Hello! So yesterday, we were pretty down. One of our New Converts was being....less than bravo, and our day was largely wasted due to various reasons. So I decided to go get a kebab to cheer myself up and get the stress off. We met another new convert on the way, which meant we didn't go to the kebaberia (kebab shop :) ) that we'd planned, but a different one, because we talked for a while.. Anyway, as we were leaving, the owner and his fiancè ask us to come and have a Sprite with them (on the house), after a quick look at my companion, I agreed. We sat down, and started chatting, and they turned the topic over to the Gospel. We ended up teaching them the Restoration, gave them a Book of Mormon in Romanian (my companion was carrying it around for some random reason), and set a return appointment for tomorrow! It's so interesting how the Lord guides you to those who have interest in the Gospel! My invite for this week is to...when you're down, get a kebab and share the Gospel with the owner of the kebab shop! :D

Hello! This week has been good for my language skills...my twe (an african language spoken Ghana) has been very useful in getting us into peoples homes! I learnt a little in Reggio and have been putting it to good use! Just speaking a little of it puts the Ghanans at ease and forms a friendship and bond that they appreciate, and opens them up. It makes me realise what the real bringer of the spirit is: love. As they realise that you care enough about them to want to learn their language and take the time to appreciate their culture they feel the love, and then they feel the spirit. Some of the Missionaries often think that you have to speak the language perfectly to be a good Missionary, but you don't. I've found that even when you don't speak more than a couple of words in a language that they understand (our Chinese investigator for example, Yuang shen), they still feel the Spirit and somehow get taught. The Missionaries don't really do anything, it's always the Spirit, and we're just there to help them let the Spirit in. With Yuang, for example, he doesn't speak much English, and even less Italian. So I've been learning Chinese, and I probably don't make much sense to him when I speak it, but he has the biggest grin on his face when I do, and the Spirit instantly comes! Remember when working with your friends trying to bring them the Gospel light, it's not the words you say, but the love in which you say it that really matters! I love you all! Anziano Nelson.

Hello! So...new area, new challenges, some not so new...and lots of fun! It's a large Branch here in Udine, not quite as dependant on the Missionaries as Forlì was (I'm grateful). The Missionary area is in a bit of a bad way, and my goal for this transfer is to transform it into a functioning area. We've got two really good investigators though, and one of them brought their sister to Church on Sunday (I ended up translating again) and we're having to hold back from the Baptismal font! We didn't even say anything in the first lesson when she said she wanted be baptised....today! We managed to persuade her to wait a little while, and we're excited for her! The Branch is great! I love the city, finally a city which looks Italian...the only downside is my companion is from Utah! Darn...but he's cool, so I don't mind losing my record for lacking in Utahn companions! He's from Farmington, Utah, and is called Anziano Taggart. He's actually a little older than me, 25, so for once I'm not the oldest missionary in the Zone :) Apparently it is a twin city with Port Talbot, the city next to Swansea where I was Baptised! And there is a senior couple in my district, Anziano and Sorella Jacobs from Layton Utah, who lived in Cambridge and also East Anglia, so if you know them let me know and I'll pass on to them your greetings! :) Plenty of connections with home it seems! :) Something that has hit me this week was from my personal study this morning. I was reading Mosiah 3 (I'm reading with my new convert in Reggio, although I'm just guessing how much she is reading, and I need to catch up), and an old favourite took on a new meaning. Verse 19 mentions how through the Atonement we become a Saint. The thought was the role of the Atonement. Many Christians claim that the Atonement does everything first, then we do works. Many people say that 2 Nephi 25:23 says we have to do everything before the Atonement comes into effect and saves us. But this gave me a different line of thought. It is through the Atonement that we become perfected and ultimately saved, the Atonement helps us do everything we have to do to be saved! The Atonement really is infinite, and is designed to bring us from our natural carnal state to the Saints we have the destiny to become. The trick is learning to rely upon it! I love you all! Anziano Nelson