Working Hard in Santa Cruz!

Thanks for the email mom! Things are going pretty good out here. We have some solid investigators that we should be able to baptize within a month or so. I don't think I will be around for the baptizing part of it but I will definitely set the other missionaries up for a really good time next transfer haha. The 2 main progressing investigators are both priesthood age and will make a great addition to the ward out here. Far too often missionaries find it harder to talk to or teach men. The branch that I'm in right now has literally no men. The only people here in my branch are Relief Society and Young Women. Oh well, I will just do my best to get this place rolling again. 

Sunday I gave a talk in my ward about the importance of scripture study and the blessings that come from regular studying of the scriptures. At the end of my talk I said I had one more thing I wanted to say. Then I boldly did some calling to repentance. One really big problem in my branch right now is the time that people show up to church. Here in the Branch, we have Priesthood and Relief Society classes first and they should start at 9 am sharp. Normally the meeting house isn't even opened until 9:20 am. My companion and I show up every Sunday at 8:30am but nothing really happens until 9:45am... I told the branch that if they ever wanted to experience the blessings of being a ward or having their own chapel, they need to first fix the things in the branch that they have full control over. Hopefully we will see some changes next week.

I also had a really good companionship inventory with my companion this week. Like what I did on Sunday I had to do some calling to repentance. My companion is a great guy but he loves to complain and ask if we can just go home... I asked him "If you don't want to work when it is raining, or when it's hot, or when it's night time when do you want to work? We live in the Philippines and that stuff happens everyday!" I also told him that I don't have enough days left in my mission to do the work in any other way than the Lord's way. At first I think he was kind of offended but in the end everything worked out and he is working hard for me again. 

Wow - my homecoming is coming up! I don't know if I can give a talk in English ha-ha. I feel like I would just freeze up and lose track of my thoughts ha-ha. Tell Dad to give me a topic for the talk and I will start working on it. I think the home coming talk will be the scariest of them all. Everyone will be staring at me and asking themselves what did he actually learn on his mission? :)

Well tell Grandma Pat to start feeling better and that I am doing good out here in the field. 

Love you all lots!

Elder Nielson