee Why! Yeah buddy. I've been here officially for 6 months now. A quarter of my mission :). Its sweet as. I love it here. Elder Bills is going home. I'm going to miss him a lot but my new companion is Elder Vardeman and all I know is that he's from Texas and he's been out for 3 months. I'll get him tomorrow. I'm still Zone Leader and my Zone Leader companion will be Elder Cahigis and he's from Singapore. Crazy eh? I've heard great things about him and he served in the army before he came out so thats pretty cool. He'll help me whip the Zone into shape. So basically I'm getting two companions! ITs like christmas! BUt Elder Cahigis and I are in different flats so I dont know how its going to work. Its going to be interesting so please pray for me because I'm supposed to train Elder Cahigis on being a ZL. Anyways so basically this week...oh man this week.....where do I start....man its kinda cold in here...maybe its kuz I'm wet...why am i wet you ask? I didnt jump in Dee Why beach....oh maybe its because we had A BAPTISM THIS WEEKENED!!! YAYEAH! Filomena Del Carmen Ponce Pradenas got baptized this saturday. We've been trying to teach her for awhile. Richard Chavez(one of our Recent Converts from December) is her son and also her daughter, Maria chavez, is a ward missionary that we work closely with and so we've been trying to set up an appt. for awhile. Well she came to Muno's baptism and at the massive feed we just slyly asked so when are we going to teach you this week? And she said well tuesday would be a good day... DONE! lol hook, line and sinker. We went there on tuesday and took Johnny Teaupa( he just got back from his mission in Puerto Rico(served with Casey Browning) so he speaks spanish which is her first language since she's from Chile) and we also took Sister Miller (who is the coolest Aussie mum and apart of the relief society presidency) and together we had the most spiritual experience I've ever had. Honestly. As soon as we got there Filomena was telling us all these experiences she's had since we invited her to be taught where she knew it was satan trying to keep her from being taught. She even got stuck behind a broken down car just a block from her house before our appt. We went in planning on teaching the Restoration and I swear Elder BIlls and I didnt teach anything. We just flapped our gums and the spirit took over. Everything went so smoothly. It was like a dream. I wish you all could've felt it. The spirit was so thick in their house and as soon as we began teaching we knew that she needed to get baptized. Johnny taught prophets in spanish and she said she felt so peaceful and we explained how that is the spirit telling her that what we are teaching is true. We got to the Restoration and Elder Bills taught it powerfully and boldly and after he quoted the First Vision he asked" Do you believe Jospeh Smith was a prophet of GOd?' she paused to think and said, yes. Filomena, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?..............YES! I cannot describe the feelings I felt at the end of that lesson when she committed to be baptized. I'm not gonna lie I shed a tear or two. She said I know I need to get baptized because when I went to the baptism on saturday and as I saw all my friends from church I felt like I was in another place. She said she felt like she was in a higher place and that everyone around her weren't just regular people and she said she felt like she had finally come home. It was the most amazing experience and dont worry I wrote it down in my journal. After that lesson we taught her the rest of what she needed to know and she said you know ever since I said yes to being baptized I've been overjoyed and we again confirmed that it was the spirit letting her know that what she is doing is right. She even made the comment " I think I'm even happier than what I was on my wedding day!" LOL OPE GOOD THING HER HUSBAND WASNT THERE! we just kept that on the down low lol. She asked me to baptize her and I was greatly humbled by that. IT was a great baptism :). These past two weeks have been the best two weeks of my life. I've been blessed in ways and had experiences that I had never even dreamed of. I'm so glad I made the decision to go on my mission and I love being a missionary. I know GOD LIVES and LOVES US and KNOWS US and that Jesus Christ is always there for us with his arm stretched forth. We are at the door, all we have to do is knock and he will open. I love this gospel. I have seen it change lives and I know that it is real. I love you all and I hope you all have a great week! Cheers!

Elder Nelson


p.s. I'm going to the Rugby League game tonight! Go MANLY SEA EAGLES!! WOO!!(dont worry we got permission from Presidente)