Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Half Way to Norway! WEEK 3

Haylee is half way through her time at the MTC! Here is her latest email and photos…

Hallo Familie!

I am doing SUPER DUPER! Some days are longer and harder than others but they are all filled with the Spirit! My companion and I have 4 investigators! Two of them are "fake" because they are our instructors that we teach in Norwegian. The other two are REAL investigators! Devan is 19 and a non member student at BYU. She has a full ride scholarship for her major. Leah (who I wrote about last week) is our other investigator and I have a really amazing relationship with her! She is a WONDERFUL human being with a BEAUTIFUL testimony! I seriously love her with all my heart!!! Please keep them both in your prayers!

SOOOO…I got to sing for Elder Bednar last night! I was literally 100 feet from him! SO amazing! He didn't even have a talk prepared, so he told us that he just wanted to talk to us like a grandpa talking to his grandchildren. He gave us some GREAT points:

1. Realize you don't know much but have an opportunity to learn A LOT!

2. Learn and NEVER forget!

3. Always pause and say, "I am doing the Lord's work!" and then get EXCITED!

4. Don't waste/lose/wish away time!

5. Whatever the Lord wants you to do…DO IT!

6. Life is a process of making goals! Stay close to your family and take them on your mission with you!

7. When the alarm bell rings in the morning, wake up and GET UP! Then go throughout your day working as hard as you possibly can so that you can come back and pray to Heavenly Father and say, "I did the best I could today Father." and MEAN IT!!!

It was amazing to listen to and learn from him! So grateful for the opportunity!!!

Life is pretty much AMAZING! I love the people in my district and we all support each other so much! We get our flight plans next week and we are three weeks away from NORWAY! I can NOT wait! I am READY to serve in the field with EVERYTHING I've got! Satan has been working hard on me BUT I have the LORD on my side and He is SO much stronger than Satan! I love my Father in Heaven! I love my Savior, Jesus Christ! Jeg elske dere! (I love you all!) Gud aver med deg til vis si ses igjen!

Soster Neilson

 Soster Neilson and Soster Hoggard! 
Haylee ADORES her companion! 

Half Way to Norway Celebration Soster style! :) 

This photo MADE OUR DAY! Lindsay Romney bumped
into Haylee at the temple today! Thanks for the pic Linds! <3 

HAHA…Haylee captioned this one, 
"Found the Bieb at the MTC!…JK I found ELDER FACER and his comp!"

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Happy Heart! WEEK 2

Here is Soster Neilson's email for the week :) ….

Hallo Dere! (Hey ya'll!)

I am doing SO well! The Lord is AMAZING!! Okay, so this has been a busy week so buckle up…GO!

Not going to lie but I had a rough couple of days last week! I am always feeling the Spirit but I didn't have the FIERY spirit everyone else was! One of my teachers noticed I was having a hard time so she took me and my companion outside and asked what was up (in Norwegian). I explained to her what was going on in my heart and head and she read me a scripture: Ether 12:27…

"And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

God gives us weaknesses so that, when we humble ourselves, he can make them our strengths! So I said a prayer and decided right then and there that this is NOT about me but the people I will be teaching. Once I decided that, the Spirit hit me like a ton of bricks!!!

That night my companion and I taught a lesson to our investigator (he is a practice investigator who speaks Norwegian) and this was the first time I walked into a lesson with him without a word for word written script. All I did was read up on my lesson and write down like 10 words I didn't know well and said a LONG prayer for help! So we get to our lesson and sat down with Erik. He looked as if he'd been crying. I had an over whelming impression that I needed to tell Erik that he was loved. So I started to speak (in Norwegian)…I told him that one time when I was younger, I felt very alone and sad but that every time I prayed, it felt like I was getting a BIG warm hug! That was when I KNEW that God IS my FATHER in Heaven and that He LOVES me! I also told him how I knew Jesus Christ loved me SO much that he KNEW EXACTLY what I was going through! Erik then began to CRY! I'm not talking little tears, there were streams of tears coming down his face! Of course, I started to cry too! It was so AMAZING! We were both blessed at that moment! He need to be reminded that he is loved and I needed to have an experience with the Gift of Tongues. You see, I shared EVERYTHING in NORWEGIAN!!!

So on Monday night I was in the cafeteria getting some dinner and as I was walking over to get something to drink, I saw this woman sitting alone (there are ACTUAL non member investigators who work at the MTC). I had the strongest prompting to go sit with her but I was like, NO, that's weird!  I started to walk away and then the prompting hit me even HARDER, "GO sit with her!". I rolled my eyes, turned back, and sat down at her table. This woman's name is Leah and she grew up in SLC. We just got to talking about how she's a born again Christian and she is the lead worship singer at her church. She has a little office here on campus. I asked her if my companion and I could come see her that night after our class and she said, "Yes but you have to teach me something!", haha OKAY!!! :D So later on that night, we were trying to prepare a lesson to teach Leah but nothing felt right! I couldn't get the song, "Where Can I Turn for Peace" out of my head and then I realized, we should SING for her! She's a singer so she'd probably appreciate it! I can sing soprano and my companion has a beautiful alto voice! So we went to our appointment and Leah sang for us and it was BEAUTIFUL! We then asked if we could sing for her. THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG!!!!!!!! She confided with us that she doesn't feel peace in her life anymore. That was when I was able to share some of my own experiences with her. She felt the Spirit too! It was amazing! She is so amazing! She asked us if we could come back. We meet with her again tonight! <3

OH…so my companion and I are in choir and we perform every Tuesday at the MTC Devotional. We got to practice yesterday and our choir director says, "So we are performing for Elder Richard G. Scott tonight!"...and we DID! I was sitting so close to an Apostle of the Lord AND I sang for him! They zoom in on people's faces while we sing and I guess the cameraman decided to keep zooming in on mine! The missionaries in my district were cracking up…hahaha wahoo! ALSO…our choir director said it's not for sure yet, but there is a very real possibility that we are going to be singing in General Conference!! Keep an eye out for me!!! ;)

I love you ALL and I KNOW that God answers our prayers! ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PROMPTINGS YOU RECEIVE BECAUSE YOU COULD BE THE ANSWER TO SOMEONE ELSE'S PRAYER!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!

Gud vaer med deg til vi sises igjen!
Soster Neilson

 HAPPY Heart!
 "Sometimes we jump off of walls and FAIL!!!! HAHA!"-Soster Neilson
Soster Sorensen, Soster Hoggard, Soster Neilson, Soster Firth
 Companion Temple Walk! 
Soster Neilson and Soster Hoggard <3
 "I LOVED the package!"-Soster Neilson
LOVE Soster Johannessen the photo bomber! :)
 Soster Hudson, Soster Firth, Soster Hoggard, Soster Sorensen, Soster Neilson, 
The Zone Leaders: Sister Bush and Sister Watz 
 Saying goodbye to Sister Bush and Sister Watz before 
they leave for the Netherlands Mission!
 Apparently this tree smells like Orange Soda!
Soster Hoggard, Soster Sorensen and Soster Firth
"Thug life AKA: eternal life!"-Soster Neilson

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Wednesdays are SPECIAL in the MTC…emails! :) Week 1

Soster Neilson went into the MTC last Wednesday with a bit of a head cold. Here are s few excerpts from her email and a few photos (LOVE getting photos)!…

Jeg elske du!!!
Thank you for all the Dear Elder letters, I LOVE THEM! I would LOVE to receive more. Please tell everyone about it! (FYI…Haylee's info for dear elder.com is: Haylee Neilson; Unit 83; NOR-OSL; Oct. 13th. The service is FREE and she will receive your letter the same day you send it!)
The first 5 days I was here, I was super sick but I am better now! My companion is the one who has kept me strong! I love her so much! Eternal best friends FOR SURE!
I love this work and I love you guys! I don't have much time but I will send pictures! Stay strong! I am so happy and no longer sick!

Soster Hoggard and Soster Neilson 

 The entire group of Nords :)
11 Sisters; 4 Elders

Their instructor…Haylee said he reminds her of her cousin Brandon! :) 

 "Basically what we do ALL day!"

Nordic Elders! 


Together AGAIN…Soster Neilson and Soster Johannessen <3
LOVELY photo bombs!


Saturday, September 6, 2014

We got MAIL! Well…our first email from Soster Neilson! :)


We received a special treat in our inbox Thursday night…and email from Soster Neilson:

I'M ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HEY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am here and I am alive! I am loving my time so far in the MTC! I have a WONDERFUL companion, Soster Hoggard! she is AMAZING! The language is beautiful and I am picking up on it! Tomorrow, my companion and I will teach an "investigator" named Erik. I cannot wait! So far I can pray in Norwegian and bear my testimony in Norwegian! :D I don't have much time because they only gave us 10 minutes but I love you all so much! My P-day will be on Wednesdays. :)
God be with you till we meet again!
Soster Neilson
PS Oslo is pronounced Oshlo ;)


Farewell…God be with you till we meet again!


Well this is it! Farewell time! Time to give a spiritual message at church. Time to visit with friends and family one last time for 18 months. Time to say goodbye to our little Clan. Time to officially become…Soster Neilson, full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!



Haylee spoke at church on the principle of following the impressions from the Holy Ghost. She spoke of love and service. She read a poem by Troy Whittle titled, "He's Been There Before". It speaks of the Atonement and how Christ has experienced all of our hardships. In this case, some of the hardships a missionary must endure. It was very touching.

President Chamberlain, our Stake President, allowed me to take notes during Haylee's setting apart as a missionary. He reminded Haylee that she will be a light to many. He promised her that her family will be strengthened physically, spiritually, and emotionally. He blessed her with boldness to bear testimony, courage to open her mouth, and determination to obey. He blessed her with the ability to glow and that others will want to hear her message because they will be attracted to that glow. :) Lastly, he sent her forth with love and confidence. It was a beautiful blessing!

After all of the goodbyes, it was time! We hugged her one last time and sent her through airport security. Next stop the Mission Training Center in Provo Utah…

Godspeed Soster Neilson…until we meet again! WE LOVE YOU!