Treasures

Okay, gotta share this funny story: So we went to the gas station to get gas, and then we went inside to get a few things and we come back outside and this man, a very tall and a little scary looking man is leaning on our car with his drinks...so both Sis Law and I think he is going to come at us, so we are trying to act cool walking back to our car and he notices that it is OUR car that he is leaning on...and he's all like..."Oh dang it, is this your silver car!?? " Yeah, that is our car..." "That is so embarrassing!!!" It was SO funny, he thought he was at his car...haha nope! Lucky that he was actually super nice and didn't beat us up. ;)

Sisters Nielson and Law at Zone Conference

Something Good: Anyways! This week was awesome!!!! We had an amazing Zone Conference with President and Sister Smith, something that I LOVED that President taught was, he was teaching from the scriptures and pulled out both the Book of Mormon and the Bible and he said..."The Bible is about WHAT Jesus Christ did, and the Book of Mormon is about WHY he did it. Doesn't that just make sense!! I love that. I love having time to learn and grow from those around me and especially from our awesome Mission President! 

Teaching Miss Pamela about Baptism and the Holy Ghost

This week we where able to do some cleaning and service for our Miss Pamela Hale. She needs some extra prayers, she has been going through some hard challenging things, but she still has such a strong spirit and wants to keep going and learning. She has taught me so much about endurance, and that no matter what, we can press forward with God's help.

 She asked us this week about baptism and what she would have to do about being a Mormon and we told her..."Well Pamela, you pretty much are already a Mormon, you just gotta not drink coffee!" And than she said..."Oh" and laughed a little..we told her we would get her there. ;) She is a sweet soul. We got to celebrate with Greg, he is LA, but it was his birthday and that was so fun! Overall a pretty solid week! My brain is scattered a little bit today, so hope that all made sense to y'all. :) 

This is Steven, the young man who came to Church!

Also! Random! We went to Wendy's one day and invited a kid named Steven to come to church and he came!! It was awesome! He speaks French, and Haitian, and we are planning to meet with him again!! :)

Paul and Paula came to visit us from Gulf Breeze!

A Tender Mercy: So 2 of my FAVORITE people in the whole wide world came to visit me and Sis Law!! Paul and Paula!! A little shout out to them, for coming and just loving me!! These two, have touched my life so much, and I am so grateful for the time that I had in Gulf Breeze to teach them and to love them. 

I am so happy for the progress Paul and Paula are making as members!

They have come such a long way in the Gospel and are loving every minute of it. I am just so proud of them and the progress they have made since joining the church. It was such a blessing to see them this week. :) I LOVE YALL.<3

Something Learned: Another thing learned from Zone Conference, some of the sisters taught and they talked about having "Confidence in Christ." It was really something that I needed to hear and to grasp. I really learned that we are all so different from each other, but just like the story book.."You are Special" we are made and created by our Maker and he has made us different for a reason and a purpose and sometimes it can be hard, we can compare ourselves or think negative about ourselves, but what really matters is what Heavenly Father thinks and that is, that he truly loves us for us. We are all so special to him. We had a moment to read in the scriptures and just ponder about having Confidence in Christ and I opened to a scripture talking about how the Gospel is a treasure to us, and how it can be a light to guide us if we use it. And it really hit me that I Sister Nielson really am a Treasure to God, even though he has so many jewels, and so many children, he knows me and loves me and has given me the Best treasure in the world, and that is our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope that y'all know that each of you, whoever reads this, is a treasure to our Heavenly Father and that he loves you and knows you perfectly, even when we feel we aren't, we are. :)  

Isn't the Gospel so cool!?! We are BLESSED. 

LOVE Y'ALL MY FRIENDS. <3

-Sis Nielson.

There was a Hurricane?

Something Good: Well to start off, y'all! We are safe and sound! There was a hurricane here, but good news it did not hit the beach! So that was great! I know it hit some other places in the mission, but everyone is good and doing well :) 

In Bristol, FL escaping the tropical storm. Seven Sisters for a day!

We got a call this week at like 6:30 am saying that we needed to leave the beach and head to Bristol because of the hurricane! So we spent a day there with 5 other sisters which was super fun! We literally did nothing for a day, I was about to die because I was so bored, but thankfully we where able to go back to PCB the very next day :) 

Besides all that crazy stuff, we still had another wonderful week on the beach! First! Garvin's son Brandon (who I adore so much!) he has been going through a few hard things in his life and this week he asked for a blessing! Which was awesome, because he never has been so opened with that kind of stuff. Blessings are wonderful. :) Another awesome thing! Sister Dann! Oh man, she is just amazing!!! She is really trying so so hard to come back and doing wonderful. Every lesson we have with her just keeps becoming better. It is so sweet, she looked at me the other day and said..."I know that I knew you in the premortal life, I just know it." Y'all my heart about melted into a lot of pieces. <3 

Result of running in the warm Florida rain?  WET!

We had a BIG rain storm here...so we decided to go run in it in our pros clothes...it was fun! ;)

Michael at the Orlando Temple

Below is a picture Michael, our recent convert, gave me of his trip to the Orlando Temple to do baptisms for the dead. So happy for him!!! Isn't this a beautiful temple!! I can't wait to go to the temple. In fact, at my request, I have permission to go to the Provo City Center Temple on the day I get home from my mission before I am released. I sooooo want to go to the temple while I am still a missionary!! I love the temple!

 Brother and Sister Fast, Sister Law and Sister Nielson at the beach! Try to not be jealous!

A Tender Mercy: So this actually happened this morning!! Brother and Sister Fast took us to the beach at like 6 am this morning to watch the sunrise, so we were all there and this random guy comes behind us, so I tell him to photo bomb our picture...so he does and that was that! Well like 20 minutes later we went to IHop and guess who came in!!? The dude from the beach! So we say hi to him, and figure out who he really is. His name is Brett! Well later Brett came right back to our table, asked if he could sit down and talk to us, so he does. He started to ask us all about our beliefs in prayer. (Okay, y'all this does not happen every single day!!) so we all had this wonderful missionary moment and helped Brett understand a little more who we are, and gave him our names...because he might have thought our names were...Jesus Christ. Haha, it's the tags. Lol. Anyways! It was a little sweet moment! 

That's my tiny body shooing the seagulls at sunrise on the beautiful sugar sand of Panama City Beach, FL

Along the Panama City Beach at Sunrise. What a nice way to reinvigorate the soul at the start P-Day!  Thanks, Papa and Mama Fast!!

Something Learned: Okay, so my lovely companion, Sister Law, this week in district meeting taught about using the Book of Mormon with the people we are teaching. And shoot! It was so good!! I just learned a ton from her! So grateful. The thought came to my mind, how can I better use the Book of Mormon in my daily life? How can I share it with more people? We have a book full of truth, it is literally a testament of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Who wouldn't want to read it? Anyways! I just am so grateful for this sacred book, it is very special to me, and I adore reading it on the daily. "The Central Purpose of The Book of Mormon. It is the Testament of Jesus Christ. Of more than 6,000 verses in the Book of Mormon, far more than half refer directly to Him." -Pres Boyd K. Packer. He said enough, this book is truly about Him. If you haven't read it...READ IT. :)

-Love y'all friends!

Nielson. 

Dunked!

Garvin was baptized!! Hooray!!!

Left to Right - Sister Nielson, Garvin, Garvin's dad, Brother Turnage, Sister Law

Garvin and his family and us as Sister Missionaries celebrating this Big Event

Something Good: Garvin did it!! He was baptized this week, and confirmed. It was so sweet and just so peaceful. His father, Bro Turnage was able to baptize and do the confirmation. He was just so happy and you could just tell he had a different look when you looked at him. I was able to speak at his baptism, which was an honor for me, to think about the journey he has been on and the one he will continue on. I am so proud and pumped for him! 

Sister Stacie Fast's Birthday! Our other Mama!

This week was Sister Fast's birthday, a big shout out to MAMA FAST! We went over to her place, and bought her some flowers, a cupcake and some balloons. She is the sweetest. 

Brother Fast teaching 

Oh my gosh! I can NOT forget to mention! Our RC, (recent convert) Michael went to the temple for the very first time to do baptisms for the dead this weekend!! SO RAD!! We asked him how it was and he said..."Wet!" But he loved it and thought it was awesome...so so so proud of him. Y'all, That is why missionary work is worth it. Seeing those where able to help make another step by going to the temple. :) Some other good things! 

Another good thing! Every Friday we go to the Salvation Army thrift store to help sort clothes or whatever Miss Mary needs us to do. Well, come to find out, a member went there and the people at Salvation Army really talked highly about us and Mormons! (That like never happens in the South.) Lol. So that made us happy. :) Overall this week has been a blessing kind of week! 

A Tender Mercy: Well, last Monday we were going over to a members house to get some money to go to lunch, and we knocked on the door and it was not the member who answered, but Dana the lady who opened the door let us right in! We had no idea who she was, but we got to talk to her for a bit, come to find out that she is a member, but is less active! We got to see her again this week and she told us..."Y'all I really need to come back to church, I know it." So we now are working with Dana, she is so sweet and it was a tender mercy to run into her this week! :) 

And I also got a self-defense lesson from Brother Fast, who is a Highway Patrolman and pretty determined to keep us safe (remember the knife gift from him at Texas Roadhouse?)

So here we are, me learning to punch the bag. Okay, right - this is my tiny body photo of the week!  ;-) I look so tough - not.

Something Learned: It is NEVER too late. This week, this thought has been in my mind racing, literally all I can think about it this. It is never too late. This week my eyes have been opened especially to those who have come into the Gospel, or those who are coming back into the Gospel. No matter what we do, no matter how old we are, it is never too late for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are working with David who is a RC of just almost a year and he is 84. It was never too late for him to come into the fold. I am grateful to see the real change that people make to come closer to their Heavenly Father and Savior. I add my testimony to Elder Holland's, "It is never too late, with the Master of the Vineyard." God is good! :)

Another something learned..When I was little, my mom tried to teach me to play the piano. I was not too interested. But look!!! Here I am with Miss Pamela, our investigator, being taught how to play! Isn't she so sweet?

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I know it is oh So true!

Y'all be blessed now! Sis N

Y'all, Life is Peachy

Something Good: So many good things this week! Blessings for days! 

                                                   

Miss Pamela Hale came to church on Sunday and everyone was so welcoming and loving towards her, it was so sweet! :) She introduced herself in Relief Society and said.." My name is Pamela Jo Hale, and I am studying with Sister Nielson and Sister Law, and Sister Fast about your church." She just loved it, oh words can not describe how cute she is.

We are now teaching David and Pam, we had a solid lesson with them about the Book of Mormon and they loved that! We also found out, they have been married for 61 years...!!! My jaw about dropped to the floor. So awesome! And soon they will be sealed in the temple! :) 

Earlier this week we where able to do some service for Sis Dann! We washed both her cars and had a great little thought at the end! She was finally able to make it to church for all 3 hours! Blessings for her!



<3 We are finishing up the lessons for Garvin, so this week he can be baptized!! He is so excited and so ready to join the church! We are pumppppedd! 

Our Gator Nara, went back to Thailand this week, it was sad to say goodbye, but he is going to meet with the missionaries where he is going! :)

On Monday we had another bomb lesson with Corey, we asked him, if he wanted to be a Mormon and he said.." I want to be a Mormon." What a champ. :) God is so good when we work super hard and love the people we serve. 

Sister Turnage (photo on the right) was able to go out with us to some of our lessons this week! She was such a big help! Shout out to her!

A Tender Mercy: One of my favorite scriptures in the bible is in John 14:18.." I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. Some things where harder this week, but that one scripture made everything okay. I was praying to know what to do, and praying for help and I opened to this great verse. Even the smallest scriptures can mean the world when it can be a little challenging. I am grateful for the scriptures, I know for sure that God does really speak to us through the word of God. :) 

Something Learned: This past week, I have been studying a lot about Agency,and what that means to me. I have come to learn on a mission, we give pretty much all our agency to the Lord, we do that, so we can learn it and we so we can learn to live it. I think it is so cool that Heavenly Father has given us the ability to chose. He will guide us in the right direction, but in the end it is up to us to chose what is right. I am so thankful and blessed to have the gift of agency in my life, to help me do what is right and it has helped me have even a better relationship with Heavenly Father and Christ. 

"On this Mortal Journey, we must never think that our choices effect only us." -Larry S. Kacher 

Here is our District:

Our Panama City Beach District: Standing Left to right, Elder Jensen, Elder Miller, Elder Abrams, and Elder Gunnell. Seated, Sister Nielson and Sister Law. Happy in the Lord's service here in PBC, FL!

Y'all be happy and stay good! :)

 -Sis Nielson

Miracles on the Beach!

Something Good: Okay! Man this week has been crazy, but sure a great one! 

Sister Nielson with new companion, Sister Law, from Kaysville, Utah.

First! I have a new comp! Her name is Sis Law!! She is so diligent and so hard working and full of energy! I am so blessed to be able to serve with her! :) She is 5'2, so we fit pretty well together! She is the youngest of 6 kiddos and she is from Kaysville Utah! She is the bomb! Also, she is so funny, she cracks me up! 

Sisters Anderson and Nielson with Corey, who will be baptized on September 17. 

Okay! So this week! Some exciting news!! We set a BCD with Corey this week!! He is planning to be baptized on Sep 17th!! He came to church for the first time, and he loved it, he kept telling us, that it felt like home to him. It was so sweet! He cut off coffee cold turkey, and is loving the Gospel and the lessons we teach him! To help him get of coffee, I am going off diet coke...(which I LOVE too much) but! I love Corey and I want him to be able to make it! God is Good! :) 

This last Monday Sis A and I went to Destin with the members we live with and that was loads of fun! :) 

This is Garvin. He was given this really huge Bible, and still needed his glasses.

This is the biggest Bible - EVER!

Garvin is doing awesome and so ready to be baptized in just a few weeks! We took some photos of Garvin and his family!

This is the Turnage family! 

We are now starting to teach some new people, who just joined the church a bit ago, Pam and David. They are super sweet and so cool! They are from Trinidad! Who would have ever thought! So cool.! Pamela, committed to come to church this next week, so we are super happy with her!!! Overall this week has felt like 10 years and a day, but I sure love it! So blessed to be serving here!!! <3 Mission life is the BESST life!

A Tender Mercy: Cool story! So we are working with a LA lady, name Sis Dann. Okay, y'all Sis Dann is AMAZINNNNGGGG! She has the biggest heart and the sweetest spirit. She has been through  A LOT in her life, it is crazy! But this week, on Wednesday we had a lesson lined up with her, and Wednesday night before we were trying to contact a referral and than we got a text about ward correlation...which I totally forgot about:P Anyways! We head to the church for our meeting and moments later, Sis Dann comes walking into the church..little did we know she was driving to go get a beer, but saw the church and decided to come in and we were there and so were the elders, so she was able to get a blessing. After that, we went to her house and had a great lesson. Everything that night just worked out. We were all there at the time she needed us. Oh and yes! She did not get a beer that night :) I know for sure, God knows where and when we need to be to help his children who need help. Tender Mercies's for days!!

FTM - Florida Tallahassee Mission wristbands! 

Something Learned: Man this week has just been too good! This week, I have really seen the blessings of being obedient and working hard, even when it is hard, or when my body hurts so bad, or when I am just so dang tired. If we are just willing to keep going forward, keep giving it our all, Heavenly Father will bless us for our labors to serve him. I love the time I have to give it my all to my Savior and my God. "I experience the Joy of coming closer to the Savior and of his coming closer to me, most often through simple acts of obedience." -Pres Eyring. 

I hope y'all know how much I love the Gospel, I have never been so happy till now. I love serving, I love my mission, and most important I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior! They Live! :) 

And last but not least - my little tiny body photo of the week: This is me trying to punch our RC (recent convert), Michael's hand at the meetinghouse while my proud trainer, Brother Fast, looks on. Yeah. I am so tough!   Not.

Y'all have a happy week now!!!  <3,

Sis Nielson

#Blessedtostay :)

With Sister Anderson at Arleen Froemming's home.

Transfer news! I am staying in Panama City Beach!!! 

But First...A BIG shout out to my rad comp Sis Anderson for being such a wonderful companion the past 12 weeks! She has taught me so much, and has loved and served me more than I deserved. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father for letting me be her comp! I'll miss you, chump..but I sure do love ya!! <3 Thanks for all the BEST times on the Beach! XO! 

Thinking....thinking...

Second...Another shout out to my new comp beginning Wednesday, August 10, Sister Law!!! I am SO excited to serve with you and your sweet spirit!! I love you already!! <3 Photos to come. Stay tuned to next week!

Something Good:  Man, Y'all, this week has been a blessing and a half! I am just thankful, and thankful! First. I just LOVE being a missionary, so thank you everyone for helping me get where I am! Okay, so some awesome things have happened here this week! 



First! Vida was baptized!!! It was the  sweetest day for her and her familia! We had one last lesson with her, we showed her the video of Christ being baptized and asked her how she liked it. She said,
"It was beautiful." 
Then we asked her,"
Why was it beautiful, Vida?" 
And her response melted my heart. 
"Because that is our Savior being baptized." 
It was the sweetest moment of my life. We are so proud of her, and I just love and adore her so mucho! 

Another awesome moment this week! Corey! We just started teaching him, and this week we had another bomb lesson with him! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he was just soaking it up like a sponge! He is so ready and so excited to learn more! :) We are planning to set a bcd with him tomorrow! 

Garvin update! He is pretty much planning his own baptism..yall, if anyone is more prepared than Garvin, it would be Garvin himself. Oh! He wore a white shirt and tie on Sunday which is huge..because he does not like them..but he told us he wants to respect the Lord! So proud and happy for him. So thankful for all these wonderful prepared people to serve and to teach! God is Good. 

A funny little moment this week..We went to go try a few people and while we where walking we ran into a older man (who looked like Santa). We said Hi to him and the first thing he told us was," I'm old, ugly, tired and I'm atheist." Not what we where expecting, but hey, still a good guy! 

Still alive after the Florida storm!

A Tender Mercy: Alright..we did NOT die!! Florida tends to have crazy storms! Well last night was one of them! Also, all I wanted was my mom...so mom! I love you!! The storm we had last night was interesting. So I guess we have a low pressure system sitting over us right now. Which is good because if it was over the water it would be a hurricane. But since it is over the land it is a storm that is just the step under a tropical storm. So we go to bed at our usual time,10:30. And at about 11:30 we were both still awake and it was getting really bad. The lightning was bright and the thunder was cracking and shaking the house a little. So we both look out the window at the same time and a few seconds later a lightning bolt strike REALLY close. Probably the street or even out drive way. The lightning flash that we both saw was red in color. Immediately after the red flash all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors went off and would not stop. The lightning strike tripped the detectors and we were scared that something was wrong. We put our glasses on and went down to the member's house that we live with. The husband, Brother Combs, went up and fixed the detectors. We were able to go back up stairs and sleep. But it was probably 1:00 before we went to bed. I am so thankful for the Lord's protection while we were running from our door to the door of the members. We were exposed to the elements! Blessings! 

Something is strange here - flat screens bigger than missionaries?

So every week I seem to find something that makes me look small. Look how big this flat screen is - bigger than me!

Something Learned: So this week I have been reflecting about everything that has happened the past transfer and really the past time I have been with sis A! I have learned a lot about compassion the past few months being here. There have been so many little moments of compassion and love that I have been able to see, which I really needed to learn from and apply in my own life. Well this week I was able to have another moment to learn. So really this whole week, everyone we have seen has told us something hard, or sad in their lives and sometimes it can just be draining to hear all day, everyday, but it really helped me step back, and step into their shoes to feel a little of what they where going through, so I would be able to have the Spirit to help them, or say something that they needed to hear. Sometimes it can be hard to understand other people's lives or situation, but Heavenly Father knows them perfectly, and if we are willing just to listen and be there, the Spirit will work through us to help them. I am so grateful for the Gospel and the Love that God and our Savior has for each person so individually. 

Well y'all, if there is one thing I hope you know, that I know is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is True! The Book of Mormon is so true, and lastly, Jesus Christ is our Savior and He Lives! :) 

Love yall peaches!
Sister Nielson


P.S. Y'all may know that I love beautiful things - like painted nails and lipstick, so I wanted to include something that astonished me. This entire tin can is filled with nail polish! Goodness!!!

Blessed to be in the South

We were with the other District all week! They are awesome!!

Something Good: This week we asked Garvin if he would be baptized on August 27th, and he said yes! He said, "Even if there is a earthquake or if the waters rise...I'll be there!" He is so ready and so pumped! This week we have just had some solid lessons with our gators! One of them we just picked up! Her name is Mrs. Pamela Hale, she is 71, and super sweet. Her son lives in Denmark, and is a member there. She has met with missionaries before, but when we came and saw her, (her son wanted us to give her a Book of Mormon) she let us in and wants to learn about the church again! It was so funny, she told us that sometimes people call her, "Pamela City Beach" She is a cutie. We had a pretty cool experience with a guy named Corey. A few weeks ago, we oym-ed (Open Your Mouth -  or talked to him) him and tried to see him, but could never get in touch with him, we told ourselves we would try one more time to see him. Yesterday we finally got to meet him and had a lesson with him! We couldn't go inside so we sat in the trunk of his car and taught him the Restoration..the whole lesson was just so Spirit-filled and he kept telling us how powerful the Restoration is. Later that night he texted us and told us how very much he is interested and wants us to be his guide to learn. He also had already read the Book of Mormon commitment we left him. The Lord is so good to his children! Moral of the story? Do not give up on anyone! :) 

s

Someone gave us a watermelon this week - 35 lbs! No, it does not outweigh me!

YUM!!!

A Tender Mercy: So one day this week, Sis A and I both where having a bad day, just a day that we wanted to be over with. Well, that night we had dinner with some members, the Padden's, and the whole night they took us under their wing and just where so kind and so thoughtful to us, it was probably small to them, but it was so big to me. I am so grateful for awesome members who are in tune with the Spirit, and always willing to help us with missionary work, and to just love us! 

Something Learned: Yesterday at church I was able to witness a pure act of Christlike love. We had pot luck at church and at the end everyone had left except my comp, me and the Nunez's (a couple in the ward) and a lady who just moved from Colombia. We where all talking, the lady who had just moved here doesn't speak a lot of English, just enough to to say hi, the Nunez's who speak Spanish were able to help her understand us. Well we where all leaving and Sister Nunez told her husband she had heard someone say to her that the lady was living in her car, and that she had no place to go..and immediately her husband said, that is not acceptable for her, and as a couple they made a decision in 2 seconds to have her live with them, till she could find a place. They ran out the church to go get her before she left to tell her she could stay with them. There was no hesitation about it, they just did it. It was just so cool to see how these members acted with Charity towards this lady they don't even know. Charity is the pure love of Christ, I am so thankful for the opportunity to witness Charity in Action. Moroni 7: 45-47 :) 

Maybe this week we could all think about someone who could use our compassion and our charity. I love yall! <3 

Sis N!

P.S. This is David! every time we leave he says..Peace, Sisters!" He is awesome!