Back Home!- July 1, 2018

haha So I'm not really home, but I've been transferred back to the Camden ward (my 1st area) It's been really good to see everybody again. Bishop Croft and his wife are super excited to see me back here. It feels good to know I was missed a little bit. haha. I just barely missed the baptisms of Natasha, Nikau, and Tiana last weekend. I put them all on date for baptism right before I left Camden, then was away just long enough for them to be baptized... haha oh well... It's really good to see them progress and become part of the ward family. The ward here has grown a lot. They've had to open the back curtains for the past few weeks because there have been so many people.

Elder Smith and I got split up :( He's really fun to serve with, but we were pretty lucky to get 3 transfers together. I'm with Elder Porter Raab from Fruitland, Idaho (last exit before Oregon). I don't know if president was trying to be funny, but we're two white boys from Idaho both named Porter in a district full of islanders. haha life is going to be a party here.

Other news: we met with a man here named James. He's a little peculiar, but that doesn't stop us from meeting with him. He tells us he's not a member of the church, but that he was baptized back in 2013. He even showed us his temple recommend. James loves to study mideveal gothic music, as well as ancient texts. He also works at a flour mill, so his house smells like bread dough. From what he has shared with us, he definitely has some anti-mormon views, which is why we were a little concerned when he asked if he could bear his testimony in church even though he was a "nonmember". We told him what a testimony consisted of, but basically said that if he felt like he had a testimony, then he was free to share it. By the time Sunday rolled around, I had largely forgot about our discussion. During fast and testimony meeting, I glanced up and saw James standing at the pulpit. I literally almost had a heart attack. I know some people use that phrase in the figurative sense, but my heart definitely did a little bit of jumping around inside my chest. Luckily, everything turned out alright, he just shared some scriptures from the bible and then sat down. Miracles do happen I guess. 

Ofa atu 

Elder Nelson