July 22nd Dublin Virginia

Dublin Virginia...

 

110 Linkous Avenue

Building G Apartment #203

Dublin Virginia, 24084

 

That address can be changing possibly because we are searching for a new apartment so i will try to keep you updated. Our apartment now is sick and groody so stay tuned for a new address :)

ha well I am officially that missionary. Yes the missionary that is in culture shock by all the REDNECKS around me! ha and I though Tremonton was bad. No offense to Tremonton because I love it there and miss it everyday but oh my goodness this place is very VERY different. I am in Dublin Virginia but we also go into Pulaski on a daily basis as well. They are very small towns.

 

I have learned how important it is to love people without teeth as well. These people are so different and I have to say this has been a very big struggle for me. It has also helped my testimony grow on how important it is to accept people for who they are and not what they look like.

 

Lately I have either been really sick to my stomach or having a headache. My headaches suck really bad and i have pinpointed that it is from the Cigarette smoke that i walk in to everyones house smelling, it makes me so sick and nauseated for a couple hours after that. I havent pin pointed what is making me sick to my stomach but hopefully it starts to settle down.

 

The people here sure do LOVE their religion here. i am so used to my little Tremonton where people in the Church tend to outnumber the others. Well here I have not drove down at least one street without seeing the church of god, presbyterian church, luthern church, and many others as well. It is so crazy we try to talk to some people and they are polite about it but they love their church and no one is changing there mind ha.

 

My companion is Sister Stringham..........

she is just awesome ! :) we definatley have our VERY big differences and we get along really well most of the time! :) she came out only 12 weeks before I did so we are still trying to figure out this missionary thing together. The main thing that drives me a little nuts is I AM SO HOT HERE!!! so I constantly am turning on the AC and she is constantly turning it off. So i tuen right back around and turn it back on! :) We will see who wins this battle! :) :) that sounds rude i take that back, we will figure out a good medium.. hopfully :)

 

On the positive note, we are slowly getting to teach a lot of people. These past missionaries have had investigators but they were not progresssing so i feel like they made friends with people that they didnt want to drop. SO we are dropping all these people and we are trying the find people to fill the space. We have met a couple people willing to hear our message but we dont know yet if they are going to be going anywhere. So as people reading this blog of mine PRAY for us! ha. We have alot of people here that only live off of the government and disability which can be a very big problem for the church because some people figure out that the church is willing to help so they usually moooch off of the church by joining and when they figure they have collected enough they take off. So we as the only sister missionaries in these two towns have to be very careful and look for these signs so we dont get these people. (they are Called Joiners for future refrence)

 

Right now we are dealing with two people who are very interested in coming back into the church but their case is difficult. The women is a ex-comminicated member and so we are trying to deal with this the correct way! and the other we are worried is a joiner because he asked us if the church has lawyers to help him get his kids back.  so we are trying to use our discernment and good judgement.

 

These people truly are good people out here and I have only been here five days so I am sure there will be more stories to come but as of now I am thinking of dying my beautiful red gorgeous hair. (Sorry Jeannie) but these men are gross out here. I have countless times been hit on by men double my age because of my red hair and blue eyes. ha will someone send me colored contacts? One man his name is Country, yesterday asked me to leave my companion and come spend the evening with him at his house. hah Yes his house is up in a holler. which is like the very top of a hill. and he sleeps in a Bread Truck, like a legit WONDER BREAD TRUCK!!! eww grosss.. I appreciate the gentleman in Utah hah

 

Why do missionaries have to have such a large bladder?

-- Because they only have one Pee-Day.

hahahahah

 

 I love you all and I love hearing from  you!!

Remember the church is true!!

July 10th

Well hello there everyone! :) Yes this is the infamous Sister Nielsen.

Week one of the MTC and I am still alive. I know I didn't think that i would get here either. But i have absolutely loved it!! The MTC is so crazy and I have hardly any time to breath haha. But My Companion is Sister Call, she is super sweet, and she knows her stuff for sure, it is so crazy she is a twin!! We work together very well, and she laughs at my jokes even though i know she thinks that they are dumb. We taught our first investigator Yesterday and her name is Hely, she was seriously one of the sweetest ladies that i have ever met and I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. she asked us to come back and we placed our first book of Mormon & got her to commit to reading the book of Mormon, and to pray to know if the church was true! It was such a spiritual moment and I loved the experience, it gave me an assurance that I can do this and it is possible to be a missionary, i doubted myself a little. But I room with other girls and they are so much fun one of them Sister Mahlstede was on Davis Drill team the same years as me! Ha we do all the BDT dances together and we laugh a lot.

I leave for West Virginia in less than a week and I am so excited to get out there. ha our District even has a goal to baptize so many people that we are able to get a Temple in West Virginia, so right here I am sharing revelation, "October Conference 2013 the announcement of the building of a temple in Charleston West Virginia! :)

The food here at the MTC is so gross! haha it seriously makes me feel so gross and sick after I eat, ha but I am not about to complain about the unlimited Chocolate milk and Colossal Berry Crunch cereal.

I absolutely love my District we have Sister Stone and Simmons and then we have Elders Lane, Carter, Payne, Staveley, Labrum, Rameriez, McFarland and then me and Sister Call. We have the funnest times but we also have some of the most spiritual as well. In our zone we had 5 sets of twins haha it was so crazy, that is like 10 kids in births hahaha. But my companion Sister Call is a twin and Elder Carter in my district is as well. I don't know maybe this MTC craziness that they talk about it just barely getting to me but think the weirdest things are funny haha. But, I am doing really good :) I feel like when you hear from returned missionaries you never hear how much work the MTC is I was definitely not ready for all this ha. our schedule is set to where you cannot have anything go wrong or else your whole day is practical thrown off for good!

The amount of support that I have received from all of my family members have me in tears right now making this the first time that I have actually cried here at the MTC. For people who don't know me that's huge!! Tell everyone and anyone to write me letters they make my day so much happier and better. My branch president last night Gave me this quote. "You will bless your family more on your mission that if you were there helping them" - Jeffrey R Holland. I have to keep that in mind because I sure do miss my little nephews and my red headed hazy baby.

I don't have much time i feel so remember how much I love you all and I appreciate your support you have given me and continue to give me! :)

I love you!

Love: Sister Nielsen

P.S. The church is true!! :)

Bountiful temple!!

 I haven't had time to post pictures in my description of how the temple went.  but it was amazing!! Here is some pictures for now I'll post more on the temple later thanks!! 😘

{TT} no not tee time... Temple time!! :)

This is the morning that I will be taking my endownments out at the temple. And there is alot of emotions going through me right now, I mean I am super duper excited but I am also a little nervous. I have heard the infamous stories of how confusing it is, and its nothing you have ever expirienced.

Now when the question came about of which temple to go through, I got alot of questions about the Brigham temple,
-why arent you going through the brigham
-do you not like it
-its so special though.
Mostly from my mom but I was dead set on the Bountiful temple, to me it is so special, elegant, gorgeous, and the one for me to take my endownments out at.
Just looking at the picture takes my breath away and the picture still does not do it justice.

The day I picked was May 21, and yes that is my mothers birthday.  Originally I had wanted it on May 1 but because of the events placed on that day, we werent able to agree. So my mom offered it to be on her birthday, she told me that it would make it that much more special! After I agreed and made the appointment i got so excited, i mean this is a BIG deal. I have always sang in Primary, I love to see the temple, ill go inside someday, whoever thought today would be my day preparing for a mission today.

I am so ready for these new expriences, and the things that I am going to be learning today at three, I know that testimonys have to be built off of expiriences like these and I am so ready to have a testimony of it as well.

I'll keep you updated :)

Love, Sister Nielsen
P.S. The Church is Soo True!

Partying it up, Missionary Style! :)

The second thing on the Before the Mish Bucket List was to go to Saint George and go rock climbing and swimming.
Now most people that live in Tremonton have gone to St. George many times throughout their lives to have a fun vacation, and escape the coldness of the small town. I claim that I had never been before which I haven't... from what I remember anyways. But I have never experienced St. George, now I have experienced other vacations which is great but I have always wanted to go to St. George.

Now its easier said than done, my mom is a worrier, yes I love that she is concerned for me but sometimes she gets a little protective when it comes to me going places without her, long distances, without supervision. NO she is not a overprotective parent she is just concerned and wants to look out for my best interests. I like that, so when I told her I was going to go she surprised me by telling me okay. I WAS SO EXCITED!!!!!

On Thursday April 18th me and Kaylee drove to Cedar where Devanne goes to school. We stayed over night and has quite the party!
Friday we waited for Devanne to get done with school and then we headed to Saint George to party it up with JJ!

We went to this really pretty Carousel and we rode it. It was nice to just have fun and be with each other and be able to laugh. I think that's what I will miss a lot on my mission is getting together with my friends and just laughing but I know those memories is what will make up for it on my mission, then when I get home we can party even more which will make it that much better! :)

 

That night we tried to go to Dixie Rock but we had some pansy girls in the group that were too scared ;) what pansy's!! :) We went and ate Panda Express and then we went and snuck into the Hampton Inn's swimming pool! It was a lot of fun, when we got home though I practically passed out as soon as 17 again started its opening credits.

 



Saturday we woke up and went on one of the coolest hikes I have ever even been on! (ha because I have been on so many to begin with) :) But anyway It was in Leeds and it was a really nice easy path. The rocks were placed and everything looked perfect like a photo that belongs on a calendar. There is a waterfall that people were jumping off into and then you could walk farther back into like a path of water that you could walk through. The water was freezing cold though. So we didn't play in the water much. One day I hope to be able to go back and jump  in and enjoy the water when it warms up a bit more. There was frogs and lizards and it was seriously just such an awesome experience something that I will never forget!

 

 







After the hike we went and ate at Costa Vida and then we went and Laid out at JJ's parents condos. The sun was seriously so nice to feel and I couldn't even get enough of the sunshine, the temperature was from the 70's to the 80's  all day and I couldn't help but laugh when I talked to my mother on the phone and it was rain and cold and just a very dreary day in Tremonton. I GOT SO SUNBURNT!!! But that's okay I think that I will live!

This trip was seriously everything I expected it to be and more, I had so much fun and I cant wait for these girls to move home so that we can party even more!

Bucket List #2 St. George  Climbing and Swimming!

CHECK!! :)

BTMBL

Before The Mish Bucket List

Well now that the most dramatic things of preparing fort he mission are at a stand still I wasn't quite sure what it was that I needed to be writing about, so I am going to be writing about the next 85 days until I leave. (who's counting right? :))

So as I stated above I do have a bucket list, with whom mostly Devanne, but others will be involved as well. most of them will be posted but some will remain left as just checked off the list! ha ha, no there is nothing on the list that could actually keep me from my mission, its just kind of a don't ask don't tell kind of thing :)
First thing to check off the list is
             -Find the Beach Ball on the Mountain :)

Check:)



l'ouverture de l'appel

THEE OPENING.

 

Link:http://youtu.be/B5fJJkoCz_I

 

 

The letter came on Wednesday March 27, 2013. I wake up to a phone call coming through from my mother balling saying that my call was FINALLY here. Ha ha I hung the phone up and told her to call me when I could understand her better.

 

I called her back a little bit later. the plan originally was to open it on Friday because I am at school until Friday but knowing it was there was drving me nuts, and I cannot stand having a secret being kept from me! Also Devanne wanted to be there really bad and I knew if I waited till Friday Devanne could be there for me. So I  called her and she said if you get off work I will come home today, it was very stressful getting work off but I finally did and headed home. We had my favorite which was sprite with red velvet cupcakes, YUMMM!! :)

 

I got really nervous when people started to show up, I mean I could not sit in one place and by the end of it all I had over 50 people at my house. ( it was super hot) I am still amazed by the amazing support I had and still have from my friends and family. I am going to name a couple people, don't kill me if I forget you

Grandma and Grandpa Isaacson

Grandma and Grandpa Gardner

Grandpa John

Emily

Nate
Jennifer

Lori Williams

Jan Rawlinson

Kaylee

Markelle

Karlie

Melany

Stephani

Logan

Ryder

Mavryk

Shantel

Brandon

Brooklyn

Burton

Bryson

Scotty

Jaron

Wyatt

Nate W.

Bubba

Tyler

Tonya

Kelsey D.

Kenzie

Glenn

Devanne

Mom

Uncle Mike

Staci

Kevin

Kathy

Jim

Diana Harris

Gary Harris

Bishop Lish

Susan

Erik Johnson and his wife

Polly

Just seeing this picture makes me a little bit emotional to see all the good examples and amazing people that are in my life helping make this decision that much easier for me!

 

The minute I read where I was going I was so excited, I now have a testimony that when we are assigned for our missions that it we are prepared beforehand for these missions for a purpose. I am so at peace with CHARELSTON WEST VIRGINIA!!! :) something that is also very amazing for me is the place itself. During my fall semester at LDSBC. I didn't make many friends but one person that I got very close with was Sydney Robinson. I was almost devastated when she should me that she would not be doing winter semester together. Well turns out she left on her mission this year to January, if there was one example to me the most before actually starting my papers it was her. she was so encouraging and she was the one that also helped me to keep praying for my answer. Okay I'll get to my point now. :) never did I imagine that I would be opening my call to the same place that she is now serving. SHE IS ALSO IN CHARELSTON WEST VIRGINA!!! :) :) :) I have told her through her mission blog (I got this idea from her to do the blog) and I am still waiting to hear from her :)

 

I am so EXCITED to serve in this mission and I know it wont be easy but it will so be worth it providing everlasting blessing throughout my life and after as well.

 

Stay tuned ;)