Families are FOREVER!…Week 10

Hallo alle sammen!

How is everyone doing? OH MY HECK…I just love you all so much! I hope life is treating you well. Life is treating me VERY well! I am loving being here in Trondheim! It is such a BEAUTIFUL city!

Oh…I have a cute little quote for all of you that I found last week at a member's house:
FAMILY (fam.mel.ee) n. a group of people, each a unique masterpiece, sharing unconditional love, hugs, and support one of life's greatest blessings…CHERISH ALWAYS!!!
I ADORE this! It is so incredibly true! Families are so special and an incredible gift from God!The word "Marriage" in Norwegian is "gift" (pronounced like yeeft). How beautiful is that?! The word "children" is "barn" in Norwegian…not relevant but its just funny haha! ;)

Now that we are on the subject of families…a family that we've been teaching, got baptized on Saturday! It was SO special! This is the little couple from Nepal that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Hem and Shanti. They have to barn (children) and they are 6 (son) and 3 (daughter). They are such a SWEET family! Hem (the husband) invited his mother and sister to come. Now we are teaching them and they want to be baptized too! The most incredible part about the whole baptism was when I was sitting quietly with Hem, Shanti and their family. We were watching the font fill up and they were speaking Nepali. Shanti turned to me and said in her broken Norwegian, "We tell them what means to be baptized and we will clean up our sins!". I felt like such a PROUD Momma! Hem and Shanti are NEWLY members and even BEFORE they were members, they were sharing the gospel!

Something very special about Hem and Shanti is their testimony of Joseph Smith. Neither of them speak very good Norwegian and they speak even less English. There is no Nepali translation of the Book of Mormon so they have never read it. Even though these incredible people have not been able to read the convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet, they KNOW he was the prophet who restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth again! SUCH incredible people with SO much faith! They were confirmed yesterday at church and it was AMAZING! Last night, Soster Hunt and I went to their home to finish filling out some paper work and stuff. We walked into their home and BAM…the spirit was there! I have felt the spirit AT their home but I have never felt the spirit IN their home! It was incredible! They were so happy, excited and told how peaceful they felt. That little family has so much love and they are so strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ already! The ward loves them and I can see amazing thing coming there way! Hem is preparing to receive the Priesthood. Yay! I love this little family! They are cooking us a traditional Nepali meal on Tuesday and I am SO excited to be apart of their culture!

All four of us Sosters ate at a member's house named Pelle. Pelle is the best! Such a great man! I always feel 10 times happier after seeing Pelle! After dinner, he drove us to the fjord and we saw the Northern Lights! Well…we kind of saw green stuff in the sky…hahaha. We didn't get a good view of them this time but it was still a FUN adventure!

Sunday was the Primary Program and wouldn't ya know…the whole program was about Eternal Families! I cried the ENTIRE time! These kids are SO sweet and they helped strengthen my testimony of the temple and eternal families. I want everyone to know that I LOVE my family so much! Every time I start to teach someone who is giving me attitude, I look at them with tears in my eyes and say, "There is NO way I would be away from my family, in another country, speaking another language, if I didn't know that this gospel was true!" That usually gets a quiet response and brings the Spirit. Jeg elske Jesus Kristus og jet vet familien er evig! (I love Jesus Christ and I KNOW families are forever!)

So my trainer, Soster Hunt, is leaving to return home on Wednesday :( I'm really going to miss that crazy bundle of craziness! She has been such an incredible teacher and friend. I look up to her in so many ways! She has such a powerful testimony and she amazes me every day! Once Soster Hunt leaves, I will be in a trio with the other two sisters here in Trondheim, Soster Robbins and Soster Williams, until transfers two weeks from now. That's when I'll get another trainer! Haha…so by my month mark in Norway, I will have had 4 companions! ;) I promise I'm not a troubled missionary…haha!

SO…last week I challenged you all to get YOUR OWN Preach My Gospel…did you do it?!?!?! I sure hope so, and if you didn't well then…DO IT! Now that you have your handy, dandy PMG, I want you to start reading in chapter 3! I want you to read the WHOLE chapter by next Monday! Okay…Ready…Set…GO!!!!!!!

Well family and friends, I sure do love you! I love being a missionary and Trondheim is treating me well! I have already learned so much and I am so grateful for all of my experiences! It's getting pretty cold up here in the North but our heart and feet are staying warm!

Gud vaer med deg til vi ses igjen!

- Soster Neilson =)

Happy Heart! <3 "Even the trees wear sweaters to stay warm in Norway!"
 -Soster Neilson (aka Tree Hugger!)

"It's getting pretty cold up here in the North but our hearts and feet are staying warm!" -Soster Neilson

She received our package last week and LOVED smells from home! :)

Getting ready for Hem and Shanti's baptisms by scrubbing the font! 

"Hem and Shanti are NEWLY members and even BEFORE they were members, they were sharing the gospel!" -Soster Neilson

Visiting Bestemore (Grandmother)! Soster Neilson ADORES this sweet lady! <3

Visits with Pelle always brightens their day! :)

Trying to view the Northern Lights from the fjord. Didn't see much this time…
hopefully next time! :)

Jack Frost has been visiting Trondheim! Get ready for the snow Soster Neilson! ;)

Trondheim Norway…Autumn 2014 :)

Crossfit with a Missionary Twist! :)

Regarding Soster Hunt…"I'm going to miss this crazy bundle of craziness! She has been an incredible teacher and friend. I look up to her in so many ways! She has a powerful testimony and she amazes me every day!" -Soster Neilson