사랑해

Hi again!

Always so good to hear from you and how it's all going! 

This week went so fast, it was a day shorter than usual haha but tomorrow starts the new transfer! I am going to be moved once again, to a Laie family ward. It will be good but I'm not sure if there is even a nonmember living in the boundary haha. nice. Good thing for the visitors' Center! And online missionary work. I am really happy though because Sister Yun is staying in our YSA area and both of our investigators seem to be progressing and I'm so grateful for that! They are both really sweet beautiful Chinese ladies. It's not super-fast progress, but seeing them recognize God and also praying is such a blessing! I love to teach to that level, simple and basic :)

My new companion will be Sister Taki. I love this sister so much! She is from Japan and is so sweet and I know I can learn so much from her. 

This week has been really special and I feel a great amount of spirit with me. I have really found that as I recognize the spiritual experiences, I have more of them. I watched a girl open her mission call and it was so touching for me. That few minutes is such a special moment and I remember opening my call and feeling so peaceful and calm about it. Excited, but not nervous or doubting that it was right. I never knew what it would be like, and it's not like I thought lol but it has been such a special experience and I can't imagine this not being my life. Good thing I still got some time ;) 

There was changes made to our online missionary work and it recovered these lost contacts that just disappeared in the system! Haha it was such a miracle for us. Usually we have between like 2-6 baptisms a week as a VC, but this week there was 12!!! :) So awesome! Happy for us to be able to know of those people. I know it's not necessary for us, but it is really encouraging to know that our efforts are helping in one way or another :) I met many interesting people and oh yeah! Prom here is so huge lol like the whole high school comes to the temple grounds for pictures... kinda weird but so many people. And such a good missionary opportunity...even though many are members...:) 

Oh yeah haha another awesome thing. Elder David F. Evans of the 70 (used to be over missionary things for the church, now lives in Hong Kong for his assignment) came and spoke to us and gave a special training. It was sooo special. He spoke about callings and how we are called by prophecy and revelation. I think this is such an important thing to be called to repentance about hah. A lot of us don't always love our call or question why we were sent here.. but he taught so many good things. He taught us how God called us here and how we agreed to serve where ever he called us. He also reminded us that we have sooo much opportunity to teach. Much more than many others even though it's short moments, we get to teach maybe more people with more diversity than anywhere else. That is something we shouldn't take lightly or for advantage. It's true, we do get to teach and help people from China or India or those countries where missionaries don't get to go too much, and so it is needed for us to be here. He reminded of Alma 29 and how he needed to repent because he wasn't grateful or okay with what God had allotted him. I think that's also true with every calling we get in the church. We need to repent if we aren't happy with our calling or trusting God. Anyway, yeah, probably doesn't make sense, but I hope that if anyone is struggling with loving their callings, they can remember that we know about prophecy and revelation and that we need to trust God and he can make the most of us!!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH>I have been learning to write and say Korean lol but this is from google translate lol but really I can write this is person :)>>> 사랑해 .

LOVE SISTER NIELSEN

Pearl Harbor

Hiiiii This has been a really good week!                          

First thing! Wednesday we got to go do service at Pearl Harbor! It was such a fun time and always remembering all that service men and women went through and go through for our freedom! I'm so grateful. We did a lot of sweeping and got to go to places on the ship I hadn't been before :)

Pearl Harbor

I met so many interesting and amazing people this week. it's kinda sad that I get to spend only 15-20 minutes with someone and never see them again, but I'm grateful to have that small touch in their lives. There was a little tender mercy to remind me of how one invitation can make the difference. People request for a free Bible online so often and it would be easy for the church to just mail it, but we call and invite them to have missionaries bring it and then share about the Book of Mormon and invite them to learn about it. many people (but one lady in particular) have their lives changed because of the simple invitation to learn about the Book of Mormon. That is such a small moment of time to invite someone to learn but can be the moment their life changes. I am grateful to be a part of this work, even if it's in such a different way than other missionaries. 

Oh, our investigator Xuxu is doing good! She is from China and her belief in God is growing so much! I can't believe how different each person’s background is, but also how humble and willing she is to pray and try these things. That's really where it all starts. it's not really difficult things, but it does take persistence and diligence! Aw I wish you could meet her, she's so sweet.

Seaweed and Rice is my life

Friends from Soda Springs

I am really amazed at how fast this transfer has gone. :( But hope sister Yun and I can stay together in this area. This Saturday we find out again, and guess what! I have monday pday next week so try not to forget about me :) <3 

I really love you and also have a strengthened testimony of Jesus Christ and the power that the gospel brings. Oh also, there is new church videos about Joseph Smith and they are so good. just saw this morning ;) loveeee youuu

Have a good week,

Sister Nielsen

Tender Mercies

Aloha!

What a good week! Lots of tender mercies and little blessings :) We were able to have a lesson with these Korean girls in the ward, they're both just recently converted and so sweet. They love the gospel so far but there is still so much they don't know. So Luckily Sister Yun can explain things in Korean :) But I have no idea what's going on haha. It's fun though. SHe's a really good teacher.

We also were talking about how in our mission it's hard to always see the "miracles" or the ways God is helping us or allowing us to help others. Even just in simple ways, once we prayed to recognize those things, we started to see many little blessings and miracles that we wouldn't have thought too much about but realized they were from God. That is probably true for all of us in our lives... we just don't recognize it, but God is always helping us along. 

Oh I got to meet a couple from Soda Springs. It made me so happy! The McCuttys?? Such a sweet couple. The sisters told me someone was visiting the temple grounds, so my comp and chased them down on the temple grounds haha. Awh so sweet. Also Matt's friend came, don't pay any attention to the video she made. lol so embarrassing. But fun to have those connections so often here :)

Many of my online investigators are actually being taught by missionaries!!! Thank goodness! And I found out that one of the ladies I had met in the VC had surprisingly got baptized in December, but hadn't answered my calls or texts, so I thought she wasn't interested and hadn't really met the missionaries. Fun surprise :) Also someone SIster De Leon and I had met together also texted her and said he got baptized :) Such a fun surprise and I'm so grateful for the technology to be able to know even about one or two of the people we taught here :) You never know how many peoples' lives are touched :)

Also this Russian fellow came on our tram tour, and I thought of Logan Young in Russia and how hard it would be to find new investigators, so we did our best and he filled out the card, I don't know how it will go, but i'm sure that would be the best text serving there. I know it was when I served in Military where we can't really find easily...

This week we had lots of Tongan food, lol at Sister Yun. I have to say, it's really grown on me. I remember the first time I had laulau, but now I actually really like it! I never wouldve' thought haha. 

Yeah, lots of really great things and people were met this week! And even though there were hard times, we worked through it. We had a training yesterday about GRATITUDE. (aka great attitude) Yeah, i never thought about that being my problem, but it's true, when we are unhappy or feeling down, if we can develop an attitude of gratitude, our lives are much happier. A sister shared how on her dance team they had the "but... rule" where if you said something negative then you had to say but...and something positive that could be taken from the situation. I don't know if that makes sense, but it really is helping me to see the good in even the situations I hate the most. :) If you struggle with being negative, try it! :)

 

Love you so much! i hope you have a great week and hope to hear from you :)

Love, Sister Nielsen

Aloha :)

                                              

Wow this transfer is going soo fast! This last 5 months are going to fly by. :o 

So many wonderful people and experiences. I am happy to say Sister Yun and I are finally figuring out how to teach together better. In the VC it is so common and easy to just give a tour/teach by yourself. It is sooo much less effective though. And so we were able to talk about it and now we are working together much more and the spirit is so much more powerful. It strengthens my testimony of the reason we are put in twos. Not just for protection, but teaching together is so much more spiritual/powerful. 

the Tram

We have been also trying to spend a lot more time online. And it's so amazing how receptive people are. Of course they are the ones requesting, but each week as a visitors' center, we just keep getting more and more referrals sent out to missionaries around the world. It is such a blessing. And also so many are being taught, which is also such a blessing. Elder Swinton spent a large chunk of time today in our training meeting this morning showing us the charts of visitors and people that want to learn more after coming here. It is a huge miracle to see the extreme amounts of people that have come this year compared to the past... Like the total number of guests in the VC in 2015 was 130,000 and this last 2016 was over 200,000. And this year is already starting with soo many visitors. Such great opportunities to teach people that normally hide from missionaries lol.

I met this really neat older man from italy the other day who had some really interesting thoughts. He has studied a lot about what brings peace and how he feels religion is missing the point. If we followed what Jesus Christ taught more, that would lead to peace. But it was a good reminder to me to always remember that the gospel and ordinances we do in the church are what help us to live and apply the teachings of Jesus Christ. We should be helping those in need, giving all that we can to help and serve others, and also strive for charity in our hearts. When we become more like Christ, we will feel the spirit more and also have a greater understanding for the need of his gospel. 

 

Also just something fun! We have been being fed by all the ysa and married students, and I really love the different asian foods haha. So much better than Panda Express ;) I am going to learn how to pronounce and make the foods I am trying so I can also make it for all of you after!!! You will love it :) 

Jamie's friend and family

I hope all is going great! Keep trying to love and serve others, and the spirit will guide you to know even stronger of the truth of the gospel. I love you and miss you and wish you the best 

Love Sister Nielsen