Upward, Forward, and NORTHward

Monday, November 30, 2015

Transfer calls! Sister Nielsen is going to Connell, Washington, this week! It's, like, the most northern part of our mission. I'll send the map so you can see where it is. [Note from Lisa: The attachment wouldn't open, so I found another map.] Apparently it is so little. Haha! But the ward is huge. We'll be doing so much driving. Oh, and we're getting doubled in and starting the English work. I guess the missionaries there have always also been in the Spanish branch, so the ward is excited to get its own missionaries. I can't wait to tell ya what it's like.


Mission boundaries. Connell is at the top of the northeast quadrant.

This week has had so many things happen! There is an investigator, Vickey, who has been meeting with the sisters for so long, and has been dropped and picked up at least twice since I've been here in July. Her son Lee is in and out of jail a lot, and he had said that he wanted to get baptized with his mom, so they've pushed/postponed the date a few times. We met this week and she told us that Lee was in jail again. We were so nervous she would want to push her date back again because she has so been wanting to get baptized with Lee. But not long after she told us Lee was in jail, she said, "But I'm going to push forward with the baptism anyway. I'm tired of waiting for Lee." Kind of a bittersweet thing, but she feels really strongly about it. She just wants Lee to learn from the mistakes he's making, and she feels it will help him more if she moves forward with her life. She is so excited. We've got meetings scheduled with her until the 12th of December. She was at church yesterday, and loved it!

I spent a lot of time on LDS.org today, trying to do as much research as I could about Connell. Where did the time go? Excited for this new area and new transfer. Sad to leave Walla Walla. So many good things have been happening! My companion, Sister McOmber, is receiving a new missionary, and I know she is going to love the area and the people so much.

Signing out from Walla Walla, Washington,
Sister Nielsen


With Ed Bush after Thanksgiving dinner with the Alter family. I think he had so much fun! We love Brother Bush


By the Walla Walla City Library. Man, this place is quirky!


Our cute little Christmas tree!


Oh, just another Walla Walla tree with a face. #wallaquirks

Just some pics this week

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

She just sent some pictures this week! It's all good.


We found this in our potential investigator's yard. IT LIVES!


Snowy day at the temple today! :)


Us with the 1st Ward sisters at zone conference


(This is actually from last week.) Strike a pose in Prescott, Washington. Population: 50 feet that way.

This Lovely Week in November

Monday, November 16, 2015

Email to the family

Hello, family!

I didn't really feel like making a mass email this week, but if anyone wants to know how I'm doing, let them know about all that's been said in my attachment. I wanted to include what I wrote to President Ware. I thought it'd be a pretty good summary. I love you all so, so much, and I'm glad to hear that the funeral went so well. I'm so grateful for the knowledge we have of the Gospel and for what a blessing it's truly been for me— and for you all, I'm sure. Thank you for your great examples and for your love and support.

President Ware!

We are so grateful for this week. We've been really trying to help Samantha and Linda progress towards baptism this week. We had a lesson with Linda, and we almost lost her! We went to her house for our lesson with her on Friday and she started with, "I don't think this is for me, you guys." NO! So we asked some inspired questions with the help of our member, and we found out that she wasn't understanding the Book of Mormon and feeling a bit overwhelmed. We explained that she doesn't need to understand it all at once, and we're thinking about sharing scriptures from the Book of Mormon that are going to help her with whatever she's going through, instead of asking her to read and comprehend the whole Book of Mormon. We're thinking it will be a good start to get her warmed up to the language of the Book of Mormon and the way that it will make her feel.

Samantha's doing really well and is excited for baptism, which we are so grateful for. She recently got a job and they asked her to work on Sunday, so she wasn't able to come [to church]. We're pushing her baptismal date back again, to the 5th of December. We had been having a really hard time getting ahold of her until we thought to call her during weekly planning, and I was amazed that she not only answered but we were able to counsel with her about the expectations we have for her baptismal preparation, and she's agreed to let us come and teach her three times a week. Yay!

We've also been teaching someone named Himan. Sister Hamblin and I met him and his friend by the convenience store by our house. It was pretty funny because his friend was really drunk and was rapping and going on about Jesus and his conversion story while Himan apparently had this epiphany that we were exactly what he needed. As his friend was going on, Himan turns to Sister Hamblin and says, "Whoa. It's so crazy that you're here, right now." And she got his contact information and gave him a Restoration pamphlet. We've been teaching him on and off ever since. He tells us he loves what we teach him and he really loves how it makes him feel, but Sister McOmber and I have been struggling to teach him. It seems like he learns a little slower, but like I said, he loves it. He came to church yesterday, and really wants to come back next week. We invited him to be baptized this week, and he said he's going to pray about it. We're aiming to follow up with him again this week. What should we do if we think he might have a learning or other disability? Sister McOmber suggested having him meet our bishop to discern his needs. It's just finding a good time where both Bishop and Himan are available.

ALSO! You probably have heard from previous missionaries in this area about Vicky Trout and Lee Crosby. Sister McOmber was looking in the area book and came across their teaching record (probably because it's a really long one... :)) and we had the idea to call them to see how they were. They were both reeeally close to being baptized before I got to the area. Apparently they had been interviewed and everything, but when her mom died, progression just sort of stopped, and between funeral arrangements and her health, they sort of fell off the map. So when we called, she updated us on everything that had been going on and expressed her and Lee's desire to be baptized, but she expressed that health issues kept interfering. We explained that opposition would continue to arise because of the importance of what she was wanting to do, and encouraged her to push through it and commit to a date. They want to be baptized as soon as possible— the 21st, if they can. We counselled with Elder Harward and he encouraged us to review the lessons with them, since it's been so long. I'm thinking that's probably a really good idea. It'll just be a matter of how fast we can do it. We're both really excited, though.

We're so grateful that the Lord is pouring down these miracles as we're gradually talking to more and more people every day. The promise you made us is so true. We're still improving about talking to everyone, but even the quarter inch that we've seen has made a big difference in the work.

As far as my family, I didn't hear much from them. My mom sent me a little something in response to what I sent her for the funeral, and my sister sent pictures from the funeral and a little bit about how everything went. This is what I sent to her:

"It makes me sad that I couldn't be there, but I know Dad would want me here. The real Dad isn't in that coffin, and that brings me a lot more comfort. The real Dad is around me and right by my side when I need him. The real Dad is sharing the gospel on the other side with those who need it. I just pray this will be an experience that strengthens the whole family. I love the pictures of Maren [my niece] and I LOVE that Bradley [my brother-in-law] is wearing Dad's tie. It made me so happy to hear that Kevin and Shawn [my brothers] did such a great job with those prayers. There's a part in our handbook about the priesthood, and as it was talking about funerals, I thought about Kevin and Shawn and how they really are living worthily of the priesthood they hold. I am so grateful that we are living what Mom & Dad taught us. Doesn't it just make everything make sense? Doesn't it bring such peace? It makes me sad to see all this stuff that he loved so much left behind, and it makes me sad that I can't be there with Mom to help and comfort her, but I know that this scripture is true:

"'Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live. Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them.' (D&C 31:5,6)

"I am so glad that Dad is in a place where he is resting. I'm grateful for the promise of the scriptures because I worry about you guys a lot. I know that you will be okay, that we will be okay. I know the Lord will protect, lift, and comfort us with Dad's passing. I know that there is so much more to mortality than mortality. I know it because I feel it, and I can feel Dad. It's got to be true. There truly is no way it isn't."

There's been a lot of weight lifted about this. The Lord truly is healing my heart as I've been trying to forget about my problems and go to work. I miss Dad every day, but I can imagine it will be that way for the rest of my life— for as long as Dad just isn't with us anymore. But he is. And every day might be hard. But life needs to go on. It has to. That's what he would want. I can imagine some days are going to be really hard, but that doesn't mean it won't be okay.



There have been quite a few days where all I want to do is go home and be with my family, but I'd much rather be here. I have my whole life— and beyond— to be with my family, but I only have 9+ months left to serve the Lord like this. I just want to do all that I can while I'm here. I've been trying to let Sister McOmber help me with whatever I need as far as mourning or whatever, but I have an easier time just forgetting myself than talking about my problems. I figure it will resolve itself eventually.

Anyway. I'm rambling. I feel like things are going really well in spite of whatever is happening with my family. I'm grateful for the work of a missionary. It has been so amazing to be a missionary as my dad has passed. I told my sister the other day that I felt like I was cheating because I was out here with all this extra help as a missionary while they were at home dealing with it all. I worry about them, but at the same time I don't. Being a missionary truly is a blessing that I am beyond grateful for right now. I appreciate your support as well, President Ware. Thank you for all you've been doing for me and my family. Thank you for your prayers.

The work is rolling forward. The Lord truly blesses us in our afflictions.

~Sister Nielsen

Here are some fun pictures from the week.


That one time one of our members has a tree house


From a few weeks ago. The leaves here are so pretty!!

Truly the Gospel Blesses Families

Monday, November 9, 2015

I am so grateful for the love and support I have felt from so many of you as the news of my dad's passing has spread.

For those who don't already know, my dad passed away last Thursday. His kidneys had been failing. Diabetes is a beast for the intestines. Eventually they got him on some medication that finally helped him to rest and relax. My mom helped talk him into the idea of it being OK for him to go, and he passed away peacefully. They let me know that night, and I didn't get to sleep right away. Thank goodness for the impression I had to take Benedryl; knocked me out, eventually. :) I was so worried about my mom. I couldn't imagine having to do that for the person you love the very, very most.

President Ware has been very, very supportive about it. He let me call my mom and talk to her after he had let her know that the protocol is to keep missionaries in the field instead of letting them go home for funerals. (Apparently when people go home, they try to not come back. #SatanIsReal)

My dad isn't suffering anymore from this disease that tormented his body for 21 years. He is free. He has free range to learn the gospel, to share the gospel, and be by my side helping me testify 24/7. His presence is real. It's so crazy. I feel him here with me, even now. I have never felt this close to him. They're having the funeral this Saturday, but I'll be here in Washington, sharing the glorious truth of forever families, with my dad right by my side. (It makes me sound like a crazy person, but I wouldn't say it if it weren't real.)

I don't want any of you to worry. We are all fine. I am fine. I'm going to be just fine. My family will be fine. My mom is clinging to the peace she has felt in the temple. Nothing is impossible. The Lord has made it right through the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why I'm doing what I'm doing! So that others can have this peace, too. :) It's been surreal to feel my dad helping me, and I know that he truly lives on. He is my best friend, my "day-time friend," and we continue to have adventures together.





The work is progressing. Please keep Samantha D. and Linda A. in your prayers. They are on date for baptism, and are slowly progressing. I think we'll have to push their baptism dates back.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has never been more real to me. I know it's real. My dad has been here with me, and he knows it's true as well. The restored gospel will truly, truly bless my family and yours. If you are reading this and haven't already gained a testimony of this truth, I want to invite you to please, please do so. If you ask God, with a sincere heart, he will let you know that this is true. Please. It will truly change your life, and it has been a rock and a sure strength and foundation in mine.

-Sister Melanie Nielsen
daughter of Russell Kevin Nielsen (Sept. 13, 1960 - Nov. 5, 2015)

Rain, Halloween, & Taming the Beast

Monday, November 2, 2015

Busy day! Short email. Sorry! Here's what I sent to President Ware today.

I feel like Heavenly Father really has seen the desire I have to improve. The Lord has blessed us with opportunities to invite people to baptism! Samantha D. really wants to learn what God wants her to do and is so excited for November 21. She loves the way she feels when we teach her. She says the things we teach her give her "good goosebumps." :) We were so excited to teach her about the Holy Ghost when she said that! We invited her to church, but she said she got way sick the night before and couldn't make it. We're trying to get her stepmom's home teachers over to give her a blessing. We're not sure if that actually happened yet.

We hope we can keep consistently meeting with her. It seems like that would be the only thing keeping her from reaching her date. I think if we pray about a good fellowshipper for her, we'll have an easier time and keep her safe and progressing. We're meeting with her again on Wednesday, but wanted to stop by tonight to see if she's doing all right.

The other person we had the blessing of teaching this week was Linda A.! We met her at Subway the night Sister McOmber got here, and she kept talking about how she was ready to get clean and get baptized. We scheduled a return appointment for this last Saturday. We watched the Restoration video with her, her daughter, and her daughter's boyfriend, Luis, who was glued to the movie the whole time! She told us it was a really relaxing video and Luis said he really enjoyed it! She had questions about why there were so many Bibles, and she was quite frustrated about it, but it was so amazing to see how teaching her about the Apostasy really helped her understand how the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ really answers those questions.

She wants to work towards November 27 to be baptized. We wanted it to be sooner, but she has a hectic work schedule and apparently she relapsed on cigarettes. Many mighty prayers her direction. I think she's definitely ready to follow the Savior, but I still think she might have a lot of questions about things. Which things, I'm not sure yet, but I'm grateful for the way that planning and the Spirit help us.

It's hard to believe all of this only happened in a week. It's been a jam-packed week of miracles.

So pray for Samantha, Linda, Ed B., and Tanya G. At least for this week. Samantha and Linda are on date for baptism. Ed is struggling to come to church, and we're not going to meet with him until he shows a little more interest (and he's so, so close, too! He just needs to get his rear in gear!). And Tanya is a referral we got this week, and she has been prepared. We just need to get with her. ​And you know, we need to get people to church. Church attendance is so important, and it's a delicate balance of helping people get there and getting them fellowshippers who will help them get there as well. I wish missionary work were less of a learning process sometimes, but thus is life. We're doing our best. :)

Also, I cut my hair today. There was a whole animal hiding in there. Imagine that.

- Sister Nielsen

P.S. We got stuck in the rain with a broken umbrella. Who says it doesn't rain in this part of Washington?




Halloween!






He will do great things. ;)


Our pretty church in Walla Walla!


THIS COIN IS AS OLD AS THE SAVIOR! What?!


Look at how funny our bishop's family is. Oh my word.

Week One, Transfer 6: Subway Sandwiches & Speeding

Monday, October 26, 2015

I'm admittedly having a really hard time today. I'm not really sure, but I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I don't remember if I told you last week, but my companion got transferred to a different area. It sounds like President Ware thinks I have a lot more growing to do. So. Trying not to be discouraged about that.

Yesterday was such an awesome day, though. I really needed it. The sabbath truly was a delight and a relief. Where do I even start? I'm going to jot down some of my favorites from my notes:

• Turn to the Lord; trust in Him, and let Him be your guide.
• A desire to believe is where you start! It can be that simple.
• Skepticism is easy; faith is a worthwhile effort that reaps great results.
• Center your lives on the Savior & simplify your life with the things that matter most.
• How we can establish a good foundation on Jesus Christ? Center your life on him. The world is spinning out of control, and even our lives can feel that way. If we center ourselves on him, we find protection.
• Forgiveness. Forgive others. Take time to evaluate anything you haven't moved on from. Give that to the Savior and simplify your life.
• Forgive yourself. The Savior is ready and willing to take your mistakes from you. Apply the Atonement and move on. Let it go. Simplify your life by giving it to him.
• Self-Control. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.
• Align yourself to the will of the Lord.
• The Lord will humble us so that our hearts can be broken. When our hearts break, there is room for the Lord to fill it with a better way.
• To him, our direction is more important than our speed.
• Simply repent and get on the path. The Lord is there to help us.

Our bishop invited us to ward council, which has been a goal (of mine, at least) for quite a while. We've been to a few ward councils since I've been here, but it was cool that Bishop wanted us to be there. What was even better is that we talked about the people the ward is focusing on, and I'm not sure if we've done that since I've been here! We'll be trying to help the ward with those people as well, thank goodness. Hoping it will open up some teaching opportunities. Then what was even better, we met with Bishop and our ward mission leader to get the ball rolling on a few things that haven't been happening. We counselled together and made some great plans about how we can be more effective in working together as members and missionaries. The Lord is truly preparing people for us through the efforts of our members.

My new companion's name is Sister McOmber. She's from Queen Creek, AZ. She is a great missionary, and it's been so awesome to work with her so far. Our first night together, we had dinner scheduled with a less-active family, but when we showed up to dinner with them, they cancelled and gave us some money to go get ourselves dinner. We chose Subway (one reason probably being that we get a missionary discount there, which is nice!). This lady named Linda was making our sandwiches. She noticed our name tags, rang up our discount (bless her), and proceeded to check us out. To our surprise, suddenly she asked us to pray for her daughter, who was going through some health issues. After we prayed with her (with no one else in the store, thank goodness), we asked about her daughter and started asking questions to open up a gospel discussion. She told us about how much she'd done to turn her life around and how much Jesus Christ has been helping her. "I run on faith," she told us. :) We had a great conversation with her, and left her with a pass-along card.

The next day, we were in the same area. Because our mortal bodies are subject to mortal things, we gave in to the great need we had to... relieve ourselves... and stopped by Subway to ask if we could use their restroom, not thinking Linda would be there again. But she was! So while I was... um, busy... my companion started to get to know Linda a little more, and by the time I came out, we were easily led to a conversation that helped us understand her desire to continue to move forward with her progression and be baptized. We were so excited that she said that! Haha. We asked her if we could come over to her house and help her achieve that goal, and we found out she lived in our area! How great is that? The soonest she could meet is on Halloween, so we've made plans to meet with her a little more often, or at least go get a Subway sandwich or something. :) We're very excited for this opportunity the Lord has given us and are praying to be able to accomplish his will for her.
I only have time for that miracle this week, but the Lord has been pouring them down. My companion has such great desire and is so genuine. She really is being a great example to me.

I love you with all my heart. Keep yourselves centered on the Lord, and all will be well.

-Sister Nielsen

Wherefore, your family shall live

Email to the family

Monday, October 19, 2015
Sorry to hear that Dad is having more troubles. All I can think to say is that the Doctrine and Covenants promises that my missionary service will really bless our family. "Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live." (D&C 31:5)

All we can do is trust that the Lord will bless our family, and move forward with faith.

They're transferring my companion to Kennewick this week. I'm not really sure why, but it sounds like that's happening to a lot of the new missionaries that came in last transfer. They don't quite know what to do with 29 missionaries! There are quite a few companionships that are only six weeks in and are getting doubled into an area. Only six weeks in with no trainer? Training each other? It's crazy.

My companion is going to be with a sister who just finished training. I guess the Lord trusts Sister Hamblin a lot (and her new trainer). That girl came pre-trained anyway. I can only hope that it's not because I did something wrong. I feel like there are things I could have done better, but ultimately I feel like I tried my best with what I had. I am trying to learn to trust the Lord more and rely on him rather than my own strengths. Maybe and hopefully that will prepare me for when the Lord calls me to train again.

I'll be getting a sister who was also training one of the 29 new missionaries that came in last transfer. So we both sent our missionaries somewhere else. I'm not sure why it's happening, but I trust it's happening for a reason. Being a trainer is such a beautiful and awesome experience, so I guess the Lord is preparing me to be even better at it for next time.

I'll send you what I sent President Ware because I ran out of time for sake of writing him about so much today.

It's been roller-coaster week! (I feel like I probably say that every week! Haha.) We had an investigator we met last week that we decided to drop by and visit. When we taught her, everything we taught about was something she agreed with, and she was really excited to pray about the Book of Mormon and find out if she had been baptized by proper authority. Apparently she didn't necessarily appreciate that we surprised her, though. She got quite a bit upset, with some choice words about us trying to shove these things down her throat and told us to never come back. So that was quite depressing. Especially after telling our district council about her and feeling their support to go and reach out to her.

I think one miraculous thing that's happened this week was actually things that happened the past couple of days. We've been striving to include the members more, and I think the best way to describe doing that is that we schedule a couple of hours or so to be in a certain part of our area— not only to find, street contact, and tract, but to look through our directory and feel by the Spirit which member we should visit. It's not something we make time for every day, but we've been able to do it every other day or so, and we found a way to reach out by offering service to a few of the members we've met.

We stopped by a fellowshipper for one of our investigators who's not really progressing, and we were able to sit down, briefly get to know the family, and share a scripture about people's hearts being prepared for the word and ask them questions about it. It sparked a great conversation that really brought the Spirit into the home. We kept it as brief as the conversation allowed, and said a prayer with them. It was hard to leave the house after that because they were talking about people they've been trying to work with after we asked if they could think of anyone we could try by that night. The father talked about his wayward daughter in the 1st Ward, and the adult son recommended a family that lived in our area and invited him to get ahold of us when we knew their address (otherwise, we'd have a really hard time finding it).

I just think the biggest thing that this plan has helped us with is just acting in a way where we've realized that we can't do this work without the members. Another thing that I think has really helped us is keeping daily contact with our ward mission leader. He's really gotten more and more excited about getting the ward involved since we had that meeting in Milton-Freewater. The most miraculous part was just seeing a member we don't talk to much (other than at church) call us and refer his neighbor. His neighbor is someone we had talked to before and he had asked our member about us, and Brother Petersen called us right away. We made it a priority to contact this referral the next day (with no notable success) and left a note on Brother Petersen's door so we could follow up with him. Brother Petersen called, we told him what happened, and then Brother Petersen started telling us about another friend he was trying to have over. He also mentioned his plans to invite them to meet with the missionaries, and the Spirit helped us compliment him and his dedication to serving the Lord.

I'm grateful for the change of mindset the Lord, through many means, has helped me to have about members. We've got to love them into this work. There's no way we can do it without them. I really am starting to see the Lord bless us with the attention we're trying to pay to the members. We sat down with one of our most progressing investigators (actually, probably our actual most progressing investigator... :/ ), Ed B., and asked him what he expected of us as missionaries. Apparently this was the best question we could have asked because he opened up about him being on the fence about whether or not this was the path the Lord wanted him to take. We encouraged him to come to church so that he would be able to feel the Spirit testify to this being the path for him. He agreed that it would help, and expressed that he wanted to come on a church tour to get a feel for it before he came. We thought this conversation was a miracle because we have been trying and trying to figure out what his holdup was and why he wasn't coming to church. But it became pretty evident when we just paid attention to the Spirit. We were trying to get a member to that lesson as well, which didn't work out, but I feel like we were able to talk to him more freely when we were able to sit with him, one on one (or, one on two, if you will) to figure out why he wasn't progressing.

So we tried to set up a church tour the next few days and didn't have any luck getting a member to come. When it kept falling through, he promised that he would be at church, but... no go. Maybe he's not ready? Maybe we need to have another "DTR" (define the relationship)? :) He's really good to read the Book of Mormon every time, so it's clear that he's willing to learn, but he won't come to church. He says he got turned off from churches when his last pastor was always asking for money in his sermons. I think he thinks that's what's going to happen at our church. I feel like we've explained that, but maybe the church tour is just what needs to happen. I think that would really help him; it's just a matter of getting a member there. We can't do a church tour without a member. Plus we'd need another woman with us!

So we're praying, and trying to listen to what the Spirit is telling us. And we're trying to find, find, find, because you've got to find if you want to teach, right?

I love you all a lot. :) Give Daddy my love.

~Sister Nielsen

Why for did you cut me down?

Monday, October 12, 2015


Another successful day of tracting

Hey, all! It's a short one this week. But I wanted to share what I wrote to my mission president, and then I wanted to share a link to a Mormon Message. It definitely applies and helped me a ton today! :)

I would say this week has been pretty good, with all things considered. In trying to keep an eternal perspective, I'd say I'm grateful for this week. Sometimes you have those weeks where everything falls through, almost everyone drops you, and you're inclined to ask God why he let that happen, but it lead to something greater!

My friend shared this story with me, and I thought it really applied to my week.

"Our mission president was teaching his son how to mow their lawn and it was taking his son a really long time to get the job done. Little by little he got better, and it got to the point where he now can mow the lawn one-handed, at like 20 miles an hour! Haha! He told us that when he was frustrated with his son initially, he had the thought come to his mind which said, 'Rich,' [he calls himself this when he is talking to himself, apparently] 'you are not just mowing a lawn, you are mowing a boy.'"

I get impatient with myself a lot! I just wanna be a perfect missionary already. I just wanna have all the answers to people's questions, but that's not how it works at all! It's about mowing a missionary, huh? :) So we're starting from square one this week and really, really focusing on the members. Thank goodness, we didn't lose our whole teaching pool, but we did lose a few potentials (and it felt like a lot! haha). But now we're really working with our ward mission leader, and we're really trying to get involved with the ward and build relationships. I think if this past week hadn't have been so awful, we would have never thought that we needed to do that, so I think the Lord really does cut you down for a reason! I'm so grateful for that!


Can't see the video? Click here.

~Sister Nielsen

Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things

Monday, September 28, 2015
This week has been a great week! The Lord truly gives us tender mercies in the midst of emotional trauma! Haha. My companion and I are working through the undue pressure I've been giving myself as a trainer. I'm grateful that the Lord gives us experiences that teach us. I loved what someone in our ward said about the Atonement yesterday. "I was tired of trying to carry it all, fix it all, and do it myself. That's when I let the Savior take over." I'm not a perfect trainer. I don't have all the answers. I'm not always the best example, but my Savior was. My Savior does, and my Savior is. I love that experiences like this are teaching me to rely on him. I think that's precisely why Heavenly Father made me a trainer when he did. He knew I would need to rely on him because I wouldn't know what else to do!

We are hunting, and digging, and scratching to find someone we can prepare for baptism! The Lord really wants me to be a finder, I suppose. We taught a former investigator named Nick this week. His wife died about a year and a half ago, and he is still really torn up about it. He talks about it like he's "merely the shell of a man— without a soul— and all you see is façade." My new companion did a wonderful job testifying of the reality of the Plan of Salvation our Heavenly Father has restored a full knowledge of, and together we bore testimony of his Heavenly Father's love and the power of his Savior's Atonement to heal all wounds. Unfortunately, Nick is pretty set that he will never be able to believe that again, without some physical proof the Savior's reality. As tangible as the Spirit we tried to bring might have been, Nick's heart is not quite prepared. Which is funny because I've been studying about Laman and Lemuel in the Book of Mormon lately, and they saw SO many signs. They were constantly given evidence of the reality of our God, but their hearts were too hard, and it ultimately led to their own personal apostasy.

Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe. Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it. ... And now as I said concerning faith— faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. ... Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. (Alma 32:17-18, 21, 26-27)

It's through an exercise of faith that we gain a perfect knowledge! And I know this is truth. I have seen it. It makes me sad that Nick isn't ready for that, but with faith on my part, I know the Lord will prepare him.
We're also teaching a guy named Ed B. He is a hoot! The first time we met him, we talked for like an hour in front of his car about Jesus Christ, Christianity, and the Book of Mormon. We've been meeting with him about every week with our ward mission leader, and I am so grateful Brother Johnson comes to those lessons. It's a struggle to teach people who already have such a solid and firm belief in Jesus Christ, and Brother Johnson really is so much help in helping us simply answer some of those deeper doctrine questions that Ed has. We're here to teach doctrine simply, Ed! Come on! ;)

We've invited him to baptism a couple of times, but I think we'll just have to emphasize priesthood restored because he's still convinced his pastor had authority to baptize him (and it sometimes makes me wish that he did, you know?). I guess Heavenly Father is just going to need me to be super learned on all things Apostasy by the time I'm finished serving my mission because I just can't seem to get enough of it in my studies. I want to know why there was a need for a restoration of Christ's church, you know? Especially if all the people I'm teaching need to know why as well.

That's currently the only progressing investigator we have. Which seems to happen to me a lot. Actually, that happened with Gary, and he got baptized this weekend. So there's hope! :)

SPEAKING OF GARY... PICTURES!


L-R: Elders Williamson and Knutson, the missionaries who taught him after Sister T and me; Brother Gary M., Sister M., me, and my companion!

Oh, my word. Gary's story is so great. I just love Gary. The Lord seriously prepared Gary so much to be baptized. He started by reading this book about positive thinking, and then it ended up being a book mostly about Jesus Christ (hehe, got him). He had sort of a religious background growing up, but not much. We had met with our bishop, who invited us to go and visit Sister Miller, maybe even hopefully be able to catch Gary at home and invite him to take the lessons. From there, the Spirit took over. We introduced the message of the Restoration to him one day, and before we even knew what was happening, he accepted the invitation to take the lessons. Sister Miller was floored. She had been super active in the church for about five years, and recently went through the temple for herself. She couldn't believe that Gary had accepted our invitation and thanked us profusely.

From there, Gary insisted that he was simply nourishing his desire to learn about the Savior, rather than about the stories. With the help of the Spirit, we taught about the Savior, we showed him "Finding Faith in Christ," and were able to help him understand that this was about his commitment to Jesus Christ. Not about becoming Mormon, not about pleasing the missionaries, not about Sister Miller, but about him and his Savior. From there, he slowly accepted invitations to come on a church tour, then to come to church... and then I got transferred. One thing that always really impressed me about Gary was that he always read the Book of Mormon chapters we left with him. He even went out of town while we were teaching him, and he let us ask him questions and give assignments over text!

From teaching Gary and watching him be baptized (twice... ya gotta do it right, ya know?), I've learned a lot about how important, yet insignificant, our roles as missionaries are. We're simply there to push the process along. It really is all about the Lord. It's about how much he's prepared them. It's about how we bring the Spirit to let him testify of truth. It's about being worthy of that Spirit and direction so that we can help these people understand that THIS is where Heavenly Father wants them; THIS is the answer to all their prayers, all their concerns, all their questions. This truly is the way. The Lord will let you know when they're ready; you just have to have the faith necessary to get them there.

I love the Lord's timing. I'm grateful that he's in charge.

~Sister Nielsen

Rain in Walla Walla :)

Monday, September 21, 2015

Hello, all! Just wanted to send a quick update. Here's what I had to say to my mission president this week. I love, love, love being a missionary! Hope y'all are doing great!

Hi, President Ware!
It's amazing to see the way the Lord strengthens me as a trainer and helps me to be patient, loving, kind, and repentant. Especially the repentant part! I am definitely trying to be the best companion for her, and trying to be a great example. I hope that she will see me repent from my mistakes and do my best to move forward from them. You can't be perfect, but you can be perfectly trying! But even then, I'm not so good. But it's a process, and that is a blessing. I don't realize how well I'm doing until we get to companionship inventory and she tells me all these nice things about how I push her to do hard things and help her to want to work hard and be better. Do you ever wish you could go outside of yourself to see all the good that you really do? :) I think that's what companionship inventory is for.

It's been a good week! One cool thing that happened was on Tuesday. We were walking on our way to an appointment, and we were sharing the sidewalk with someone coming up to us. We got right in front of him and started to get to know him. Ed S. has studied religion most of his life, so he doesn't have much of an interest to "fit [himself] into one of those boxes." But we had a really great conversation about Christ! We asked if we could come over and teach him more, but he declined and told us we'd see him around. We found him again later that night! The Spirit prompted us to knock on a door as we were walking home, and there he was! It was so exciting! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation as we talked about the passing of his wife, and it really seemed to resonate with him. We called him this morning to confirm our return appointment with him, and maybe we shouldn't have because he cancelled. :/ But I always tell Sister Hamblin that I'd rather teach someone when the Lord has finished preparing them, rather than when they're not ready. The Lord provides a way!

Another person of interest this week is Ed B. We met him awhile ago, and have been meeting with him and our ward mission leader. We taught him about the Book of Mormon this week, and it was a really great lesson guided by the Spirit. I always love watching things make sense to people and seeing the Spirit work on them. Ed, or Brother B, as we've taken to calling him, isn't quite ready to commit to a baptismal date. But he is significantly more receptive to reading the Book of Mormon, and I think that's progress. :)

We're excited for the week ahead. I'm grateful that we have the opportunity to improve, grow, and move forward from our imperfections and mistakes. Life is a process, and it's made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His hand is stretched out still! :)

~Sister Nielsen

Pictures!


My cute companion in the rain! :)


Somewhere over the rainbow, right?


Weekly planning with mi compañera :)


Havin' lunch with the 1st Ward sisters!


A cute pic of downtown Walla Walla


Mi compañera... made curry! :)


I guess we liked the rain.

I got the best missionary to train

Email to the padres

Monday, September 14, 2015
I ran out of time, but I just wanted to share what I wrote President Ware. Love you!

Hello, President Ware!
It was so great to see you yesterday at the missionary training meeting. That was such a great experience. I learned a lot about that chart that was handed out and I am so excited to apply it. What a great opportunity we have to work with the members on this work.

This week has been crazy! I've been amazed at the strength I've been given to be a trainer. I feel so strongly about not letting there be a huge difference in my mind between being a regular missionary and being a trainer. I feel like as long as I'm working hard, doing my very best, and then repenting when I fall short, the rest will take care of itself.

It's been such a blessing to work with Sister Hamblin. I honestly feel like I got the best missionary to train! She is so bold, and she is so willing to teach, role-play, and just jump in. She really learned so much at the MTC and she is applying it. I have been so impressed with how prepared she is. It's hard to notice anything she's struggling with because she's so willing to jump in and do the work in spite of whatever it is that she's having a hard time with. I'd say she's still adjusting, naturally, to being away from family. She's had a hard time with not being able to talk to her friends as often as she wants, but I can see how willing she is to do what the Lord wants her to do. I know that because she's someone who's so in tune with the Spirit, she'll be able to recognize what the Lord tells her of how she can improve.

As far as how am I feeling about all of this... like I said, I've been pretty at peace and confident about it. I've taken a lot of confidence in applying the doctrine of Christ. I'm trying to remember to not get comfortable to the point of slacking off, but I'm so grateful for the Spirit in my studies that taught me this morning to just keep trying. This life is a process, and being a perfect trainer is a process. I can take confidence in trying my best and know that I have a companion who will help me make up the difference, as long as we're relying on the Spirit.

The 12-week program is doing well, as far as I can tell. We went over it a little before the trainer/trainee meeting, and I think that helped her a lot. I'm not really sure what exactly needs to be taught. It's not as specific as I want it to be sometimes! Haha. But I've just been trying to do what comes to my mind and pay attention to how it feels. I'm so grateful for the Spirit! I'm grateful for Preach My Gospel and the training and study materials we have. She really likes training as well. It's been an interesting week full of meetings and not being able to finish weekly planning, and it's cute to hear her say, "We need to do training!" Haha. I just remember not being as willing to do training, and I am constantly impressed by Sister Hamblin's desire. She really is training me, President!

So I'm in good Spirits. I can continually feel the Lord strengthen me.

***

I'm so grateful for my new companion! She is so ready to serve the Lord. I think that's been the greatest miracle of all this week. She isn't afraid to talk to people, and she's willing to rely on the Lord to gain more confidence to do his work. The miracle as well is that the Lord has given me strength to lead and to train. I couldn't ask for more than that. I'm grateful for a new week with more time to go find people to teach! I'm grateful that Sister Hamblin is excited for that as well.

~Sister Nielsen

Q&A: Walla Walla edition

Monday, September 7, 2015

Okay, Q&A time. (I'm writing back now because my temporary companion— until I get my new one on Wednesday— still needs to email and I have half an hour left.)

1. How big is Walla Walla? How far is it from Pasco? Walla Walla has about 30,000 people. It's an hour's drive southeast from Pasco.
2. Where did the name come from? According to the elders' quorum president in 1st Ward, "Walla" is Native American (dunno which tribe) for "water." "Walla Walla" means "many waters." Apparently there was quite a bit of water around here back in the day, but not so much anymore. There are a few creeks here and there, and there's one called Mill Creek that runs through downtown. But otherwise, not a lot of water. At least not like Tri-Cities. Walla Walla was apparently also the first town in Washington— or something along those lines.
3. What do people there do for a living (major employers for the area)? Again, according to our elders' quorum president, most people are either in the medical field— a lot of doctors, dentists, etc.— or they're in agriculture. That's pretty typical for our mission. (At least it was in Pasco and now here in Walla Walla.) From there, there's a lot of people who work at the penitentiary (we have a prison in Walla Walla) or in law enforcement in general. But everyone I meet usually just tells me they've got some typical job. Nothing too unusual. There's a lot of mom-and-pop shops in downtown Walla Walla. Nothing too... mainstream, if you will.
4. Who is your companion? Where is she from? How long has she been on her mission/in the area? My companion that just left for Tri-Cities to go home tomorrow is Sister Brinker. She's from Murray. And well, she just left today, so she's been out 18 months. Haha! She was in our area for 6 months.
5. Tell us about some of the members, like if they have cool conversion stories or how they ended up in Walla Walla. Members! There are so many great members here! It seems like everyone I meet always reminds me of someone back home. Our elders' quorum president, the one who gave me all the info, is Brother Shiffler. He's always really good to help us with little trivia things we need to know, or little mundane favors we ask of him. He's always quick to bring us lunch/dinner. Just yesterday we were having a lesson with a (formerly) former investigator, and apparently Brother Shiffler was just driving by the park where we were and decided to drop in on our lesson and bear some bomb testimony about what we were teaching and totally helped this guy find a friend in the ward. Just, whatever. Haha! He has a daughter on her mission in Argentina and he's got a son who's leaving for Las Vegas in October. I'm not sure about his conversion story, but he's been in Walla Walla for a little under 5 years, or something like that. He's just really cool and helps us out a ton. Brother Humpherys is our ward mission leader in WW 1st Ward. He reminds me of Grandpa so much. Always teasing, always making mean jokes that you know he's kidding about. Sandra and Jose were baptized my first week in Walla Walla. Jose came across this guy who calls himself "The Walla Walla Jesus" (look it up... it's a crazy story!) who gave him a triple combination and said, "Read this, it'll change your life." And then the sisters came by and met him, started teaching him, and Sandra soon afterward started the lessons with them as well. They've been involved in drugs and gangs, but they are super, super converted to the Gospel. It's so awesome. Her kids are always telling her that they see a positive change in the way that she is a mom, and you can just see the difference. Brother Shiffler saw them at the bus stop one time, and said they just stood out because they were glowing. Sandra and Jose are so solid. They love the Gospel and they tell us each week about all the things that happen to them that just solidify their testimony. There are so many people here with really, really cool conversion stories, actually, now that I think about it. It's hard to pick just one!
6. What is/are the ward or wards like? Our wards are really great and really supportive! We're losing the 1st Ward to a new set of sisters, but the 3rd Ward is so great. I feel like we do all the work in 1st Ward and we're getting more investigators in 3rd... so it's kind of a weird thing. Random tangent. I'm not sure what that question is aimed at. What do you want to know?
7. Have you eaten a Walla Walla onion yet? Are the onions a big deal there or are the locals "whatever" about them? I haven't eaten a Walla Walla sweet onion yet. They are a little bit of a big deal, but it depends on who you talk to. Most everyone loves them. Fortunately, it's not something that they plaster all over town or anything, but they're pretty famous.

~Sister Nielsen

I'm TRAAAIININGGGG!

From an email to the family...

Monday, September 7, 2015
I've been talking to the Lord about it this whole transfer. It's so funny how he works!

The other day before I got the news, I was trying to take a nap during our lunch hour, and I was in the state of the sleep cycle where you're almost asleep and you start having a dream. You know what I mean? And all of the sudden, I was having a conversation with President Ware— about what, I'm not sure now. But the conversation turned to a phone call, and suddenly President said, "Sister Nielsen, we want you to train this transfer." Then I bolted awake, and then I knew. Three days later, the call came.

I'm so grateful for the confidence my mission president has in me to train, and I'm grateful for the confidence the Lord has in me. But I'm gonna need a lot of help. :) I am excited, though. I know it's going to be great. Just wanted to share that. I love you all so much.

~Sister Nielsen

Training Sister Nielsen

Monday, September 7, 2015

Well! This week has been a whirlwind, to say the least. I love, love, love being a missionary. When I checked my email today, I found out that Gary, one of my investigators from Pasco, is getting baptized!

[Here she inserted a bunch of emojis that of course Blogger can't do.]

His wife is a member, and I just remember being so grateful for the Spirit in guiding us to talk with the bishop, who counseled us to go and visit Gary's wife, and the way it guided us in our lessons with him while we were there. The Lord is merciful and truly sets forth his miracles in his own time! Alma 13:24 stands out to me in light of the news of today...

For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.

Truly the Lord is preparing the hearts of his children for this marvelous message. My heart is full! :)

In other news, this week has been a good one. My dear companion goes home this week! It's bittersweet, but I know she'll be great at home and will so love to be with her family.

We met eight people this week who agreed to let us come back and teach them more. It's always so exciting to act on promptings you receive to talk to people and to see those bring success. One of those was a man named Ed. He was working on his car, and that's normally a really awkward situation to just go up and talk to someone, but the Lord strengthened us and we talked to Ed for about an hour about Christianity and the Book of Mormon. He said he had read the Book of Mormon before and we invited him to read it again. He accepted our copy and agreed to meet with us this week. We went by a few days ago and confirmed our appointment. :)

Another of those was a referral from LDS.org. When we got the Ash family's house, apparently they hadn't even requested a Bible and Book of Mormon, but they were gracious enough to let us sit down. They asked a lot of questions about what we believed, we answered a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon as a testament, modern prophets, and invited them to come to know of its truth for themselves. They agreed to read from the Book of Mormon (and told us on the phone today that they'd been reading it!) and, though they cancelled our appointment for tomorrow, they agreed to reschedule with the new sisters. And we got a free watermelon from them! So all these things are good!

Speaking of the new sisters, our mission is getting 29 new missionaries tomorrow! Let's just say that's more than we have leaving, and our newly divided little mission has been creating new areas for all the people who'll be coming in. Walla Walla 1st and 3rd wards, which we're currently covering, will be divided. The 1st Ward will be getting a new set of sisters, and me and my new companion— fresh from the MTC— will be in the Walla Walla 3rd Ward.

Yeah, you read that right. Sister Nielsen is training this transfer. Watch out, Washington. I am humbled and excited for the opportunity! I know the Lord sees so much potential in me, and has definitely prepared me for it this transfer. I know the Lord will help me, and her, to be successful and to learn and grow from each other. It's gonna be good, I know it!

That's about all I have time for this week. The Gospel is SO TRUE! It's such great news. I LOVE IT.

~Sister Nielsen

Pictures!


This is from exchanges last week. Sister Johnson is a super qualified sister training leader. It was so great to be her companion.


Sister Brinker and me out to lunch at my favorite sandwich place, Graze


Sister Brinker and me with Sister Anderson, our favorite 1st Ward adventurer :)


Sister Allred, Sister Brinker, me, and Sister Johnson in Pendelton, Oregon, getting our companions back. :) (Sister Allred and Sister Johnson are our sister training leaders and are actually training different sisters who are not pictured.)

September's Coming!! Yay!

Monday, August 31, 2015

Here's my message to my mission president!

We had exchanges. I have to say that all of my sister training leaders have been really, really great examples to me of hard work and dedicated, Christlike service. But I was SO impressed with Sister Johnson as we had the opportunity to serve together in my area. Because she worked so hard with me, because she gave me such loving advice, because she is so on-purpose in everything she does, it's been so easy for me to make the necessary changes in my own missionary service. It has given me the courage to counsel with my companion about the things we can work on. I am so grateful for my leaders and that we can be open in counseling with them as well. We have been trying so hard as a companionship to stay focused on our missions and on our purpose, to find joy in the journey, even if that means to find joy in going home. Or to find joy in putting yourself in a super awkward situation to talk to everyone you see. I'm grateful that the doctrine of Christ helps us improve and be better missionaries.

We recently took both of our on-date (for baptism) investigators off-date. We talked to you yesterday about Lilian (we haven't been able to get ahold of her). We planned out some things to text her during weekly planning, so we've been texting her scriptures and reading assignments. Hopefully she's getting them. We haven't met with Stephanie, Vonna, and Lee since they came to church last week. We met with Stephanie once, but apparently she's out of town. Last we heard about Vonna and Lee, they'd gotten into an argument about something— hopefully not church!— so we're hoping to see them soon.

One cool story from this week: We had the impression to go to Pioneer Park a couple of nights ago. As we parked, we saw a couple sitting on the table next to our car. We had a really great conversation with Jose, but Gina didn't seem too interested. We were able to teach him some basic Restoration principles and he accepted a Book of Mormon! He wasn't too interested to set up a return appointment, unfortunately. But he was open enough to pray with us, so that was good. :)

Afterward (and I'm so glad that we stopped and talked to Jose and Gina, or else we would've never had this experience), we came across a kid with a couple of large backpacks and a suitcase. He looked pretty raggedy, but we didn't really notice at first. I made a comment about his suitcases, and we found out that he'd been homeless and was on his way, with all that he owned, to live with his friend on the other side of town. Alex told us more about all the hard things he'd been going through, and how at 16, he's been sober from a meth addiction for a year and a half. We testified that we knew we were there at the park to meet him and help him, and we taught a good portion of the Restoration. He was so open to listen and really loved what we had to say. By the end of our conversation, he accepted a Book of Mormon and was quite excited to get started reading it. After we'd finished giving him our information, we found out he was going to be walking a really long way, and it was already getting quite dark. We called our ward mission leader and were able to get him a ride. It was such a cool experience. I know he was prepared for us to meet him!

This truly is the Lord's work. Love you all!

~Sister Nielsen

Doom and Gloom: Blame the Smoke

From an email to Lisa. She didn't necessarily want this on the blog, but I think it's important to remember the hard weeks, too. Helps to look back and see how you overcame when Satan was trying to get you down.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Here's what I wrote the mission president.

Hi, President!
Things are doing all right over here. Hard. Mostly hard. Wednesday was a bad day. For some reason I just felt like the weight of the world/work was crushing me. My companion was kind enough to recognize that I just needed to not go out and work that day. We tried to make up for it the rest of the week, but things kept coming up, and we had to give a pretty pathetic report last night, and all the guilt set in. I'm trying so hard to work hard. I'm trying so hard to make my family and my Heavenly Father proud and to make it all worth it. I feel like I'm still adjusting and still struggling to adapt and be unified with my companion, but we had a really good companionship inventory last night, and I'm trying. She's trying. The promise in Ether 12:27 is real! The harder and harder you try to come unto the Lord, the more he helps you recognize that you can't even start to do it alone. I never realized how much pride I actually have until I came out and tried to do HIS work.

Sorry so "doom and gloom" up here. Maybe it's all the smoke. ;)

Like I said, I feel like a lot of good things have been happening that don't show up on the key indicators. Even though one of our (mostly) solid investigators, Lilian, is possibly— but hopefully not— avoiding us, we had the family we found at the park— Stephanie, Lee, and Vonna— come on a church tour, and they really loved it! They're excited to come to church and get a feel for our church. They love reading the Book of Mormon and have told us so many times how much peace they've felt since we've started meeting. The only thing now is getting Lee and Vonna (Stephanie's parents) comfortable enough to accept visits from the elders that actually cover where they live. They've been really good to come and support Stephanie at our meetings, since she's so shy, and sometimes it feels like they're the ones most interested to meet and learn more. They definitely all are loving it, though. It's so awesome to see. It just brings me a lot of comfort to think about something that Jeffrey R. Holland teaches. I can't quote it, but he basically says that more happens in our investigators' hearts than we think, and to take courage. The Lord is preparing each of these people in unique ways. The trick is remembering that and not letting yourself get discouraged by the people who don't want to listen, or by the weaknesses you have.

The Atonement is a real power, and I know it can help me change and improve. I've seen it work miracles countless times. I know he has all power and all wisdom. I know he can help me be more unified with my companion. I know he can help me love her in spite of my pride. I know he can help me overcome all opposition. I'll be better this week, President. Thank you for everything you do for us.

~Sister Nielsen

*****

Email convo between Lisa and Melanie...

Lisa: I understand that you've had a problem with smoke lately. Let me clarify for you which fire is causing smoke where, and which parts of the state are on fire and which are not. You're welcome. :)


Credit: Eric Strate via Facebook

Melanie: LOL. So... all of it. Just as I suspected. ;)

(And then later) That picture is hilarious. My companion and I laugh about it every time we see it. #itsfunnybecauseitstrue #refinersfireredefined #punsfordays

Repentance is Truly Bliss :)

Monday, August 17, 2015

I'm grateful for the way repentance works. I remember being with my last companion and noticing the way she was always apologizing to the Lord for what seemed like everything. I thought it was quite unusual. I think I've had an understanding of repentance before, but I guess I never really thought about doing it every day for so many little things. But it is so amazing. Repentance really is so important for qualifying for the impressions of the Spirit, which are so vital to the work. The struggle with that right now is being patient with myself because I am always falling short, and always making mistakes. It's easy for me to be really hard on myself about it, but I'm learning.

I can't say this enough: I am so grateful for the Spirit in this work. This week my companion and I have been working so hard at our goals (one of them being "If you're going to set a goal, get it; if not, repent and sleep well"). One goal in particular is to be better with our timeliness and sticking to the schedule we've set. We've already seen the miracles from keeping that goal. We'd made a plan to do some finding at one of the many parks we have in our area. When we arrived there at the time we had scheduled, there weren't but maybe two cars parked there, where we had expected there to be a few more people. Our first thought was, "Eh, maybe we ought to go somewhere else." But then we noticed a guy sitting in his car in the corner of the parking lot. As soon as we saw him, the Spirit automatically told us to go talk to him. After fighting past my doubts, we prayed, and made our way over to talk to him. The Spirit guided us through our conversation and helped us bear witness of the importance of the Restoration and the power of the Book of Mormon. I think we came right when he needed us because when we asked him if we could teach him more, he gladly accepted, and we're meeting with him on Thursday. So many times I talk myself out of situations like that, and it was so amazing to see the reward from our faith.

Another great experience we had from the Spirit came to us yesterday, as we were TRYING to follow our schedule. As we were on our way, the Spirit prompted us to go visit Lilian, and since she lives out of our area, it's not always easy to just drive over on a whim. After we talked about it, we prayed and the Spirit came so strongly and told us to go. After we texted our district leader and got his response, we went to Lilian's house. We got there and knocked... nothing. Knocked again... nothing still. In my head, I said, "Nuh-uh. We did not get a prompting like that for no reason. We are here for something." So I had the thought to ring the doorbell, which we don't usually do, and after a little while, she came. We had a great conversation! She was really able to open up to us about her experiences, and the Spirit bore powerful testimony through us of the Savior's ability to make those impossible things possible and heal every hurt. We invited her to say the prayer, and she thanked Heavenly Father that we came and helped her. What a tender mercy. Heavenly Father is truly aware of each of his children.

I know he blesses us as we strive to be obedient— exactly, even when it doesn't make sense. I'm so grateful that he knows best.

~Sister Nielsen

PICTURES!


We met this family at one of the parks in our area. (This is Stephanie and her parents, for those who are following along.) They wanted to take a picture with us, so we decided to get our cameras out, too. Also, there's Lee being all creepy and stuff. :D


Strike a pose, lil squirrel. Strike a pose.


Walla Walla is really pretty. So is my companion. A selfie resulted.


Going through the reasons people are former investigators: "Not interested." "Moved." "Not interested; try back soon." "Not ready." "In Prison." ...oh. :)

This Week in Walla Walla

Monday, August 10, 2015

Hey, all! Here's my week!

I would say this week has been a week for applying the Doctrine of Christ. (Not that every week isn't like that.) It's felt like I'm still adjusting to being here. I really should give myself more credit because it's only been two weeks, and not even that yet. I'm still getting used to a new area and a new companion and to not training anymore. I have a lot of confidence in my ability to adjust with time and the Lord's hand. I keep praying that my weaknesses won't get in the way, even when my companion and I seem to have the same weaknesses.

As I'm writing, I am just thinking about my week and how much I've hoped to not be the companion that builds us up and how much I so wish I didn't have to be the outgoing and driven one— especially when I get so scared sometimes that I don't want to be outgoing or driven. But the Spirit is whispering to me, "You don't have to be the senior companion. Leave it up to me." I want to use my time wisely. I want to work hard and exhaust myself in His service.

I do have to say, though, we picked up four new investigators, and were able to put two on date— Lilian and a lady we met at the park named Stephanie. We have an appointment with both of them today, but Lilian cancelled and told us she was in the hospital! (What in the world?!) She hasn't told us why yet. She said she would come to church this weekend. Meeting Stephanie was a really cool experience, too! We have been in love with the park we found her at ever since we thought to go there one night and met someone we referred to the 2nd Ward elders. Stephanie was there with her parents, and I was having a hard time letting myself go talk to them, but thank goodness my companion bucked up the courage to go over and talk to her. She and her parents were so open to talk to us, and even though we had an appointment we had to run to, they were so willing to let us come back to the park when we were done to talk to them some more. We taught them the whole Restoration pamphlet when we came back, and she was open and interested to learn more! And she accepted the invitation to be baptized on Sept. 5! We're excited to meet with her at 7:00 today.

Another great experience we had was being able to run into Sandra and Jose yesterday while we were trying by some former investigators from the area book. We saw them outside and went to go see how they were, since they'd told us that their best friend and his girlfriend were killed this last week. But it was a great conversation as she told us how much peace and comfort being a member of the church has helped her have, in spite of all she's going through. They pray together and are taking confidence in the Lord's ability to guide them through their hard time. Isn't the Gospel such a blessing?! We asked our Elders Quorum president, Brother Shiffler (who is fellowshipping them) if he'd find a way to go over today to give their house a blessing. We'll need to follow up and see how things went.

In spite of my insecurities about my weaknesses and the awkwardness of adjusting, I'd say things are going well. The greatest miracle of all is that we have people that we're focusing on, in spite of baptizing everyone in our teaching pool recently. The Lord is working miracles in spite of my weaknesses. I hope that I can strive to live each day without regrets, but I know that the Lord can take those from me, too, and make everything work for the best.

I love this work.

~Sister Nielsen

Pictures!


When you're going to try by the families the bishop told you to, and the directions someone gave you put you in the middle of nowhere. (Thankfully some dogs came out from the house we were going to and showed us the way back.)


#missionaryhumor

Welcome to Walla Walla, Washington!

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Hey, all!
Sorry it's been a few weeks! It's been a crazy couple of weeks! I just got transferred to a new area— Walla Walla, Washington ("The place so good they named it twice.") It's been an incredible week. I'm short on time, so I'll send you my letter to my mission president. Love you all!

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions! Adjusting to Walla Walla has been a struggle, but going to the temple today was exactly what I needed! The Lord poured down revelation during the session and in the celestial room. I know I can always count on the way that I feel in the temple in the midst of all the emotions of my weeks.

Truthfully, I love Walla Walla. I loved it so much from the moment I got here. It really has been such a blessing of an area. It's been truly a testimony and a strength to come into the area where the sisters worked so hard to prepare Sandra, Jose, and Rebecca to be baptized, and to watch their faith strengthened through making that decision has made me ponder so much the depth and reality of the blessings the Lord promises as we make and keep covenants with him. This is THE path. This is THE way. Wow! How great is our calling!

I've also really enjoyed being able to get out of the house before noon, now that I'm not training anymore! It's amazing how much more you catch the fire in the work as you spend even more time doing it. My companion is such a sweetheart. We love to work hard and we know when to have fun. I'm so grateful I can be open with her, and I pray she'll feel that she can be open with me. We said a companionship prayer in the celestial room, and I think that was something that really made her day. (Or maybe just the temple in general!) I so much appreciate the way she's able to teach doctrine simply, and she helps me overcome my fears and reach my goals. I know that she and I will be able to work through the things we're going through in a smooth way. She's such a blessing. And we only get to be together for a transfer! :(

How do you share one miracle in a week full of them?

1. Our first day tracting together, we knocked into a lady named Debra. It was such a surreal experience talking to her and watching her be so receptive and willing to listen. She was excited for us to come back, but said she'd be busy until October. (We're hoping to get in with her sooner than that.)
2. Three baptisms in one day! I said it earlier, but I'm so grateful I got to come into an area where the Lord had prepared these people and strengthened their testimonies to where they felt ready to make this commitment to the Lord. It had me thinking so much about the Doctrine of Christ and how important faith, repentance, baptism— or renewing our covenant through the sacrament— and the Holy Ghost really are. When I talked to Sandra and Rebecca about how they felt after their baptism, they said things like, "Awesome!" and "Clean!" Can you imagine that? To feel clean? And we get an opportunity to feel just that every week as we renew our covenants through the sacrament. What a blessing! What a miracle! It was so much motivation to me, to really not take that important meeting for granted each week.

More miracles, but no time. I'm so grateful for the Spirit in this work!

~Sister Nielsen

PICTURES!


A picture with the Frederick family in Pasco before the transfer. Love those guys!


When your investigator has a pet pig, you'd better get on taking a picture with it. Just saying.


At the mission home with Sister Tuigamala! :( It's hard to believe the mission ends sometimes, but I know she'll be the best RM yet. #companionlove


When you send your companion home, so you get to be in a trio until your transfer. :)


When Gary came to church! YAAY!


Welcome to Walla Walla!


My new companion and me at the temple today!


My new district!


The temple! ❤


Sandra and Jose at their baptism this weekend


Our district from last transfer #pasconorthzone #districtzone


#beststreet #WallaWallaRepresent


It's like this town knows me.

The next few are from an airshow a couple weeks ago (when I was still in Tri-Cities) and I thought of my BIL Bradley, of course! Hopefully these are some good pictures! I tried.