Week 8: Josh was Baptized

Hey everyone! Sorry it's going to be a short email, our p-day is really short today because we are going to the temple this week! But it was a very busy week because it was Josh's baptism! You can just see how happy he is now and the light that he has. And the miracle was that his whole family was able to come to his baptism and see him. His mom was so proud. We are too. We are so excited for him. This week we have Emily's baptism that we need to get everything ready for so it'll be another great and busy week! And Easter was so good. I love talking about Christ. It really brings the spirit. I know He lives and loves us. And because He lives I will live again after this life. I also can live again each day as I repent by bringing my heart closer to Him and aligning my will with Heavenly Father's. 

Happy Easter Y'all!

Love,

Sister Nielson :)

 

Week 7: Party in Athens Georgia

This week has been great! 

While we were out tracting on Tuesday it started to rain on us. Luckily we were basically done and heading back to the church for lunch. But we definitely got wet. It was kinda fun haha. We also had pur interviews for the transfer on Wednesday. It was really nice to see President and sister Marsh. It was really just uplifting and motivating. 

We had some great lessons with those we are teaching this week. Matt, the one who bore his testimony a few weeks ago is soaking up what we are teaching Him. It's really cool to see how turning to Christ has helped him so much in his life, and now that we are teaching him how excited he is to continue growing and changing. Elena is also doing great! She is the cutest! She really understands and agrees with all we are teaching and she really likes the Book of Mormon and the lessons we learn from it. We didn't get to meet with Emily much this week because school was so busy. But the lesson we did get to have with her was a miracle. She started out by talking about how hard the week was emotionally with it being so busy and crazy. And that the night before we met was the worst of it. We were worried she was going to want to just take time to herself and not meet with us more, but she said while she was praying so hard because she didn't understand her feelings or why she had them she realized that it would be easier to deal with lifes problems with the gift of the Holy Ghost. She realized she was ready to be baptized and to be able to make those covenants with God and be blessed with the constant companionship of the Spirit. So we set up the 27th for her baptism with her. We were so pumped and excited for her that when she walked out of the building we were jumping and laughing and hugging. We are so excited for her!! And same with Josh's baptism this Saturday. He is so ready and excited to be baptized. He has been so prayerful in preparing and you can just see the light and joy he has found. 

We also have been meeting with a member who has recently been coming back to church more, and she shared with us that she wants to meet with us weekly and prepare to go to temple. It is beautiful to see the change that happens in people when they open their hearts to the love of Christ. She truly has been happier and better able to deal with the struggles she has at work. I know this church is true and that God has blessed us with all the resources to be happy and that we just need to turn to Him.

It's definitely not easy being out here, but I love it! Being a missionary for Christ is the best!!

Love you all!!!

Sister Nielson

101 Davis st. Apt. E9 Athens, Georgia 30606

Week 6: Who let the Cow's out?!

Hey y'all!

This week has been busy but great!

This week I've been focusing on making my days great! By having a good attitude, constantly being grateful, and noticing all the beautiful little things. Like good days are nice, but great days are the best! :)

With contacting I've been able to have a few experiences of discussing Christ with a few different people. They weren't interested in the Church, but being able to share beliefs and experiences with others about Christ brings such a beautiful Spirit every time. Christ truly is a light that shines for all!

I've been working on better understanding my personal revelation and had such a tender mercy given to me by God. Some scriptures in Mosiah 24 were impressed in my mind, and gave me the comfort of knowing I carry God's name and have been set apart for these people and therefore have His power to help them, and also that I can be joyful and God remembers the covenants He makes with us. He is here with me and I know that I am doing what the Lord needs of me.  

We have also seen blessings in inspired contacting. There have been a few times that we didn't have much time in between lessons, but we went out and were able to find people we knew we were supposed to meet and bring light into their lives. God truly blessed us to be able to use the time we have for good. And one of those times we were contacting on campus they had cows out we got to pet! *Note the cow spit in my hair* It's great to be a missionary 😂

I have been so excited for Josh to be baptized and for how excited he is. We can see how much direction and peace the gospel has brought into his life and know how much more will come with his covenants to God and committing to follow Christ's path. It is truly a great day when you can see the light of Christ in someone blessing their lives. 

We also had a sad moment. Sevval, the girl we've been teaching English went back to Turkey. But to say goodbye she had us over to her house to have an authentic Turkish breakfast. It was really good and a great and funny experience. She is so sweet as well as her sister and mom. As we were eating they were having us try everything, and my companion teamed up against me to make me eat even more ha ha. She was trying not to laugh as I kicked her under the table and just kept eating what was on my plate. I was so full!!!! But it was a blessing to be able to see her before she went and give her a Book of Mormon. We had been having her read out of the Children's Book of Mormon and helping her with words and things through that. And we had been able to discuss our similar beliefs in God's protection and guidance through prophets. Across the world people have truths they know of God and His love and it is beautiful to hear and see them. 

General Conference was so amazing this weekend!! I know that God truly loves us and gave us prophets to guide us and head up His church with His authority and power and that He continues that today and we are blessed at the opportunity to hear from them so often. I know what they teach is true and will never guide us astray and that as we strive to live the teachings the Lord will bless us with power and protection. I invite all of you to read and study the prophets words and find ways to implement their teachings in your lives. I promise that you will see more light and joy as you do this. 

I hope everyone makes it a great week and knows that I love all of you and most importantly, so does Heavenly Father!

Love Y'all, 

Sister Nielson

 

 

Week 5:Puppies and Pancakes

This week has been great!

We had some really good lessons with the people we are teaching, and they are all making great progress :) we have a girl praying between two baptismal dates, a boy on date, and hope to get another girl on date this week! So exciting!! It is amazing to see how the gospel truly blesses lives and gives so much peace and comfort. 

At the beginning of this week, we contacted a guy on campus named Ryan. And he seemed cool. We set up an appointment with him, but he didn't show up. And such is the life of missionaries. But that night, the branch president, who is literally the best, bought us chick-fil-a for dinner. It seriously made my day. In the Young Single Adult ward we don't get fed like at all, so it was nice. But every Sunday night we do have branch dinner and Friday nights a lady in the first ward who cleans the institute feeds all the missionaries in the area which is so nice. And she is a hoot. 

We had exchanges this week with the Sister Training Leader's. It was awesome to go with them and do a lot of tracting. Heavenly Father definitely gave me a first great experience at it. It was a beautiful day, so be really nice people, and set up 5 return appointments with people, and got to pet a cat and some dogs :) ha ha

This Sunday was really good. We had some great testimonies, and then this kid named Matt got up. He said he wasn't apart of this church, but had some things to say. He talked about how he came from darkness and family deaths, but how he came to the light in Christ and how he feels his grandma. It was so beautiful and heartfelt. And we set up an appointment with him and his girlfriend who is a member later this week! It's so awesome! And we got fed by the Lee family. They have two daughters in the YSA. We had some delicious pancakes, and they had 2 dogs, and their aunts puppy they were watching. It was so cute!!

We had zone conference this week, and I really loved it! It sure does wipe you though. From it I am memorizing the baptismal questions, we set up a contacting board to get members in on daily contacting those we are teaching, and focusing on growing when you are already doing well. 

This week I've had two experiences of getting to feel God's love for his children this week. Like overwhelming love and admiration. So far, I think that is one of my favorite things, testifying of God's love for people.  

I know that Christ is there for me, and for each one of us! He is seriously trying to help us, and we just need to not be so stubborn ha ha. 

Keep it real and keep it really funny :)

Sister Nielson :D