Surprises and Turtle!

This week has been okay! I was able to give a talk on Sunday (Father's Day - love you Daddy! And I love my Heavenly Father, too, so, so much!) It went well, We had a church tour with Lupe, with a family in our ward! It went awesome! He asked a lot of questions which is good. Lupe is so smart! He teaches me every time we see him! It was so nice! He also helped us by putting some car fluid in our car because Sis Coleman and I didn't really know how to do it! (Typical, right? Ha-ha for girly girls who never learned about cars!) I am loving teaching Lupe! He is great! We had an amazing lesson with him about the Plan of Salvation. He took us out for lunch and we were able to show him some visuals! It was awesome!

Here are the Elders in our District, with me as selfie-photographer: L-R Elder Payne, Elder Christensen - great missionaries - and me. What about Max, you ask? Ah, Max. Well, this week he told us that God told him he shouldn't be baptized! Oh no! We were super bummed, but we encouraged him to pray again. We will continue to help him and are praying that his heart will be softened. (Prayers would be awesome for Max, y'all. Thank you!)

Here is a picture of our District Sisters, L-R Sister Lee, Sister Coleman, Me, and Sister Kirton. It was a bizzare kind of week, but it was also a good one! Here is another strange experience: We received a referral from the Elders. His name is Tom. We went over and visited him, he told us we could come back, so we encouraged him to read a few pages out of the Book of Mormon. Well, we came back and he told us he had read a few pages and didn't want to hear anymore and couldn't believe that so many people would believe this book to be true, and would throw it away if we didn't take it back. Well, we left pretty upset. It hit me so hard - why would he say that? Why would he throw it away? I thought about this little experience this week. Overall I can really say that I know the Book of Mormon is true! I love the scriptures! I wonder if he had read the entire book and learned how it testifies of Christ, if his heart would have been softened? I have come to believe that it is okay, because it isn't his time yet. But I know that one day it will be the right time for him to read the Book of Mormon all the way through and come to know for himself that it is true! We have SO many less actives in our ward and we have been seeing some this week. It has been fun to visit and get to know these wonderful people! I am so grateful for the Gospel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. It is real. It is good. I love this time that I have to share the truth. And there are so many strong families with a love for the Savior and for the Gospel. I love our ward. They are so good to us and are always taking such good care of the missionaries! Take the Marshall's for example...

The Marshall's in our ward invited us to dinner, and look what they fed us! "Turtle" (not real turtle). This photo is extra large so you can see how clever the turtle is on Sister Marshall's plate! ;) they are one of my favorite families! Here is the recipe. From http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/pork/redneck-turtle-burgers.html. It's called "Redneck Turtles" 1 lb lean ground beef, 12 all-beef wieners, each divided in-half (total of 24 halves), 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese, 1 lb. bacon, aluminum foil, 4 hamburger buns (optional), condiments for burgers (optional), 1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Make four good-sized hamburger patties, nice and round and thick. Top w/ single slice of sharp cheddar cheese (this is optional, if you don't want cheese). 3. Wrap each beef patty in bacon strips, making a basket weave as you go. Cover entire pattie. 4. Next, take the hot dog halves and make turtles' legs, head and tail. Cut the one for the tail at a diagonal on the end, so the tail looks "pointed". In the legs, put a few tiny 'slits' in the ends, so they will look like feet w/ claws after they bake. Cut a horizontal slit on bottom of the head to look like the mouth. 5. Line a baking sheet (with sides on it!) with foil, and place a baking rack over the foil. Arrange your "turtles" on the baking rack. 6. Cook for 30 - 40 mins., in your pre-heated oven. A little crispy, not too crunchy ... just the way a turtle ought to be, right?

This morning we went walking with Sister Lancaster! She is wearing the sunglasses! She is not in our ward, but she is in Sister Lee and Sister Kirton's ward. The Navarre ward. She is a cosmetologist and is the sweetest thing! She gave me a haircut and I gave her son one! ;) It was nice to do that again! Notice I got a new Gulf Coast Gymnastics tee shirt? Love this Florida Gulf Coast! and love the people so much! What a great place to serve a mission!

Can you believe I am at the wheel? (Don't panic Mom, I am a good driver now...) Car selfie ;), my weekly tradition. You know it's HOT in summer in Florida when the Sisters are mostly inside a car... I love y'all so much! Have a blessed week y'all! #FTMadventures. Sister Nielson