A Nice, Sunny Christmas in Florida :)

Something Good: Well this week has had many good things!

First skyping with my family!! I sure loved seeing them all; it was a wonderful time! :) I am thankful for technology to see my cute family! So thankful that families are forever!! Second, presents from home!!! I got a box of things to "share" before Christmas, and this was one of my favorites - it is a Life Saver's book with a picture of Jesus pasted on the cover with "He is the Real Life Saver" - that is SO TRUE!!! I love talking to people about the Savior. This week has been kinda slow because of the holidays, but we have met very nice people as we have walked around our area. :)

This is Vivian, who has been really nice to feed us, and the second time at her house, we discovered we have a mutual friend in Orem, Utah, Katie Ator Anderson, so this photo came from Vivian to Katie to my Mom. It's a small world - in the Church!! We met this man outside, he was using his cane to brush some leaves out of his garage, so we go over to help him, and he asks, "What do you want?" and we tell him we just want to help him. So we do for a minute and than he tells us to go talk to his wife. We where both like.."OK!" So we go inside, his wife is on the phone but tells us to go sit down, so we sat down, and waited, she came and talked to us for a bit and showed us around her house, and she had the most beautiful Nativities ever!! I really feel like I have see more Nativiy sets here in Florida than I ever have before, I love it so much! Anyways! We find out she is very into her church, but it was just cool and super sweet how nice she was and so respectful of our church and beliefs. There are so many good people who are genuinely kind who are not of our faith that I am so thankful for. :) We went to see a family where the husband is less active and the wife is not a member. It was the second time we have seen them. The first was on Thanksgiving and we just talked to them outside, but this time we where able to go inside and talk to them, and it was great! We had a wonderful visit and where able to show them "A Savior is Born." Many good little things this week. :) On Christmas Eve we went to see Sabrina and Alex and spent time with them. It was cute because we played "Bible Trivia" with Marley, their daughter, and each time she got one right she could open a present. I feel like I want to do that one day with my future kids. ;)

We had a District Meeting on Tuesday and I got taped to the wall. Good times. We must be getting ready for Christmas and don't know what to do with all our energy, since people are busy!!

Something Funny: Only in the South would you find a sign like this surrounded by growing green plants!! Never in my life would I have ever thought it would be 80 degrees on Christmas!! It was so wonderful!! I do miss the feel of Christmas but I do not miss the cold! It was funny because we were driving in the car and we had to turn the A/C on...haha! Oh, a few days ago...we washed our car outside in sandals and shorts, and it was just so lovely. Something I can check off my bucket list!? " Wash your car in the middle of December.." (Check) :) I can understand why people come to FL during the winter...it is NICE. Some of our members were at the beach making Florida snowmen out of sand...Haha so awesome. :)

So Christmas eve we went to the Huntsman home and they put on the Nativity for us! Note the dad is in shorts and barefoot and the mom is in flip flops. Only in Florida...

So Christmas when we opened our gifts we had an awesome challenge. My mom sent us a LOT of little gifts that were identical/matching - one for each of us. We had to open the tag and read the scripture, then guess what was in the gift, the open it! It was so much fun!

Here we are with chocolate coins wrapped in gold paper. We learned that we are valuable to the Lord! The matching scarves were "Put on the beautiful garments."

We had a Christmas party at the apartment of the senior couple, Elder and Sister Ross. They bought presents and we drew numbers and each took that gift, then they read a story and we had to pass the gifts left or right, and at the end of the story, we kept the gift we had in our laps. That was a great Christmas day activity, and the Elder and Sister Ross are so wonderful to do that for us! We all felt loved! Something Learned: This week we have been sharing a story called "The Legend of the Candy Cane" by Lori Walburg (available on Amazon) (Thank you to my mother:)) We have given out candy canes as we read this story of the meaning of the candy cane, and how the candy cane is like a shepherd's staff to represent the first people told about His birth, how the J stands for Jesus, and how the red stripes remind us of his pain and his blood shed for us and the white for His life and purity. Each time we read the story, I just knew that Christ was born for me. I am so thankful for Him and all the many blessings I have been given because He was born. Even though the Christmas season is over, I know that we can all keep Christ in our thoughts and minds all during the year. :) One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the Good Samaritan. In one of the ending verses it reads.."And he had compassion on him." This story is just a good reminder that even though we are all different, we can still love others and do what Christ would do. Even after Christmas we can still serve and love others. :) I have enjoyed Christmas so much this year through focusing on the Savior even more, and I hope I can always keep Him in mind throughout this next year! :)

This is the Relief Society Room in the Lynn Haven Ward (cute bulletin board, huh?) We are saying goodbye to Allie, who is in our ward, but moving.

And here we are, post-Christmas shopping at Target with Megan Morse, who loves to shop and takes us along. She is so cute and so good to us!

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! So thankful for another year to be alive and another year to serve my Savior and Heavenly Father here in Florida. :) #2016inFL, Love to all, Sister Nielson:)

"A Savior is Born" For Me & You :)

Something Good: Hi everyone!! Sorry it has been a bit, but I will do some catch up!!

The past few weeks have been awesome in Lynn Haven!! This area has been somewhat slow, but with the Spirit's help we are finding and talking to everyone!! Something good about the South...everyone loves Jesus!! It is awesome to be here around the Christmas Holiday because we talk to so many people who think Jesus is awesome, which makes talking about his birth even better! We have been loving giving out this pass along card with a video...christmas.mormon.org (Go watch it!) It is one of my favorite videos ever! The Gospel is the Good news to the World, so thankful for the Savior for giving himself to us. He sure is something good to talk about! Ah!!! My wonderful people in Gulf Breeze, Paul and Paula, have set a BCD (Baptism Commitment Date)!! Ahhhh!! I am so excited for them and so proud! And so thankful to have been a missionary to find and introduce the Gospel to them, to watch them change and to feel their incredible love for us and for the Church develop and blossom! So thankful to have planted that seed and know that it grew into fruit! I hope to see them again and rejoice with them in their decision - maybe they will come to Lynn Haven - only a two hour drive! :) Another good things! I sang in our ward church choir on Sunday! My first time ever singing in a church choir before..ha! It was super fun!

Some other good things! We had a "Half Mission Conference," a Christmas conference in Tallahassee with half our mission, which was so great, it is kinda nice to know other missionaries and get to see them again!Here is a picture of me and my girls from the MTC, Sister Laub and Sister Rinlisbacher!! (Re: April 27, 2015 blog post)

This is a photo with Sister Stewart and I and Sister Kirton and her companion. She was serving with us in Gulf Breeze and was transferred to Dothan. So nice to see her again!

And here is our beloved Sister Smith, our "Mission Mom" at our Christmas Half Mission Conference. Sure love her!

And here is a group of smiling Sister missionaries at the conclusion of the conference, with Sister Smith at the back left. What a great group of friends, these Sister Missionaries! I am so blessed to be here!

Oh yes! Our ward is getting way into Family History! This photo was sent to my mom from Angie Jones, who was at the FH center (Insert texted comments from Sister Jones about Sister Nielson, "I was in the FHC with your daughter when she picked up a magnified plastic. She was so cute!! She IS adorable and we LOVE her! Such a great companionship too. She and Sis Stewart make a great team!") This new emphasis is awesome for us because coming up we will get to go around places and share a short message about FH and we get to have time to work on our own FH! I really am starting to love it. We are helping a lady find her family on Family Search. It has been such a good learning and wonderful experience for me. Thankful for FH! :)

Something Funny: IT IS NOW FALL! It is funny to me how the weather works here! Also kinda weird that there is no snow whatsoever! But we do have our own kind of Florida snow...Sand!? Ha! Well Sister Stewart and I walked ALL day on day..you can imagine me...DYING. Haha, but we found an orange tree with oranges on it...went to the door and asked if we could pick some oranges! The man who answered was so nice and totally let us have oranges! Oh the people in the South...so genuinely kind and generous.

Speaking of kind Southerners, we have a good friend named Tiff, we met her at Chick-fil-a, she is probably one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She always helps us and calls us, "My loves." Oh she is just so cute! We always are able to share messages with her. Honestly, we go to Chick-fil-a just for her...:) I just love all these wonderful nice people in the area!

So these past few weeks, one of the things we get to do is walk a LOT with real paper maps. Sometimes we have to duck into a place that sells food and try to figure out where we are and how to get to where we are going!

And we try to be friendly and smile at everyone, and bring a bit of happiness to them, too, even if we get photo-bombed in the process. Something Spiritual: Sister Stewart and I had a cool spiritual experience a few weeks ago which strengthened both of us. During planning we decided to go through our former investigators. So we do, and we see a name...Carolyne. Well Carolyne has a lot of history with the missionaries. Well, one day we felt like we should go see her and meet her, so we do, and we knock on the door. She opens the door and starts freaking out...in a good way! She told us she was struggling a lot and just picked up her Book of Mormon, was about to read it when we knocked on the door. She kept saying, "I can't believe this!" So we go in and have a great lesson with her.We talked about faith and love and humility, and how much her Savior loves her. Carolyne is so awesome. She just knows her Savior, and if someone loves the Savior so much...it would be Carolyne. We are so excited to start teaching her and helping her come to Christ..when actually she helps us come to Him! :) I am just so thankful for her and her open heart to learn!

I am also so thankful for the people who have opened their hearts and homes to us. One is Megan Morse, who invited Sister Stewart and I over for a filet mignon dinner on Dec 22. We needed the strength that came from this good meal and the warmth of the love of her family.

There is something so wonderful about children at Christmastime especially. You feel their innocence and love, their trust and their simple and real faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am grateful to the families who have fed us, encouraged us, and let us be of service to them. But really, they are giving us service. At Christmas, when missionaries are far from their families, it is really easy to get homesick and miss those we would be with at Christmas at home. So it is so nice when we can be invited into the homes of good people who share their families with us as missionaries far from home. So I just want to say THANK YOU to all the families and good people out there who feed and love the missionaries. Thanks for taking care of each of us. May you be blessed for your kindness and generosity. I am sure the Lord loves you for it.

And speaking of service, Sister Stewart and I got to help Megan Morse decorate for the Lynn Haven ward Relief Society Christmas evening. We even got to go with her to Hobby Lobby to get some decorating things. And good thing that Sis Stewart was there to keep us on track, because Megan and I love decorating, so we got distracted as we were shopping. Here is a little bit of the decorating on the stage behind us. I took this selfie with Megan's phone and she texted it to my mom. Something Learned: As many of you know, I am learning a lot lately...some things are harder to learn than others but I am figuring it out! Missions are definately places where you learn a lot about yourself and about the Lord. One of the biggest things I have learned this month is, Sacrifice. I have always kinda thought this word was scary and all, but really it isn't. I am thankful for a Savior for giving himself to me and to all of us, so that one day we can become and be like him. This Christmas season has been one of my favorites, I have focused more on the Savior than I ever have before and I am so thankful for the time I get to do so. I am so thankful for the best gift given to the world. A Savior. He is kind, he is loving and he is forgiving. So blessed. :) And He is the Light of the World. No wonder we celebrate Him and the way we want to follow him by giving and serving others during this season. He lights up our lives. He gives us reason to rejoice!

Hope y'all had a Blessed and Merry Christmas!! I love each y'all big!! To everyone who has sent me encouraging and sweet words, thank you so much. I love you all. <3 Sis Nielson

Seeking Heaven's Help

Yesterday one of the Seventy spoke in stake conference and his talk was "Faith in Repentance." The spirit hit me hard how important it is for everyone to have faith because we all need continual repentance. It is through Faith we can gain a relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and apply the Atonement in our lives. Last night after stake conference I was looking at a picture of Christ. We had put up lights around his picture, and He was shining. As I pondered it, the Spirit whispered to me that His light is a gift to all, if you use his perfect gift which is the Atonement. I know that in the end all that matters is what Heavenly Father and Christ think of me and each of us. He is the light. He is our center.

There are wonderful people in the Lynn Haven ward, and I am happy to get to know some of them. Here is Sister Stewart and me with Megan Morse, who sent these photo home for me. She took it as a wide angle, which makes the room look sort of curved. She is really nice to us.

This is Sophie, age four and Pyper Morse, age two. I freaked out because the Morse's have a REAL Christmas Tree!!!! I don't remember our family ever having a real tree,so this was super amazing to me. Thank you for all your love and support in everything I have done. Sister Nielson

New Home...Lynn Haven, Panama City, FL

Farewell to Gulf Breeze ward and Navarre! Here are my last photos in Gulf Breeze: Last District Photo - Sister Kinghorn and I are twinners for one last time!

Last photo with Sister Kinghorn hugging goodbye at transfers spot. She is staying and training in Gulf Breeze. I know she will be an awesome trainer! We have had a really great companionship. I will love her always!

And it is always so wonderful to see Sister Smith, who is an incredible Mission Mom. I love her so much and have learned so much from her. So then on to transfers and new companion assignments. I was in for a big surprise!

Something Funny: I am now companions with my trainer, Sister Stewart!!! Ha! We both gasped when our names were read together! How great is that! She is so fun and so funny, that we just laugh and have a great time together! It's going to be awesome! We get to serve together again, which I am SO thankful for!! We have so much good work to do here and I am so pumped and ready for the work to start! :) And!!! I got my wish to go to Panama City!! I am in the Lynn Haven ward. Here is my/our new address: Sister Nielson and Sister Stewart 2401 Stanford Ave. #503 Panama City, FL 32405 I love it here!!!

Look at these cute turtles in the pond by our apartment. Ah, Florida! Something Spiritual: Well, because of transfers I was able to go to Milton for the day with our STL's (oh I just love Milton!) we went to see an RC (recent convert) named Ashley. She has been a member for about 3 months or so...anyways! We just had this amazing lesson with her...It was so cool to see this new member of the Church center everything in her life around Christ. She told us a lot about herself, and the trials she has faced...but she would ALWAYS mention Christ. It was just a good spiritual moment for me to see someone who loves Christ so much. I know that the Savior will NEVER give up on anyone..I am thankful for Ashley for reminding me and teaching me about a personal relationship we can all gain through the Savior Jesus Christ. Another sweet spiritual moment, we went to a member's home a few days ago, the Bober's. Sister Bober is less active and her husband is not a member, but they are so nice and so open with us, we shared about gratitude and went around and said something we are all grateful for. The spirit was just there and it felt so good. :) So thankful for the Holy Ghost to help us feel warm inside. :) Something Good: So many good moments this week..of course there was some hard moments, leaving GB and everyone there..but good moments always come. :) I love Lynn Haven!! It feels so much more homey! (don't know if that is a word...) there is so much to do here...and Target exits here! Yay! :) My new ward is awesome!! It is SO big...so many good people!

One of our investigators, Sabrina...(Yes! We might have the same name!) invited us to go over to her home and have dinner and decorate her Christmas tree...okay probably the best thing I have done in a while. Her husband is from Haiti and speaks French! So awesome he prayed in French! So cool. Anyways, Sabrina and Alex are wonderful people, ah that night with them was just a good moment! Super excited to start the work here!! :) Another funny moment...well we didn't really have miles to do a lot, so we had a member take us to one of our areas and there we walked around and met a few people! Also met a guy named Cary who wants to take us to lunch, so that is nice! :) Anyways it got dark outside so here we are on the side of the road using a legit REAL map to find where we need to go and using a flash light...ha, it was just funny, because I have never used a paper map before...but learning and growing always. ;) Also, Sister Stewart is just a funny person so we laugh a lot. :) Something Learned: This week I have learned that change is good. I was so nervous to leave my first area and the people I love and care about so much..but I have come to realize that change is a good thing. I was reading in Alma and how he received a change of heart..and boom! He was given the spirit! Well, yes. Change can be super tough and scary, but with faith and with the spirit, change is good! I really feel like Heavenly Father was preparing me for change. He has taught me that a true change of heart will overcome anything. I am so thankful for the time that I was given to share the Gospel and my testimony of the Savior in Gulf Breeze. I will always be so thankful for the wonderful people and all the lessons I learned. :) So excited for the NEW adventures I will have here in Lynn Haven! So thankful for all the many blessings that I have seen and have been apart of. I love my Savior. I love this work. I love everyone here in Florida. So thankful for the time I have to be here. It is going by so, so fast! :) Thank y'all for all the love and support!! :) XOXOX!! Sis Nielson! :)

I'll miss you, Gulf Breeze

Something Spiritual: Well after 7 months of wonderful experiences of learning, trials, amazing people, and a beautiful place in Gulf Breeze/Navarre my time is up! I am getting transferred!!

Wednesday I will be somewhere new! And look, Sister Kinghorn and I got a new car - just kidding!!!, but it sort of represents what a great time we have had together. She is going to stay and be Training! Woot! Go Sister Kinghorn! I don't know yet where I am going - I am hoping for Tallahassee or Panama City, but wherever it is, the Lord is in charge and it will be great!!! Kinda crazy right before the holiday, but it will work out...I have some mixed emotions about it, but I am so thankful for the chance I had to serve in this area. I have loved it so, so, so much. It has been a perfect place to start and serve the first third of my mission.

We went to brunch with Sister Schlaffer to "Sail in." Sure going to miss her, and this place! I am so grateful for all the wonderful times I have had and all the wonderful people I have met. I definitely have had many spiritual moments of happiness here. So thankful for a loving Savior for letting me be here at this time. My heart will always remember and love Gulf Breeze/Navarre. So thankful for the miracles I have seen here, Heavenly Father is good, he has let me see others come unto him. To everyone in Gulf Breeze/ Navarre: Thank you, thank you. I love y'all big!

Some Fun moments: Last Monday we spent a day with Sister Crowell, I got my hair fixed..yay!! Always a good time in the Salon! :) This photo is also my "last week in Gulf Breeze" goodbye photo.

We had the chance to go to Paul and Paula's and do some service for them, so that was great! Funny thing that happened in the car...Well, we get in the car and look at the degrees outside and it says 54 degrees! We both start freaking out because it is FREEZING!! Ha! So for y'all who thought Florida is all nice and warm all the time, you are wrong! Ha! It does get chilly! I had to wear a jacket! But I am liking the no snow or freezing Utah feel. ;) Something funny and something I am going to miss is biking with Sister Kinghorn...oh man. Our bike adventures have been pretty rad. I sure won't miss carrying my bike up and down the stairs that's for sure! Anyways! I have had SO much fun in this area, so many laughs and so many good times!

Something Good: So even though we were so sad to see our other "companion" leave, we are also happy to report that she made it safe and sound into the MTC! :) I sure do love Hermana Alvarez lots! She's going to be an awesome missionary!! So many good things have happened this week. We have had good lessons! Vicki Bond committed to come to church and guess what! She came to church!! So happy she came. Miss Joyce came to church again and the whole sacrament meeting was just for her, every talk, songs and just everything. She has really felt the spirit. It is funny because she says sacrament meeting goes by too fast and she just doesn't want it to end! Ah, I am just so happy I have been able to see her change especially. She is someone that I love a lot. :) Many good things to come in the Gulf Breeze ward! Something Learned: My mind has been racing, thinking about all the good things I have learned here in this area - there are so many! But something that has really, really hit me this week was a little experience we had. To make it short, the place we do our volunteer service at told us that some issues have come up with us and that if we want to continue to do service and volunteer we will have to remove our tags while we work there....or cover up where our tag says "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints." And at first I was like, man! What do people have against Mormons or missionaries!?! I don't understand, all we are doing is helping Jesus! We love the people so much who work there, but we are struggling with what to do about the situation we are in. Well that night I was thinking about it, and just angry that we would have to not wear our tags or cover Christ's name, and there is NO way that I would ever cover up who I am as a person or as a missionary. So something learned: Yes there are going to be people who do not like Mormons or missionaries, but I am not ashamed to be representing Jesus Christ. I am thankful to be His helper. So for now and all my mission ever I will wear my tag proudly. :)

I was able to say goodbye (for now) to a very special family who will always be in my heart: Jeb and Salinda Woolstenhulme and these darling kids: Harley, 13, Niyah, 11, Genevieve (Gena), 6 and Mark, 4. Sister Woolstenhulme has been like a sister to me, and the children like by nieces and nephew. Saying goodbye was so hard! I was shaking like a leaf, but they kept reminding me that growth is good and I would do wonderful. This family is an Air Force family, so in a year they may be at another base, and I am so thankful that I could learn to know and love them while they were stationed here. I feel very blessed, and know that the Lord has a plan for everyone - even me.

Another family I have loved is the Taylor's - Here is a goodbye photo with our Stake President's 2nd Counselor, President Taylor. Sister Angeleah (Angie) Taylor has been another mom to me. I love her so much. Well, I probably should go pack now...but again, I am so thankful for all the wonderful amazing times I have had. Gulf Breeze has treated me well, such an amazing, good place to have been. I love it with all my heart. I love everyone I have met. Even more, I have loved sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those I have met! :) #IloveGB #Timefornewadventures! Sister Nielson! (Where will Sister Nielson go next!?!)

Lovin' Gulf Breeze

Something Spiritual: This week has been FULL of spiritual things, which I am so thankful for. And this sign, which you would only see in the South, sums up how I feel = Welcomed and Happy in the Mission Field!

On Tuesday we had Zone Training, I used to get so scared when we would have them, honestly don't know why, but now I LOVE THEM. We learned so many things about planning, and why we are all on missions and how to teach and love. Something one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Otu said as he was talking about our life...he had a string across the room on the ceiling and he got a ladder and stuck a little tab in the middle and that represented our missions...it looked SO small compared to the whole line of string...and he told us that a mission, 18 or 24 months, is so little to give to the Lord, so we need to give it our ALL. Wow. Boom! It just hit home to me. Time is short, even earth life is short in the long run. The Spirit really taught me that I, Sister Nielson, need to give it my ALL to the Lord, not just 99%, but 100% and more. I can do it and I will. So thankful for inspired leaders to teach and guide us. We have had some amazing lessons with our investigators this week, Paul and Paula are doing awesome! Every time we teach them, they just get it. I love it. It has been SO cool to see this family change together. Seven months ago when I first met them I would NOT ever have thought that they would be where they are now. God is really working with and helping them. We have gotten them to pray and now read the Book of Mormon. They have committed to come to church which is great! :) I am just SO thankful for the Gospel. Oh it is amazing. The Savior has really taught me to love it more and more. I am so thankful for spiritual times. :)

Here I am with my bestie from the MTC, Sister Stradinger at Zone Training. She is really awesome. Something Funny: Always something funny to share...so we go over to a member's house, Brother Dolson's every week, and he has been sick and in the hospital and all, but now he is home and doing better. Well a few days ago we go over there and have a lesson, share him a quote about gratitude, lesson went awesome! Well, we ask him to say the prayer...so he is praying..and honestly his prayer was just All over the place, I was trying so hard not to laugh, but I was chuckling a little..anyways...then he just stops in the middle of his prayer...so Sister Kinghorn and I look up at each other and start just laughing so hard because he had fallen asleep while he was praying! Hahaha! Well he wakes up and starts laughing too, because he knew he had fallen asleep...haha well he asked one of us to pray...haha good times! Another funny moment was also the same day at Brother Dolson's house...back up, last week we did service and raked some leaves and all. Well the ELDERS put all the leaves in bags..but kept them in his yard!?! Don't know what they were thinking...ha. So we were picking up the bags...and they are super heavy...me trying to pick up heavy bags!? Haha. No. Well we have one bag left...and it is the HEAVIEST one, so both of us are trying to pick it up together...but we just cannot! We are laughing so hard that we bonk heads and just can't do it. Hahah, let's just say that bag is waiting for the ELDERS to come get it. Hahah. Missions are fun. Sometimes all we do is just laugh, even on bad days, because we find something to laugh about. Haha. Love it.

Something Fun:We went to Navarre Park for a bit and it was raining a little - but it felt so good!!! And Sister Kinghorn and I decided to show "companion unity" on the swings - how great are these Florida swings! The coldest it has been has been 60, and actually it is really cold..might sound silly but I forgot what cold feels like (I heard it is getting cold in Utah?...) But here, 60 degrees, plus the humidity, that cold sinks into your skin and it makes you even colder. Brrrr. I think I need some boots. Something Good: Sunday was a GOOD day!! We had 3 investigators come to church and guess who else came to church.....!!! The Cooper's!!! YES!!! Ah it was just WONDERFUL! They came as a family and I was just SOOOO happy and so thankful. Something good!? Yes. Also! Joyce came to church for the first time!!! YES!!! Another good thing!? :) Yes!! She very much enjoyed it and would want to come back...if we pick her up :) Super thankful she came! :)

Also!! Our other 3rd is leaving this week...we had a good last few days with Sister Vanessa!! (Yes we are wearing the same skirt - it was only $4.00 so it was a must!) She did such an amazing job with her farewell talk, so thankful I have gotten to know Vanessa! California will love her. <3 Sometimes after crazy trials, Heavenly Father will give us a few good days and He has given us some of those this week...I am so amazed. Sometimes weeks go by so fast, and others go by so slow, but I love it all. I love missionary work. My heart just loves it. I love all these people here. I feel like my time is coming for new adventures, but it will be okay, because I know that I have done my best, and that all the people I have come to know will be okay. :)

Something Learned: I like to think about the things I have learned so far...well something funny I have learned!? Recently I have learned what "Domestic" means..and what a "Domestic Wife" means too...haha so yes! Sister Kinghorn and I together are learning how to be Domestic future Wives - thanks to Sister Angie Taylor! Well this week, I learned how to sew a little, and cook a little, and clean a little more...yes cooking!!! Who knew. Ha! We got the chance to make dinner for the Lee family...yep! 10 points for me! Haha. Anyways...thought y'all should know...Sister Nielson is learning how to COOK! Shocked!? Me too. Thanks, Sister Taylor!

And speaking of the Taylor family - who I LOVE!! Here are the Sister Missionaries with the Second Counselor in the Stake Presidency, President Taylor, with a spiffy new haircut (I was privileged to give him a trim!) They have been so good to us. I am thankful for the Taylor family! Something Spiritual Learned: I was reading a quote and this is what it said..."The very moment you begin to see your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope, or his light will begin to awaken, enlarge, enlighten, and enable your soul." - Pres Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Well I was pondering about this...and really wanting to know how I could use this quote in missionary life...well the Spirit works! I realized that missionary work, all it is, is showing, and inviting others to feel of Christ like love and light. I want to be able to help others feel what this quote has helped me feel. So thankful for everything I am learning each day. So thankful for a Savior who is patient with love and understanding. Overall this week has been one to remember and one for the books. I love this work. My testimony is simple. God is good. He loves everyone. I know this Gospel is true. I love it and I know it is so true, I have come to know it is real truth. So happy to be serving the people in FL....well more like LA...(Lower Alabama) Haha. Thank you to everyone for all the love and support! I love y'all! <3 Sister Nielson

Attitude Lesson Learned!

Yay for service! Sisters and Elders working together to clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere! Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share! Yes!

Something Spiritual: Well this week has been great, I have really seen the hand of the Lord in my life. A few days ago..I lost my name tag, I have two original ones and my goal was to keep both of them together and not lose them, so I could bring home the ones I received from the MTC. We had dinner with the Woolstenhulme's and when we got home I realized my name tag was gone...So of course I was freaking out because I did NOT want to lose it...so I texted Sister Woolstenhulme about it and she told me she would look to see if I had left it there. While I was a little bummed I had lost it, I said a prayer to Heavenly Father asking him to help me find this little name tag, because He knows how much they mean to me. Sister Woolstenhulme told me she couldn't find it...so I keep praying...(please Heavenly Father just help me out) and a little bit later she finds it!! I know it might seem silly, but to me Heavenly Father heard me. He really helped me out. I am thankful for the knowledge of prayer. We pray a lot here, but I have come to love praying, because Prayer. It works. :) I know you are all thinking - she probably lost it recklessly riding that rocking horse!

And in case you are wondering why we have party cups on our heads and party costumes and riding the rocking horse, here's why! Happy 4th birthday, Mark Woolstenhulme! This boy is a great kid and he belongs to a great family. And yes, he does look like a little surfer boy - but we ARE living next to the beach! So thanks and love to Sister Woolstenhulme! She is my Sister! This week we have been sharing a quote of Gratitude to our investigators, less actives and members, "True Gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not always understand the trials of life, but trusting that one day we will." - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I love this quote, I ask myself a lot, am I really grateful? Do I really thank Heavenly Father for my trials..? Mmmm not so much, but I need to! I am thankful for this month of Thanksgiving, so thankful to my Savior for letting me learn lessons He wants me to learn, so thankful for the chance to be serving a mission, oh how grateful I am. So grateful for my family and all the love they share, so grateful for the people in the GB area, how much I care and love them. So thankful for the Gospel, the amazing truth it provides. A few moments of good this week: Paul and Paula want to learn more and more about the church! They have opened their hearts and minds..so awesome!

The Cooper family committed to come to church next week!! Yes!! We had an awesome lesson with Joyce about how the Book of Mormon can answer "Questions of the Soul" (Thank you PMG!) So many tender mercies that have turned into something Spiritual. :) This is me with this very special lady, Joyce Cooper.

And here I am with handsome Camden Cooper. What a good, sweet, smart boy he is. He really get's it! It is so awesome for Sister Kinghorn and I to be teaching him.

And here is our sweet Abby Cooper - we helped her celebrate her birthday! Love this girl! She is progressing so beautifully in learning the gospel! And look - she is glowing with happiness! That's what love from the Sister Missionaries and the Gospel of Jesus Christ does for ya! Something Funny/Good: Funny story...So because of the mold issue, we have had to throw pretty much EVERYTHING away...including our area book...which we kinda do need...so before we threw it away, we decided to copy it. So sweet Sister Wight came and got us and we headed to the church to make copies! Well, being forgetful missionaries...it went over our heads that we needed a key to get into the media center..ha. Thank goodness Bishop was there! So we knock on his door, he comes out...and guess what...he shuts his office door...and boom. Bishop's office is locked...So we are all standing outside his office trying to call people who might have a key to get back into his office...haha so great! All his keys are in his office, so we couldn't really do anything! But we are never left stranded! There is a key box outside the church with a spare key...and we are all hoping that the key will work for his office...if so it would be called a "skeleton key." So Bishop gets the key and guess what!! The key WORKS..even to his office. Hahaha! I was trying not to laugh while this was going on, but it really was funny. Lesson learned: Do not knock on the Bishop's door. :)

Here is our new STL, Sister Trainer Leader, Sister Willis! This is her apartment with our area map on the wall behind us.

Something Good: We are moved into our new apartment!! MOLD FREE! Yay!!! We think we have the nicest apartment in the mission because everything we have is brand new!! Super happy to be able to breathe normal and having more energy! The work can go on!! :)

Something Learned: Well everyone..I learned how to put a table together...with a rachet. I think that is what it is called...the L shaped tool...I am so not a guy. Ha. Anyways Saturday we moved into our new apartment and we got a new table...Brother Woolstenhulme gave me the job to learn how to put this table together...if y'all know me, this is NOT something Sister Nielson would normally do. (This is what my brothers would do.) ;) But hey! I did it! We put the table up and guess what...it did NOT fall or collapse..so that is good!:)

Something Spiritual learned. Attitude. If you're going to have a crap attitude, you are going to have a crap mission." - Some Wise Elder...Well I have learned attitude a lot lately, I see it two ways, I could have a bad attitude, or I could have a good one...Well these past two weeks with moving and mold and everything, my attitude has not been the best...and I really wanted to change it so I could feel better and so that the Spirit could be with us. I was praying a lot about attitude..."Heavenly Father please change my attitude. I know I am being super annoying, and I want to change, so please help me..." Well did he help me with this? Uh, no. Why? Well, I wasn't making the effort to change my attitude...so why would Heavenly Father help me if I wasn't doing my part!? So yes. I have learned that I need to do my part first, then He will help me. Every day since this realization hit me, I strive to be better, to look to change first to do my part. I am thankful for all these lessons I am learning. Some are hard to learn, others not too bad. But really, I have come to realize that Heavenly Father needs me to learn. :) Overall this week has been great! We are been SO blessed and so cared for. I am so thankful to my Savior, Christ who helps me become better, who knows me, who cares for me, and who helps me change. I love this work with all my heart, ever since being on a mission, my heart is happy. I love this Gospel. It is the Good News to the world. I am so thankful to have to opportunity to share it in the Lord's Vineyard in Gulf Breeze, Florida. :) #FTMFORLIFE Sister Nielson :)