Tuesday, May 12, 2015
This week has been really great! It's been amazing to see the miracles that come from hard work and diligent obedience! From the minute my new companion stepped in the car with us to come back to Pasco, the miracles have been flowing. Sister Tuigamala is a hard worker and she is so Christlike. I am continually inspired by her example.
We had the privilege to meet with a part-member family. Cameron, their 9-year-old son, accepted the invitation to be baptized and we're diligently trying to get in with him to teach him before May 30. Please keep him in your prayers. Though we may have to bump the baptism back, and maybe we won't, I know that our faith can help us accomplish the Lord's will for him. He is so excited to be baptized and he just eats up everything we teach him. His mother is so supportive of him, and we pray to be able to teach him all he needs to know before he makes this commitment to the Lord.
I'm so grateful that Sister Tuigamala is so committed to the work. It's an adjustment for me, for sure, to keep up with her and her confidence in talking to EVERYONE (and I mean everyone) we see, but it has also been a blessing. I know there is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone. I know also that the Savior's grace will guide me to becoming the missionary he needs me to be, and loving the people genuinely with a love that only he perfected.
My studies yesterday, took me to 1 Nephi 3:7. It was so inspiring for me to think that the Lord will provide a way for all of the things he commands us to do, if we are faithful. Faith has the power to do so much, and this is something I talked about in last week's letter, and it's something that continues to impress me. The Lord has prepared a way for me to accomplish His work, and I know that as I have faith in that promise, I can see miracles.
I'm so grateful to be a missionary. I'm so grateful for the work.
--
"The Gospel's True, Folks!"
Sister Melanie Nielsen
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Monday, May 4, 2015
Powerful Faith
Monday, May 4, 2015
I'm sorry, but I don't have a ton of time today. I just quickly wanted to share a cool experience I had this week.
I'm so grateful for our district. In our district councils lately, we've talked a lot about praying more specifically and setting goals with faith. Also, something that I don't quite understand yet, but creating our success and goals spiritually before we create them physically. Sister Moetala has tried to explain that it's something the Lord did when he created the earth— creating all things spiritually before he created them physically— but it's still something I'm working to understand.
That was something my companion and I tried this week: We said, with words of faith, that we'd go out and meet the goals we had set, then we set a plan for people we didn't have set appointments with and determined that we would find at least one investigator. With that goal and that faith, we came across a member whom we were prompted to go visit. (We actually didn't know they were members, but it was a pleasant surprise when we found out they were!) After talking to them for a minute to get to know them, we asked if they had been working with anyone or if they had any neighbors who'd want to hear our message, and they gave us FIVE referrals right there on the spot. We then left to go contact them and scheduled a return appointment with one— Katie, a mother of two and the sweetest lady ever, for tomorrow!
It's amazing to see what faith can do and what it helped us accomplish this week. I know that faith really does bring great miracles to pass. As we believe in him, he makes it all possible. A favorite scripture that I came across this week is Moroni 7:33, which says, "...if ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." And I know that's true. He gives us power to do impossible things through our faith. The faithful goals we set and the faithful prayers we say as missionaries are so important for our success.
I'm so grateful for all the things our Heavenly Father makes possible through something so simple.
--
"The Gospel's True, Folks!"
Sister Melanie Nielsen
These are the Pasco water towers. You can see them from everywhere in Tri Cities— even from the temple, which is in Richland, clear across the valley.
There's a forklift at the Union Gospel Mission, where we do service every week. We sort clothes and food for charity. It reminds me WAY too much of the DI sometimes!
Yep. One of the members has a drumset. I'm so rusty!
Our district on Tuesday after district council. What a great group of missionaries!
I got an Elsa spoon in my Apple Jacks. This is important.
I'm sorry, but I don't have a ton of time today. I just quickly wanted to share a cool experience I had this week.
I'm so grateful for our district. In our district councils lately, we've talked a lot about praying more specifically and setting goals with faith. Also, something that I don't quite understand yet, but creating our success and goals spiritually before we create them physically. Sister Moetala has tried to explain that it's something the Lord did when he created the earth— creating all things spiritually before he created them physically— but it's still something I'm working to understand.
That was something my companion and I tried this week: We said, with words of faith, that we'd go out and meet the goals we had set, then we set a plan for people we didn't have set appointments with and determined that we would find at least one investigator. With that goal and that faith, we came across a member whom we were prompted to go visit. (We actually didn't know they were members, but it was a pleasant surprise when we found out they were!) After talking to them for a minute to get to know them, we asked if they had been working with anyone or if they had any neighbors who'd want to hear our message, and they gave us FIVE referrals right there on the spot. We then left to go contact them and scheduled a return appointment with one— Katie, a mother of two and the sweetest lady ever, for tomorrow!
It's amazing to see what faith can do and what it helped us accomplish this week. I know that faith really does bring great miracles to pass. As we believe in him, he makes it all possible. A favorite scripture that I came across this week is Moroni 7:33, which says, "...if ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." And I know that's true. He gives us power to do impossible things through our faith. The faithful goals we set and the faithful prayers we say as missionaries are so important for our success.
I'm so grateful for all the things our Heavenly Father makes possible through something so simple.
--
"The Gospel's True, Folks!"
Sister Melanie Nielsen
These are the Pasco water towers. You can see them from everywhere in Tri Cities— even from the temple, which is in Richland, clear across the valley.
There's a forklift at the Union Gospel Mission, where we do service every week. We sort clothes and food for charity. It reminds me WAY too much of the DI sometimes!
Yep. One of the members has a drumset. I'm so rusty!
Our district on Tuesday after district council. What a great group of missionaries!
I got an Elsa spoon in my Apple Jacks. This is important.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Missionary work is THE BEST, you guys... the best!
Monday, April 27, 2015
What a great week! The Lord blessed us with five scheduled return appointments with five new investigators as we've contacted our referrals and worked harder in our efforts to open our mouths as we knock and look for people to teach. I went on my first split and exchange this week. Both great and exciting experiences!
For those who don't know, to go on a split means that between the two of us in our companionship, and two members that we invite to come to lessons with us, go to two appointments at the same time, but with each member. (Any questions?) I'll talk a little more about my splits later. To go on an exchange means to temporarily trade companions with the leaders in your zone— or the Sister Training Leaders (STLs), in our case. Our STLs are in Kennewick, and I got to go to Kennewick while the Sister from Kennewick came to be with my companion. Between the four of us, we had a productive and SUPER FUN day! Because of lack of time, I'll send you what I wrote to my mission president today to let you know what's been going on!
LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Nielsen
President Ware!
This week has been such a blessing. I've been feeling so much better about being on my mission. That's not to say that I never felt good about it, but as a new missionary, I was having a hard time adjusting. I missed home, I was doubting myself as a missionary and my abilities, and as a result, I was really critical toward my companion and questioned a lot of what she taught me. But I have been so humbled and so blessed to have overcome a lot of the obstacles I've been facing by being able to see the error of my ways. Truly, the Savior was called to earth to teach his gospel and give us the way. It's been amazing to me to see his counsel bless my life.
In the New Testament he teaches, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." This has been so helpful in my relationship with my companion. Now, it must be understood: I have never and do not see my companion as my enemy. Have I misunderstood her criticism? Have I murmured against her counsel? Yes. And it was me that was in the wrong. Is my companion perfect? No. And neither am I. But when I wasn't seeing clearly and I felt picked on and alone, I began to pray for her. I trusted that she was probably and more than likely going through hard things, too. Yeah, I'm a new missionary. Yeah, I can get pretty homesick. Yeah, I don't always believe I'm a good teacher or that I have anything to say that's going to bless these people, but my companion is probably going through the EXACT SAME THINGS that I'm going through. Only worse! Imagine being a trainer and taking on so much responsibility. Imagine knowing that, as a missionary's first trainer, that much of what you teach her will carry through her whole mission. Imagine knowing that you're not perfect and praying every night that your weaknesses and imperfections won't carry through that missionary's whole mission.
As I prayed for my companion, I started to see things from her perspective, and I started to have a desire to serve her and lift her up instead of being so critical and expecting so much of her. As I started to exercise the Savior's teachings, I started to see our relationship improve, and that means the world to me. We've started to trust each other and we're starting to have a TON of fun together. Not only that, but we've started to work so much harder and we're starting to reach and exceed our goals. We're starting. You know? And I think that's the key in any relationship: starting to improve together. Working harder and harder each day and repenting and trying. President Monson said, "Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" And that's the doctrine of Christ. Having faith to know that we can repent each day. Enduring to the end is to "try again tomorrow." And I love that we're starting to see that as a companionship.
The Lord gives us so many miracles each day. It's been so humbling to see the things that don't work out and to see the way the Lord makes other things work out. On many occasions this week, we've seen things fall through just to see something else open up. It's hard to recount every instance, but for example: This Friday we went on our first splits! It was such a great experience to watch the members that we both went with testify of the blessings of baptism, the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the blessings we see through family scripture study & prayer. Having a member in lessons is such a blessing! But interestingly enough, we'd had a lesson scheduled that night during the time we spent during our split. If we had gone to the lesson that fell through, who knows what things would have been denied the people we taught, who so needed the message we had to bring?
It's been a miraculous week, for sure. Through our increased efforts, and through the grace of our Savior, we scheduled return appointments with five people. Five new investigators!
The cute cocker spaniel that we got to hang out with at dinner this week :)
This is us and Sister Weibling! She let us wear her aprons for dinner because she didn't want us to get spaghetti on our white shirts! (Later, she MADE US OUR OWN APRONS! We'll have to take a picture and send them soon!)
Our district leaders live above our apartment. We have a little bucket system where they lower down this Halloween bucket when they want to send us candy or food or pamphlets and supplies that we run out of. We have a lot of fun with the elders! :)
Elder Clarkson bringing up the bucket!
These stoplights are ALL OVER Pasco. Not necessarily in our area, but when we have to find people in the YSA in different parts of Pasco! Weirdest stoplights ever.
What a great week! The Lord blessed us with five scheduled return appointments with five new investigators as we've contacted our referrals and worked harder in our efforts to open our mouths as we knock and look for people to teach. I went on my first split and exchange this week. Both great and exciting experiences!
For those who don't know, to go on a split means that between the two of us in our companionship, and two members that we invite to come to lessons with us, go to two appointments at the same time, but with each member. (Any questions?) I'll talk a little more about my splits later. To go on an exchange means to temporarily trade companions with the leaders in your zone— or the Sister Training Leaders (STLs), in our case. Our STLs are in Kennewick, and I got to go to Kennewick while the Sister from Kennewick came to be with my companion. Between the four of us, we had a productive and SUPER FUN day! Because of lack of time, I'll send you what I wrote to my mission president today to let you know what's been going on!
LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Nielsen
President Ware!
This week has been such a blessing. I've been feeling so much better about being on my mission. That's not to say that I never felt good about it, but as a new missionary, I was having a hard time adjusting. I missed home, I was doubting myself as a missionary and my abilities, and as a result, I was really critical toward my companion and questioned a lot of what she taught me. But I have been so humbled and so blessed to have overcome a lot of the obstacles I've been facing by being able to see the error of my ways. Truly, the Savior was called to earth to teach his gospel and give us the way. It's been amazing to me to see his counsel bless my life.
In the New Testament he teaches, "Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." This has been so helpful in my relationship with my companion. Now, it must be understood: I have never and do not see my companion as my enemy. Have I misunderstood her criticism? Have I murmured against her counsel? Yes. And it was me that was in the wrong. Is my companion perfect? No. And neither am I. But when I wasn't seeing clearly and I felt picked on and alone, I began to pray for her. I trusted that she was probably and more than likely going through hard things, too. Yeah, I'm a new missionary. Yeah, I can get pretty homesick. Yeah, I don't always believe I'm a good teacher or that I have anything to say that's going to bless these people, but my companion is probably going through the EXACT SAME THINGS that I'm going through. Only worse! Imagine being a trainer and taking on so much responsibility. Imagine knowing that, as a missionary's first trainer, that much of what you teach her will carry through her whole mission. Imagine knowing that you're not perfect and praying every night that your weaknesses and imperfections won't carry through that missionary's whole mission.
As I prayed for my companion, I started to see things from her perspective, and I started to have a desire to serve her and lift her up instead of being so critical and expecting so much of her. As I started to exercise the Savior's teachings, I started to see our relationship improve, and that means the world to me. We've started to trust each other and we're starting to have a TON of fun together. Not only that, but we've started to work so much harder and we're starting to reach and exceed our goals. We're starting. You know? And I think that's the key in any relationship: starting to improve together. Working harder and harder each day and repenting and trying. President Monson said, "Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" And that's the doctrine of Christ. Having faith to know that we can repent each day. Enduring to the end is to "try again tomorrow." And I love that we're starting to see that as a companionship.
The Lord gives us so many miracles each day. It's been so humbling to see the things that don't work out and to see the way the Lord makes other things work out. On many occasions this week, we've seen things fall through just to see something else open up. It's hard to recount every instance, but for example: This Friday we went on our first splits! It was such a great experience to watch the members that we both went with testify of the blessings of baptism, the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as the blessings we see through family scripture study & prayer. Having a member in lessons is such a blessing! But interestingly enough, we'd had a lesson scheduled that night during the time we spent during our split. If we had gone to the lesson that fell through, who knows what things would have been denied the people we taught, who so needed the message we had to bring?
It's been a miraculous week, for sure. Through our increased efforts, and through the grace of our Savior, we scheduled return appointments with five people. Five new investigators!
- Milo and Sammy have been taught by the sisters (and elders) in this area before. They invited us to come back and start teaching them again when we found them home one day this week. They've set a marriage date for July 4, and are excited to work toward getting married and being baptized. Sammy is still looking for a lot of answers about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. When we met with them yesterday, we bore testimony of the power that scripture study plays in helping us find our answers and challenged her to read her Book of Mormon and study it out through prayer. Milo is working with his stake president and bishop to get ready to be re-baptized.
- Angie was a referral from the Weiblings in the 1st Ward. Sister Moetala was able to take Sister Allred with her to contact the referral and they had a lesson about the Restoration on her doorstep and scheduled a return appointment for this Thursday.
- We taught Dianela about the Restoration on her doorstep yesterday! We knocked into her husband Javier while tracting, this week, and he asked us to come back Sunday for a return appointment. When we came over yesterday, Dianela answered the door (since Javier was out fishing... apparently he forgot about us! Haha.) She and her family are starting to go back to church, and she was very open and receptive to everything we taught! We gave her the Restoration pamphlet and left her with un Libro de Mormon (a Spanish Book of Mormon) and an invitation to read the Introduction and 3 Nephi 11. We have a return appointment with her on May 4.
- We found Heidi when we contacted a referral from the 1st Ward. Her mom's neighbor was the referral, but we knocked into her mom's house (to discover that Heidi's mom doesn't speak English), and got to talk to Heidi while she was visiting her mom. We started talking about the Restoration and asked if we could come back to teach more. Heidi seemed very receptive! She asked us to come visit her house in the 10th Ward on Friday, and Sister Moetala was able to go on splits with a member from the 10th Ward. They had a GREAT lesson! The member, Sister Yaunt, was so helpful in the lesson. They invited her to be baptized and she wanted to pray about when she should be baptized. We have a return appointment with her this Friday (or next Friday? I'm not quite sure right now).
The cute cocker spaniel that we got to hang out with at dinner this week :)
This is us and Sister Weibling! She let us wear her aprons for dinner because she didn't want us to get spaghetti on our white shirts! (Later, she MADE US OUR OWN APRONS! We'll have to take a picture and send them soon!)
Our district leaders live above our apartment. We have a little bucket system where they lower down this Halloween bucket when they want to send us candy or food or pamphlets and supplies that we run out of. We have a lot of fun with the elders! :)
Elder Clarkson bringing up the bucket!
These stoplights are ALL OVER Pasco. Not necessarily in our area, but when we have to find people in the YSA in different parts of Pasco! Weirdest stoplights ever.
Oh, How Great The Goodness of Our God!
Sorry to be late in posting this. I've been way busy.
~Lisa
Monday, April 20, 2015
Hello, everyone!
It's been a greeaat week! I'm learning to love the mission and the people so, so much! I'm amazed each day by the things I'm able to learn. I overcame a few obstacles this week as well, and I'm continually inspired by the love our Heavenly Father has for us. I love that he sent us here knowing full well that we would make mistakes. How great is his wisdom that he provided for us a way to overcome our imperfections and mistakes! Jesus Christ's Atonement and grace make it possible for us to learn and to grow. If we put our trust in him, he truly blesses us with abilities beyond our own.
One example of this happened at the end of our week. Our district leaders called us to ask for our OYM ("open your mouth") totals. This has been something that I had a hard time with, and the numbers we reported weren't... um... very good. Haha! As a result of this, our district leaders gave us an assignment to read D&C 85:6 and invited us to ponder what we can do to improve our efforts and to set a goal that will make us stretch. I certainly didn't know what to expect, but what we discovered exceeded my expectations. The scripture says, "Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake..."
For me, that scripture poignantly described what the Spirit feels like when it prompts you to do something right. It was a huuuge tool in helping me to understand how we could tell what exactly goal we needed to set as a companionship, and we committed to shoot for 10 OYMs daily. The next day, we hit 11 and had great conversations with people— a lot of which I was able to initiate. Me. Someone who was SO afraid to open my mouth! But as I took that leap of faith, I could feel strength beyond my own. As it promises in D&C 88:3, "Open your mouths, and they shall be filled." As I've been preparing myself with the knowledge of the scriptures and the prophets, and especially with what's taught in our pamphlets, I've been able to remember them when I open my mouth. And the conversations I'm able to have, honestly, don't even feel real. Sometimes, in my head, I look around and try to figure out who was teaching all of those things! What a great promise! God's grace really does lift us up past our own abilities, and I know that as we exercise faith in him and the promises he makes us through our obedience, we are truly, truly blessed!
Another example was something else about missionary work that intimidated me entirely too much for my liking. We took one of our part-member-family investigators, Tim, with his family to the church for a church tour. He's been going to church for yeears, but we were hoping that perhaps the Spirit in the building would be able to help him understand the faith he already has and that we could help him understand a little more some of the things he's already been doing in church for so long. I don't know if we did exactly what we set out to do, but we testified and testified about how church helps us find answers. We were able to explain a little more about the significance of the sacrament and invited him to pay closer attention to the sacrament prayers.
We took him afterward to the baptismal font and explained that the purpose of baptism is to follow Jesus Christ's example so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. We asked him if this was something he wanted and he said it was. We afterwards invited him to be baptized. (Or, well, you know, I might've choked down my fears and managed to let a baptismal invite fall out of my mouth.) The Spirit was so strong and the faith I was filled with was an overwhelming feeling. He accepted the invitation, but wasn't willing to set a date. He said he still doesn't know if Heavenly Father has a plan for him, and he wants to know for himself before he's baptized. We're praying and praying to know how we can help him. I was overwhelmed, again, by how the Spirit was able to help me do something that I didn't think I had the strength or courage to do on my own. How great the goodness of our God! My success, our success, truly comes from him!
I know that he can bring us up to places we cannot go on our own. I'm so grateful to be his missionary. What an honor! What a blessing! I know this gospel is true. Our Heavenly Father is real, and he loves us! His plan for our happiness and salvation truly is the way to return to be with him. What a glorious thought: to be with him! He has made it all possible through the atoning sacrifice of his son. As we follow Jesus Christ's example and keep his commandments, acting in faith and trusting his will, we are truly, wonderfully, and overwhelmingly blessed.
This gospel is true!
Sister Melanie Nielsen
P.S. Please keep Tim in your prayers, and pray that we can know how to help him. Thank you.
This is a family we had dinner with. The McLaughlins were so great to let us share our experiences with them and to testify of the Lord's hand in our lives. What a great family of missionaries— past, present, and future!
~Lisa
Monday, April 20, 2015
Hello, everyone!
It's been a greeaat week! I'm learning to love the mission and the people so, so much! I'm amazed each day by the things I'm able to learn. I overcame a few obstacles this week as well, and I'm continually inspired by the love our Heavenly Father has for us. I love that he sent us here knowing full well that we would make mistakes. How great is his wisdom that he provided for us a way to overcome our imperfections and mistakes! Jesus Christ's Atonement and grace make it possible for us to learn and to grow. If we put our trust in him, he truly blesses us with abilities beyond our own.
One example of this happened at the end of our week. Our district leaders called us to ask for our OYM ("open your mouth") totals. This has been something that I had a hard time with, and the numbers we reported weren't... um... very good. Haha! As a result of this, our district leaders gave us an assignment to read D&C 85:6 and invited us to ponder what we can do to improve our efforts and to set a goal that will make us stretch. I certainly didn't know what to expect, but what we discovered exceeded my expectations. The scripture says, "Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake..."
For me, that scripture poignantly described what the Spirit feels like when it prompts you to do something right. It was a huuuge tool in helping me to understand how we could tell what exactly goal we needed to set as a companionship, and we committed to shoot for 10 OYMs daily. The next day, we hit 11 and had great conversations with people— a lot of which I was able to initiate. Me. Someone who was SO afraid to open my mouth! But as I took that leap of faith, I could feel strength beyond my own. As it promises in D&C 88:3, "Open your mouths, and they shall be filled." As I've been preparing myself with the knowledge of the scriptures and the prophets, and especially with what's taught in our pamphlets, I've been able to remember them when I open my mouth. And the conversations I'm able to have, honestly, don't even feel real. Sometimes, in my head, I look around and try to figure out who was teaching all of those things! What a great promise! God's grace really does lift us up past our own abilities, and I know that as we exercise faith in him and the promises he makes us through our obedience, we are truly, truly blessed!
Another example was something else about missionary work that intimidated me entirely too much for my liking. We took one of our part-member-family investigators, Tim, with his family to the church for a church tour. He's been going to church for yeears, but we were hoping that perhaps the Spirit in the building would be able to help him understand the faith he already has and that we could help him understand a little more some of the things he's already been doing in church for so long. I don't know if we did exactly what we set out to do, but we testified and testified about how church helps us find answers. We were able to explain a little more about the significance of the sacrament and invited him to pay closer attention to the sacrament prayers.
We took him afterward to the baptismal font and explained that the purpose of baptism is to follow Jesus Christ's example so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. We asked him if this was something he wanted and he said it was. We afterwards invited him to be baptized. (Or, well, you know, I might've choked down my fears and managed to let a baptismal invite fall out of my mouth.) The Spirit was so strong and the faith I was filled with was an overwhelming feeling. He accepted the invitation, but wasn't willing to set a date. He said he still doesn't know if Heavenly Father has a plan for him, and he wants to know for himself before he's baptized. We're praying and praying to know how we can help him. I was overwhelmed, again, by how the Spirit was able to help me do something that I didn't think I had the strength or courage to do on my own. How great the goodness of our God! My success, our success, truly comes from him!
I know that he can bring us up to places we cannot go on our own. I'm so grateful to be his missionary. What an honor! What a blessing! I know this gospel is true. Our Heavenly Father is real, and he loves us! His plan for our happiness and salvation truly is the way to return to be with him. What a glorious thought: to be with him! He has made it all possible through the atoning sacrifice of his son. As we follow Jesus Christ's example and keep his commandments, acting in faith and trusting his will, we are truly, wonderfully, and overwhelmingly blessed.
This gospel is true!
Sister Melanie Nielsen
P.S. Please keep Tim in your prayers, and pray that we can know how to help him. Thank you.
This is a family we had dinner with. The McLaughlins were so great to let us share our experiences with them and to testify of the Lord's hand in our lives. What a great family of missionaries— past, present, and future!
Monday, April 13, 2015
Little miracles are still miracles
I'm sorry I don't have a lot of time today! Pray for my sweet companion. She tweaked her back on Friday and is having a hard time. Also, send prayers out for each of the people I'll talk about in this email. And the H family, whom we're meeting with tonight, and hopefully they'll let us teach lessons to get them back to church and to help get their little girl, Riley, baptized!
Here's what I sent to my mission president, because we really don't have a lot of time today. So sorry. (Some sister missionaries in our zone got stranded in Kennewick today, and we gave them a ride back to their area.)
"We've had a pretty good week! A couple of miracles along with quite a bit of opposition, but the servants of God are always meant to swim in deep water. So grateful for the sweetness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Most of the people we meet with, I've come to find, are less active and recent converts. That's not something I quite expected of the mission, actually. It's taken me until recently— and it pinnacled after our zone training this week— to realize that working with RCs and LAs is missionary work, too! Before that realization, I just felt really unsuccessful and like I was doing something wrong.
We've been able to have lessons with a few families and have had a fair amount of success, most who are LA/RC:
Lyn: Sister Moetala has mentioned several times that Lyn was a "golden investigator" and "a miracle." I couldn't agree more. I sometimes can't believe she's only been baptized for about as long as I've been out on my mission. We met with her just this last Friday and had a great lesson about the plan of salvation. Sister Moetala was very helpful during the lesson, as I hadn't ever given a lesson on the Plan of Salvation pamphlet before. Lyn and Greg were just eating it up. It was especially visible on Lyn's expressions. Greg, who apparently had been less active for quite some time before Lyn's baptism, was even able to find answers from General Conference this last Sunday about things he'd been struggling with since he came back to church. We are so excited for this family! They truly are a miracle.
Melody: Melody and her brother Jared were just recently baptized my first weekend in Pasco. Melody is 10(?) and Jared is 8. Their mother, Liliana, is from Guatemala, and at first I didn't know if she was a member, but apparently she is! When we met with her after dinner with them on Wednesday, we taught about the First Vision and showed them The Restoration video clip. As we taught about how God answers our prayers, Melody and Jared gave all the right answers and seemed to have learned precisely what we hoped they would. Liliana was deeply touched by what we taught. And not so much what we taught as much as the things that were spoken reminded her of a way that God had answered her prayers recently. I'm so glad that this family has a testimony of prayer!
Tre: Tre has been doing really well as we've met with him. I went to a lesson with him my first night in Pasco, and every time we go and teach him, he seems to be just soaking it all in. Tre definitely has a testimony that this is true! Apparently he's been baptized for about 6 months or so. I'm not sure why, but he's not been going to church. (I think Sis. Moetala mentioned it was because of his job...) I know that his progress has been kind of floundering, though. Sis. Moetala mentioned that it was because he's been working through the repentance process, and I can imagine he's understandably discouraged. We weren't able to meet with him this week, though. When we got there, he was asleep and his grandma, who answered the door (and is a member), told us they weren't feeling up to it because someone stole their dog. WHO STEALS SOMEONE'S DOG?! She and her husband were heartbroken. But good news and miracles, still— we found out yesterday that they found their dog when he was scratching at the door at 3 in the morning. Miracles, miracles! Hopefully we get in with them this week!
Last but not least is Tim. He's the husband of a part-member family. Apparently he's been investigating the church for a while, and I love Tim so dearly. He's really grown on me as we've met with him the last two weeks. Seeing him love his little girl (18 months) and wife (who is expecting) the way he does really melts my heart. He's doing everything he possibly can to provide for his little family, including doing all these church things when he's not even sure he has a testimony, yet. The last few times we've met with him, we've been trying to encourage him and help him see the faith he already has. Alma 32 was last week's lesson, and this last Thursday, the Spirit was so strong, I barely remember what we taught. He's doing everything he needs to, but he's just not sure he knows yet. We're praying fervently for his answer to come. We hope to commit him to baptism this week! SEND PRAYERS!
Other families we're teaching are, for the most part, part-member families.
The V Family: Rob and (I can't remember her name right now) have been members since about 2004(?). They have two children who are not members, their daughter Taylor (14) and their son Robbie (12). Robbie wrestles and is quite good, so the whole family's life revolves around his wrestling. As a result, they're inactive. We've been able to meet with them twice and had really great lessons both times. Yesterday they were out of town, and we have a return appointment with them next Sunday. Prayers! We're hoping to commit Taylor and Robbie to baptism soon.
The L Family: Belen's been a member for about 6 months. Belen's husband works in North Dakota, and we never see him. (I don't know if he's a member or not.) Belen apparently hates that their ward starts at 2:30 and refuses to go. They have has three kids: Viviana (about 13), Isaac (8), and Jacob (about 3). Viviana was taking the discussions, but recently decided she doesn't want anything to do with it. Belen and her husband want Isaac to be baptized, and she let us come back to start teaching him in preparation. The bishopric in their ward still need to get back to us about permission to do that because I've heard that's the ward's responsibility to teach [a child over age 8].
The work is great! It isn't quite what I expected, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I let myself get pretty discouraged, but I can feel the Lord strengthening me every day. This is where he needs me. I'm so grateful to be here. My sister will be updating the blog with some more about life in Pasco, so keep an eye out. LOVE YOU ALL! Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you SO much!
Sister Nielsen
Here's what I sent to my mission president, because we really don't have a lot of time today. So sorry. (Some sister missionaries in our zone got stranded in Kennewick today, and we gave them a ride back to their area.)
"We've had a pretty good week! A couple of miracles along with quite a bit of opposition, but the servants of God are always meant to swim in deep water. So grateful for the sweetness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Most of the people we meet with, I've come to find, are less active and recent converts. That's not something I quite expected of the mission, actually. It's taken me until recently— and it pinnacled after our zone training this week— to realize that working with RCs and LAs is missionary work, too! Before that realization, I just felt really unsuccessful and like I was doing something wrong.
We've been able to have lessons with a few families and have had a fair amount of success, most who are LA/RC:
Lyn: Sister Moetala has mentioned several times that Lyn was a "golden investigator" and "a miracle." I couldn't agree more. I sometimes can't believe she's only been baptized for about as long as I've been out on my mission. We met with her just this last Friday and had a great lesson about the plan of salvation. Sister Moetala was very helpful during the lesson, as I hadn't ever given a lesson on the Plan of Salvation pamphlet before. Lyn and Greg were just eating it up. It was especially visible on Lyn's expressions. Greg, who apparently had been less active for quite some time before Lyn's baptism, was even able to find answers from General Conference this last Sunday about things he'd been struggling with since he came back to church. We are so excited for this family! They truly are a miracle.
Melody: Melody and her brother Jared were just recently baptized my first weekend in Pasco. Melody is 10(?) and Jared is 8. Their mother, Liliana, is from Guatemala, and at first I didn't know if she was a member, but apparently she is! When we met with her after dinner with them on Wednesday, we taught about the First Vision and showed them The Restoration video clip. As we taught about how God answers our prayers, Melody and Jared gave all the right answers and seemed to have learned precisely what we hoped they would. Liliana was deeply touched by what we taught. And not so much what we taught as much as the things that were spoken reminded her of a way that God had answered her prayers recently. I'm so glad that this family has a testimony of prayer!
Tre: Tre has been doing really well as we've met with him. I went to a lesson with him my first night in Pasco, and every time we go and teach him, he seems to be just soaking it all in. Tre definitely has a testimony that this is true! Apparently he's been baptized for about 6 months or so. I'm not sure why, but he's not been going to church. (I think Sis. Moetala mentioned it was because of his job...) I know that his progress has been kind of floundering, though. Sis. Moetala mentioned that it was because he's been working through the repentance process, and I can imagine he's understandably discouraged. We weren't able to meet with him this week, though. When we got there, he was asleep and his grandma, who answered the door (and is a member), told us they weren't feeling up to it because someone stole their dog. WHO STEALS SOMEONE'S DOG?! She and her husband were heartbroken. But good news and miracles, still— we found out yesterday that they found their dog when he was scratching at the door at 3 in the morning. Miracles, miracles! Hopefully we get in with them this week!
Last but not least is Tim. He's the husband of a part-member family. Apparently he's been investigating the church for a while, and I love Tim so dearly. He's really grown on me as we've met with him the last two weeks. Seeing him love his little girl (18 months) and wife (who is expecting) the way he does really melts my heart. He's doing everything he possibly can to provide for his little family, including doing all these church things when he's not even sure he has a testimony, yet. The last few times we've met with him, we've been trying to encourage him and help him see the faith he already has. Alma 32 was last week's lesson, and this last Thursday, the Spirit was so strong, I barely remember what we taught. He's doing everything he needs to, but he's just not sure he knows yet. We're praying fervently for his answer to come. We hope to commit him to baptism this week! SEND PRAYERS!
Other families we're teaching are, for the most part, part-member families.
The V Family: Rob and (I can't remember her name right now) have been members since about 2004(?). They have two children who are not members, their daughter Taylor (14) and their son Robbie (12). Robbie wrestles and is quite good, so the whole family's life revolves around his wrestling. As a result, they're inactive. We've been able to meet with them twice and had really great lessons both times. Yesterday they were out of town, and we have a return appointment with them next Sunday. Prayers! We're hoping to commit Taylor and Robbie to baptism soon.
The L Family: Belen's been a member for about 6 months. Belen's husband works in North Dakota, and we never see him. (I don't know if he's a member or not.) Belen apparently hates that their ward starts at 2:30 and refuses to go. They have has three kids: Viviana (about 13), Isaac (8), and Jacob (about 3). Viviana was taking the discussions, but recently decided she doesn't want anything to do with it. Belen and her husband want Isaac to be baptized, and she let us come back to start teaching him in preparation. The bishopric in their ward still need to get back to us about permission to do that because I've heard that's the ward's responsibility to teach [a child over age 8].
The work is great! It isn't quite what I expected, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy. I let myself get pretty discouraged, but I can feel the Lord strengthening me every day. This is where he needs me. I'm so grateful to be here. My sister will be updating the blog with some more about life in Pasco, so keep an eye out. LOVE YOU ALL! Remember that your Heavenly Father loves you SO much!
Sister Nielsen
Q&A with Sister Nielsen: Pasco edition
1. Who is your companion? Where is she from? How long has she been on her mission/in the area? I saw that she's doing the driving. They must've heard about your dipping days in Glenwood. "We're banished, genius!" Haha. Just kidding. I know it's because you're green.
Her name is Sister Moetala! She's American Samoan and talks often about how the island was so small and how she doesn't want to go back. Haha. This last Wednesday, she passed her year mark. As far as dipping stories, there really aren't a lot of dips to even explain what dipping is. She'd probably think it was something else that is completely not missionary appropriate. ;)2. Tell us about some of the members and people you're teaching, like if they have cool conversion stories or how they ended up in Pasco.
I'll send you what I sent to my mission president about the people I'm teaching in the mass email. All the members are so great! We cover the Pasco 1st, 10th, and YSA (girls), and one cool conversion story from our ward mission leader in the first ward: Brother Clements has been a member for about 30 years. (He's actually two days younger than Dad, to the year.) Before he joined the church, he was a member of the RLDS Church (now the Community of Christ). I can't remember now why he joined, although he did tell us. He also just recently bought a Harley... so there's that.3. What's your daily routine like? What do you do on preparation day besides email?
Well, we get up at 6:30, get ready and exercise until 8:00. Personal study until 9:00. At 10:00, we start "My First 12 Weeks" training, depending on if we have a meeting or somewhere we need to go, until about 11:00. From 11:00 we usually update the area book and make phone calls. The rest of the day we try to spend finding. That could mean knocking [doors] on streets, and then sometimes we check the addresses we found of people we found in the area book. Just whatever Sister Moetala decides we need to do, honestly. Then we usually have dinner with members at 5:00. All the members are so great. Not any food yet that's really crazy. All just kind of normal. One night we had a Guatemalan enchilada, which looks nothing like the enchilada you and I are familiar with. I don't know how to explain it. She just piled all the toppings onto a crisp tortilla. I wish I had time for details.4. How big is your ward? How many young women are there? (That last one is mostly for me.)
Each of the wards are fairly decent in size. About like home. Except the YSA branch is not very big. We don't spend a lot of time with the YW, unfortunately, so IDK what to tell you. :/5. What do you eat? Are there any weird Washington foods?
I haven't had any weird Washington foods yet. [See question 3.]6. Do people have accents there? Do they think you have an accent?
Some people have kind of a "Warshington" accent. Like, yeah. Some people actually say that. No one has said anything about my accent yet.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Tender mercies from General Conference
Monday, April 6, 2015
Hello, everyone!
Things are well in Washington! I'm starting to really love it here. The members are so kind and everyone in the wards that we teach are really starting to grow on me.
I hope you all enjoyed General Conference! It was such an inspiring session for me. Being on a mission is great and so rewarding, but it also is really challenging. The Adversary has especially been weighing down on me as far as my confidence in teaching is concerned. But General Conference was able to help me recognize that I'm okay with what I already know. Elder Dale G. Renlund was especially helpful as he taught us to "Keep on trying!" as well as a few other speakers who comforted us by counselling to "hold onto what you already know." In Alma 32 it teaches, "Even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
No matter where you are in life, no matter what you're going through, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is there for you to make up the difference. And even if all you can do is desire to believe or desire to be better, that's enough. You don't have to be there yet. You can keep working, you can keep trying! Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us to "trust God and believe in good things to come."
I know I'm not a perfect teacher or missionary yet, and you might not think you're perfect or good enough or worthy of the blessings you desire, but Jesus Christ suffered an Atonement for us that we might be made more perfect through His grace. I'm grateful to everyone for their love and support. I hope to hear from some of you soon! Hope your Easter was happy and blessed!
How'd you like General Conference? I'd love to hear your thoughts and the things you learned!
Sister Nielsen
Note from Lisa: No captions for the pictures. We'll have to have a talk with her about that. Some are self-explanatory... others not so much. Ha! ;)
Hello, everyone!
Things are well in Washington! I'm starting to really love it here. The members are so kind and everyone in the wards that we teach are really starting to grow on me.
I hope you all enjoyed General Conference! It was such an inspiring session for me. Being on a mission is great and so rewarding, but it also is really challenging. The Adversary has especially been weighing down on me as far as my confidence in teaching is concerned. But General Conference was able to help me recognize that I'm okay with what I already know. Elder Dale G. Renlund was especially helpful as he taught us to "Keep on trying!" as well as a few other speakers who comforted us by counselling to "hold onto what you already know." In Alma 32 it teaches, "Even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
No matter where you are in life, no matter what you're going through, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is there for you to make up the difference. And even if all you can do is desire to believe or desire to be better, that's enough. You don't have to be there yet. You can keep working, you can keep trying! Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught us to "trust God and believe in good things to come."
I know I'm not a perfect teacher or missionary yet, and you might not think you're perfect or good enough or worthy of the blessings you desire, but Jesus Christ suffered an Atonement for us that we might be made more perfect through His grace. I'm grateful to everyone for their love and support. I hope to hear from some of you soon! Hope your Easter was happy and blessed!
How'd you like General Conference? I'd love to hear your thoughts and the things you learned!
Sister Nielsen
Note from Lisa: No captions for the pictures. We'll have to have a talk with her about that. Some are self-explanatory... others not so much. Ha! ;)
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