Week 52: The Best is Cumming!

Hello everyone! I got transferred on Tuesday up to Coal Mountain by Cumming Georgia! It's great up here! Things are more spread out than my last area, so there are really pretty fields all over. 

My new companion is Sister Smith :) she is from Payson Utah and has been out for 6 months now. So this is her 4th transfer in the field and I'm her first companion beside her trainer. She is a really hard worker and this is going to be a great transfer! 

It's been a crazy busy week. Transfers are always a bit crazy anyway, but I came in and they had a wedding planned this week and then the couple's baptism next week. So this Saturday I got to go to their wedding. Ricardo y Eloisa are so cute, and they have 2 daughters and a little boy. We are pumped for their baptism this Saturday. 

Also, I got asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting. We are working here with a group soon hopefully to be a branch. So it wasn't too crowded, but it was my first talk in Spanish and was quite nerve wracking but actually went really well. Luckily it was on the plan of salvation and agency, so basically taught a revised version of the lesson ha ha

But this week we have the baptism and lots of lessons to figure out. The miracle of this last week, though, was Luis. The sisters met him about 2 months ago super quick, but never were able to catch him again. We tried at a different time and he was there and told us to come back in two hours. So we came back, taught him the resto, and gave him a book of Mormon. He loved it! He texted how excited he was to read it and learn more from us. It is amazing how God prepares people and guides us to them at the right times. God has his perfect timing, but we still need to do our part and we need to be looking for the opportunities God is giving us. So this week, in your prayers ask for opportunities, and then actively look for them and seek them out, and I promise more opportunities will come than those you seek out. 

Have a wonderful week!

Love, hermana Nielson :D 

 

Week 51: pictures tell a story

Week 50: (Snow) Angels in Georgia

Hey y'all! It's been a great week!

We met this cute family. The mom's named Alba and we got to teach her and two of her daughters Maria and Yensi. We even got to meet with them again so that was a blessing. We are trying to meet with people multiple times a week instead of just once a week, because it helps them progress better, but it can be really hard with their schedules. 

At the end of our English class with Beatriz, we taught her how God wants to hear from us and that we can communicate to Him through prayer. She was really excited to try with us, which was so sweet. Most people are really nervous and want to do it by themselves first. I think she is very ready for the gospel and has the desire to get closer to Christ. 

It snowed!!! Enough for it to stick. So we made a snowman :) it was so fun! Also, we weren't allowed to drive because the drivers are crazy already and even more so with snow. But we got to talk to some people out walking too. And found out the hard way my boot had a whole in it haha.

Also, I saved a duck. We have ducks that live in the complex, and one morning we saw one with a plastic bag stuck around his neck. So picture a girl in a skirt chasing and pinning down a flapping duck wearing a plastic bag. But he didn't bite me and I got to rip it off and save the day. After he knew I helped, but still gave me the side eye 😒

Overall it's been a good week :)

Love, Hermana Nielson :D

 

Week 49: Driving, Driving, Driving

Howdy folks! This weeks news:

We had a pretty great week with lots going on. First, we had interviews. We usually do district council that same day while we have them, and the zone leaders have a small popcorn maker they bring, so it's always a party :) 

We also had international zone conference. In our mission we have a lot of Spanish missionaries and a few Portuguese. They used to have a set of french before I came in. But it's all the missionaries in the mission who are speaking a language. And we get to have a zone conference to specifically talk about language and cultures and ways to best help the people we work with which are basically all immigrants at some point. We are so blesses to have the leaders we do who can help us so specifically. 

We went on exchanges with the stls after zone conference, but didn't have a whole ton of time after we drove home. But they are great and so fun. I always know how much they love and care for us and are such good examples of how we should be as leaders.

We also had a lesson with Roxanna who was someone we knocked into. She doesn't have a huge background in religion, but her dad believed in La Virgin Guadalupe, the mother of all Mexicans. So we taught her about God and how we are his literal children, and that he loves us and wants to hear from us. She was crying and didn't know why so we were able to explain it was the spirit telling her it was true that God loves her. She is so sweet, can't wait to have more lessons with her.

We also had a lesson with Catalina and Nicolas and explained more about the Book of Mormon and why it is important. I have been thinking about that and the restoration lately. How grateful I am to have the Book of Mormon. It is the most correct book, and brings us closer to God than any other book. It truly has changed my life by bringing me closer to the savior. Through it we understand misunderstood and lost doctrines. We have the power of the spirit with us, and the authority and keys to use the power of God again on the earth. With these sacred ordinances, the power of God is in our lives. Without the testimony I have from the Book of Mormon I would be so lost. It is why I am on a mission. Because I have been blessed with the knowledge, power, and peace I find in the Book of Mormon, I needed to share that joy with other people so they can have it too.

Love y'all!

Emiline