Christmas Video Conference Highlights!….Week 17

What an INCREDIBLE blessing it was to see our sweet missionary's face and hear her laugh! We talked to her for 45 minutes on the dot! She wanted to be 100% obedient! :) Here are a few highlights from our chat....

Søster Neilson: "I have a picture of you guys in my scriptures and every time I teach someone the Plan of Salvation, I always show them the picture of my family. I recently showed it to a girl named Ingrid. She was looking at it and she was like, "Oh! That is so cute! Your family is REALLY American!" Haha...I answered, "Yeah! They really are!" Haha! :)

Søster Neilson: "So apparently I speak with a Tronners' dialect. I didn't even realize it until someone pointed it out the other day."
Mom: "Is that a good thing?"
Søster Neilson: "Haha...uh...it's not the language I learned but yeah! It's good! It's the language of my people!" ;)

She sang "I am a Child of God" for us in Norwegian! <3

Søster Neilson: "I have to tell you about my Christmas! OH MY HECK! OKAY...So...so...last night, there's a girl here named Mali. She's a student here in Trondheim. There's a huge university here. It's kind of like Provo but not Mormon. ;) I met Mali my first week in Norway. She's the only member in her family. She had been less active but now she's come back to church. I love this girl! She and I have become great friends! Her mother invited Søster Williams and I to spend Christmas Eve with their family!
Mali picked us up and we picked her brother up along the way. Their parents live about an hour from our apartment. We like to joke about the town they live next to. The English translation is Hell. So basically they live just past Hell...hehe. ;)
We got there and saw their beautiful Christmas tree with tons of Christmas presents beneath it! You see, every member of their family hot presents for Søster Williams and me! I was like, 'Holy Cow! These people don't even know us and the got us presents?!?! Wow! So sweet!'
We sit down and have this huge bowl of  risgrøt. It's basically rice pudding with tons of butter, heaps of sugar and cinnamon. So they hide a whole almond in one of the bowls. The person who gets the almond has to hide it in their cheek until everyone is done. :) Søster Williams got the almond! So fun!  After that we decorated a HUGE gingerbread house! Way FUN!
While we were decorating, Mali's dad announces, 'My brother lives just down the street. We want you girls to dress up as the Julennissen (Norwegian equivalent to Santa Claus), walk in their front door, and deliver presents to his grankids!' We looked so creepy! OH MY GOSH! We delivered the presents and the kids were like, 'We didn't know Julennissen were girls and Americans who speak Norwegian!' Haha! SO funny!
We went back to Mali's and knitted for a couple of hours. :) I loved it! I was sitting their with a cat in my lap, knitting, and just loving life! Next, we had a HUGE meal! It consisted of like five kinds of meats and potatoes. It was so great! Then we opened gifts, are cake for what seemed like forever, and had a BLAST! What a great family! Mali drove us home around 11. Curfew is usually 9:30 but we had special permission to stay out later on Christmas Eve! :)
AND THEN....
My zone leader, Elder Shanklin, who is the COOLEST person alive, got permission from President to  let us attend midnight mass at Nidarosdomen Cathedral! It's the oldest cathedral in all of Europe. It was open to everyone Christmas Eve. SO WE GOT TO GO TO MIDNIGHT MASS AT THE NIDAROSDOMEN CATHEDRAL ON CHRISTMAS EVE!!! We sang Christmas songs and I was crying the whole time I was thinking, "How am I so fortunate and blessed to be here right now? Heavenly Father has truly guided my life! I am so grateful!'"

Next she sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth: Army of Helaman" in Norwegian. Of course we all cried. She couldn't even look at us because she was too emotional. <3

She left us with a beautiful gift...her testimony.

Søster Neilson: "I love that song. I feel so proud to be a missionary here every time I sing it. I'm not going to lie, I get really homesick sometimes. BUT I'm so grateful to be here in Norway! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world! I love you guys a lot. Sometimes I feel bad that I'm away from you but I know that this is where I need to be right now because I know my mission is molding me into the woman and future mother I'm supposed to be. I feel that every time I pray and bear my testimony. I feel myself growing closer to my Savior. I am so grateful for my mission. I really love you guys a lot! Merry Christmas! God Jul!"

Dad offered a prayer and after a tearful farewell, she pushed 'end call'.

Our hearts are full of gratitude for this sweet daughter, sister, auntie, and friend!  Best Christmas present EVER! :)

Seeing this face and hearing her laugh was the BEST Christmas present EVER! :)

Enjoyed Christmas Eve with Mali and her family! <3

YUM! Christmas Feast!

Decorating Gingerbread Houses! :)

Soster Neilson and Soster Williams got to be the Jul Nissen and delivered presents to Mali's younger cousins down the road! :)

Soster Neilson was touched that Mali and her parents bought gifts for her. :)

Christmas Queen for a day! 

Do you think someone was HAPPY to get salsa from home for Christmas?! ;)

Christmas Midnight Mass at the Nidarosdomen Cathedral! 

"Once in a lifetime experience!"-Soster Neilson

Snow Bunny Soster! :)

Enjoying her FIRST White Christmas Morning!

Jul Candles! <3

Happy Heart in Norway! God Jul Soster Neilson! :) <3

God Jul!….Week 16

Our sweet bishop, Bishop O'Brien, emailed all of the missionaries in our ward and asked them to share a Christmas message to be read to the congregation on Sunday December 21st. The spirit was so strong as he read the messages these young missionaries had sent from all over the world! I've included Soster Neilson's message…Enjoy! Merry Christmas! :)

Hello my Ward Family! 

Holy cow! Is it really already CHRISTmas time?! What a blessing it is to be a member of this INCREDIBLE gospel at this time! CHRISTmas is such a wonderful time to bring everyone of all cultures and religions together in an equal love for our Savior's birth! God has given us Christ as the ultimate gift. If Christ is the ultimate gift of CHRISTmas than God is the ultimate Santa Claus! How grateful I am for the gift of Jesus Christ given to me by a loving Heavenly Father.

Here in Norway, a candle is lit every Sunday night during December until CHRISTmas. This is called the advent. As I was thinking, I couldn't help but think with my missionary mind...We light a candle in our hearts every Sunday by going to church and allowing Christ to bless our lives! Please remember this CHRISTmas season, to light the candle in your hearts. I promise you that Christ wants to bless you with all the love He has, you just have to hold out your candle.

God Jul! (Merry CHRISTmas!)
-Soster Neilson 

 

"God has given us Christ as the ultimate gift!" 

-Soster Neilson

It's beginning to look, feel, sound, and taste a lot like CHRISTmas!…Week 15

Hei San!

So in the Norway mission, we speak A LOT of English, mostly because almost all of the missionaries here are American. This past week, our whole mission did an "English Fast". I was NOT excited about it, BUT I tried my best! It was very hard to express my feelings and SUPER frustrating! I did it anyways.  I didn't really feel like my Norwegian was improving and I just felt more and more frustrated! BUT we were at a members house and they interrupted me in the middle of the lesson and said "Woah! Your Norwegian has really improved!" (In Norwegian of course haha) I felt so great! It really made me realize how important it is to SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE! I love Norwegian even when I hate it! Hahahaha...the people, the language and the land are so beautiful! 

Do you remember the family from Nepal that got baptized, Hem and Shanti? We are now teaching Hem's mom, Rubba, and his little sister, Urmilla. Rubba is amazing! She speaks no English and no Norwegian! I love it! The spirit is so strong! We went to visit her and her daughter wasn't there to translate. We came in, said a prayer with her and she kept saying one of the only things she knows in Norwegian "Jeg er så glad i dere!" ("I love you guys so much!") AH! She is so cute!!!!!!!! I am so excited for when she will be getting baptized!

So one day me and Søster Heartley, decided that we were going to just hop on a bus, get off at a random stop, pray, find a new investigator and give away a Book of Mormon! So we found a stop and said a prayer.... 10 MINUTES LATER we met a guy named Marcus who wanted to meet with us BOOM new investigator! THEN 3 minutes later, we met this handicap man and his mother and they want to meet with us too! We gave him a Book of Mormon and he was so excited! So awesome! The Lord really hears and answers our prayers! I am so grateful! 

Last night was the CHRISTmas ward show and I performed in it TWICE! I danced to Mariah Carry with all the missionaries and a couple people in the ward!  Then the missionaries sang some American songs and beat boxed! So fun! 

This week we got to visit a member family in the ward. They are from America and they are AWESOME! I love them so much! I felt so at home at their house. I miss America a lot sometimes but when I'm with the McKenzie family, I feel right at home! They have some amazing kids whom I adore! AH!

Well beautiful people…I love you all! I hope you have an amazing CHRISTmas! Jeg er glad i dere! Gud vær med deg til vi sees igen!!! 

-Søster Neilson =)

Soster Neilson sitting in the Viking Chief's spot at the dinner table! :)

     Gathering Hall at the Viking Lodge and Museum! 

St. Olaf's Healing Stone! :)

Trimming the Tree at the Church! :)

Soster Williams baking up a storm! <3

Soster Neilson's Secret Jul Nisse…Ekder Brink! 

She gave him a cat! :)

For some reason, this candid shot of Haylee made my heart SMILE!

"Good Morning! You are BEAUTIFUL today!"

Sosters Heartley, Hoggard, and Williams! <3

The American Missionary Beat Box Christmas Singers! :)

Winter Wonderland in Trondheim! :)

Nidarosdomen Cathedral…AMAZING!

The house across the street from their apartment! 

 

The view from Soster Neilson's room. :)

Happy Heart and an Elder Forsberg photo bomb! :)

CHRISTmas is coming! Share the Gift!…Week 14

Hallo Amerikan Folk!

How are y'all doing back in the states?! I hope all is well and you are getting excited for CHRISTmas! CHRISTmas here in Norway is much different from CHRISTmas back at home. December 23rd is called little CHRISTmas and then the 24th is CHRISTmas day! You wake up on the 24th, eat whatever goodies are in your stocking and then eat a HUGE breakfast! After that you put on your Sunday best and drive down to the cemetery to pay your respects to those family members who have passed. Everyone goes and lights candles and puts them on the grave stones. Its really beautiful! After that you go back to the house and hang out, play games and just relax while mom cooks away! At around 5 we sit down for a Norwegian CHRISTmas feast... and we feast and we feast and we feast feast feast feast FEAST! AND THAN THAT NIGHT, we open up our presents from Nissen! (Santa!) and then on the 25th we open more presents! Norway is definitely a CHRISTmas country! 

As a missionary, I have found that I cannot lie about anything I say... ever! ESPECIALLY my feelings! This week has not been an easy one. I have recently had a lot of doubt about why I am a missionary and what my true reasons are for being here are. Why do I believe what I believe? How did I get to this point in my life? I have had many questions and doubts. During all of these worries and doubts I had a very strong feeling to open my scriptures and I turned to Doctrine and Covenants Section 6, Verses 33 through 37:

33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

34 therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. 

35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you. 

36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not
37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

In verse 36 is says to look unto HIM in every thought and to not doubt or fear…WOW! That was EXACTLY what little Søster Neilson needed right there in that moment! My companion, Søster Hartley read me some of a letter her friend sent her. He said that even when he doubts he still chooses to have faith because he finds so much more comfort in having faith that things will all work out than doubting and being afraid of what is coming next. I promise you that if you approach hard times with the constant thought that things will always work out because you have God as your Father, your life will be FILLED with joy and blessings! I know! I have tried it and it is so true! I know that God lives and loves each and ever one of His children… "Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." 

Okay...time for some fun things that happened this week! I watched Frozen this week! Its called Frost in Norwegian! Hahahaha...It is so much better in Norwegian! I loved it! 

Do you remember my little homeless friend?! He speaks LITTLE Norwegian and LITTLE English so we usually communicate through dancing/weird sign language.... hahahaha His name is Florea which translates to Flower in English. What a sweet man he is! Every time I see him he kisses my hand and this week he sang to me! He has a really good singing voice but my favorite thing about Flower is his smile... he is missing a few teeth and his smile warms my heart!

There is an older lady in the ward and us missionaries call her Bestemor, which means Grandmother. I've mentioned her a few times. She loves it when we call her Bestemor because she was never able to have children. A couple days ago, she got to go home from the hospital so Søster Hartley and I visited her in her home. She opened the door with big tears in her eyes. I have to tell you a secret about Bestemor, she is very Norwegian with a THICK dialect and I can understand most people but I cannot understand Bestemor… hahah...at ALL...but that day, I could understand her! She told us how much she loves us and how happy we make her when we come to visit her! She has been having a very rough few weeks and while she was telling us about it I couldn't help but cry. I knelt at her feet and held her hand while she told us all the things troubling her sweet heart. She looked at me and saw that I was crying and wiped away my tears... MINE! She was the one having a really hard time and she still cared more for others... I love this woman so much! She is so filled with Christ's love! No one ever told me that I was going to love complete strangers so fast! The love I have for these people is unreal! Thinking about leaving them makes me emotional. I love being a missionary and feeling so much love for everyone around me! My mission has truly taught me so much about the kind of person I want to be!

Okay I know what you may be thinking... what is up with the way I am writing CHRISTmas?! Well let me tell you! This CHRISTmas season, The Church of Jesus CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints, has released a beautiful video about what CHRISTmas is truly about! It is called "He is the Gift." You can watch it at this link christmas.mormon.org It is an incredible video that will help you remember what is really important ESPECIALLY at CHRISTmas time! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me, my family and the WHOLE human existence, enough to send the most precious gift of all time, a Savior who is Christ the Lord! Jesus Christ is the ultimate gift of CHRISTmas! He was given to us as a way to return back to our Father in heaven who loves us so dearly! I am so grateful for Christ's mother, Mary. I am grateful for her example to me as a woman and future mother.  I am grateful to be a missionary in the beautiful country of Norway where I can share this incredible message with people who don't know! I am grateful for the gift of my own family and I have never cherished the relationships I have with them more then when I am sharing this glad message of Jesus Christ! So, to everyone...Merry CHRISTmas! Never forget what the ultimate gift of CHRISTmas is! #ShareTheGift                           

I love you all! I hope you have an amazing week and please remember to #ShareTheGift! Do not forget what CHRISTMAS is truly about! God Jul! (Merry Christmas!) og God vær med deg til vi sees igjen! (and God be with you til we meet again!)

-Søster Neilson =)

Soster Neilson and Soster Hartley! 6' and 5'! 

Happy Hearts! :)

(Thank you Nicole McKenzie for the photo!)

A little LOVE from home! Pre-Christmas package! :)

Soster Hartley the ELF! <3

Hoshar and Enoch! Hoshar was recently baptized! :)

Relief Society Jul (Christmas) Party! 

Soster Neilson's knitting buddy…Mali! :)

Norwegian Fun Fact…parents will bundle their babies up, 

put them in their pram, and leave them outside to nap…

even in the winter time! This is in front of a shop in town. 

Interesting! 

December begins with Jul (Christmas) Advent!…Week 13

Hallo alle sammen! (Hello Everyone!)

Okay first off, I finished a whole tube of toothpaste by myself this week... WEIRD! And second, MISSIONARY WORK IS THE BEST!!! :) So I got a new companion this week named Søster Hartley... holy cow she is amazing! She is from Idaho and grew up on an onion farm with her 7 brothers and sisters. Fun fact, she is about half my size! She is a fireball! We get so much done together! She is such an amazing trainer, and is always telling me how good my Norwegian is (she is WAY too good to me!) 

Thanksgiving was awesome this week! I don't think I have had so many Thanksgiving meals in my life! The members here are so sweet and try so hard to make us feel at home. I love them so much! Norwegian mashed potatoes consist of, a baked potato... that's about it! Hahahaha! On Thursday we had a legitimate American Thanksgiving meal with all the missionaries in the city of Trondheim. There are 10 of us including the senior couple Elder and Soster Rappeley. The mashed potatoes at that meal consisted of potatoes, BUTTER, sour cream, cream cheese and salt and pepper.... I wonder why Americans are over weight. ;) We went around the table and expressed what we are grateful for. When it go to Elder Rappeley, he got very chocked up and said "It is very hard to be away from our family, but I am sure grateful for you sweet spirits and that we can serve with you."......... I BROKE DOWN! Such a sweet man! I love the senior couple here! They love us crazy missionaries so much!

We helped our bishop's inactive brother move in the dark of the day! Hahaha it was about 3:30 and totally dark outside! We only had about 45 minutes because we had a dinner appointment but with all 8 of us missionaries we got it done in 30 minutes, and then we had 15 minutes to visit and share the gospel... SUCH a miracle! The Lord is so good!

Søster Hartley and I were doing something called "Bonking" which is when we go knock on doors and share the gospel with the people that don't slam the door in our faces :) So we were walking our merry way down the road and I saw this little dirt road that looked like there was nothing down it but i felt prompted to go. So I skipped myself over there and we found a house…I knocked on the door! A lady answered and invited us in! We were able to teach her about the Restoration. It was so amazing! She was interested and so kind! I felt so blessed to meet her!

Another time we were contacting and we saw this guy smoking so naturally we walked right up to him. I said "Hallo! Vi er misjonærene fra Jesu Kristi kirke! tror du på Gud?" ("Hello! we are missionaries from Jesus Christ church! Believe you on God?" that's the exact translation. Norwegian is so beautiful!) and he looked at us and said in English, "I'm sorry I don't speak Norwegian." ........... MUSIC TO MY EARS! His name is Raf and he was in his early 20s from England. He was so interested in what we had to say! We talked with him for about 30 minutes on the street and he was so excited to hear our message! He moved to Denmark yesterday so he is going to start meeting with the missionaries there. Yay! He kept telling sister Hartley and I how beautiful and kind we were. He told us never to drink and that if everyone was like us in the world, the world would be a perfect place. Hahahaha! So funny!

We met this adorable girl named Lillian this week. Our first lesson with her she looked at us and said "Can I get baptized now?" uhhhhhhhh I think we can work it out! Hahahaha...She is so amazing! We invited her to church and she said she would go. I'm not going to lie, we were lacking in the faith that she was going to come but she did! We ran up to her and gave her hugs and she said "I told you I would come!" Ah! She is so cute!

I found my first homeless man in Trondheim on Friday! I was so excited! I ran up to him and we started talking. His name is Florea (Flower) and he is from Romania! He speaks NO Norwegian and a TINY BIT of English! He smells like cigarettes and has a beautiful smile of missing teeth. I love this man! He came to church on Sunday and kissed my hand. SO sweet! His wife is very sick and when the teacher had him stand to introduce himself in Sunday school he tried to explain how grateful he was for Jesus Christ and how grateful he is for missionaries but he couldn't finish because he began to cry. This old man is incredible! He has a beautiful singing voice and so much love and respect for everyone! I made him a few peanut butter and jelly's and sent him on his way after church. Such a sweet man! 

Side note: Soster Neilson emailed her photos today (Monday) and had a sequel to her Romanian friend…"I saw my homeless friend today (Monday) and every time I see him I give him food. Today I gave him an apple. He sells flowers on the street and he gave me a beautiful white rose and kissed my forehead!!!! I love him!!!!"

In Noway we do this thing called an advent. There are 4 candles that are lit every Sunday until Christmas, and last night we went to the first advent in centrum! (The center of the city). It was so fun and beautiful! One of our members took us. We then went into a church to listen to the choir that was being recorded and podcast to all of Norway and us, and once we walked in, all the cameras turned to us..... holy cow it was scary! BUT AWESOME! Hahaha so I was on TV I guess! Wahoo!!!!!!

Well my beautiful family and friends. I love you all so much and I am so grateful to be a missionary of this amazing church!!!!!!! Gud vær med deg til vi sees igjen!  

 -Søster Neilson =) 

The rose from her Romanian Homeless Friend! 

He makes her heart SMILE!

Christmas has arrived in Trondheim! :)

Their American Thanksgiving Dinner!

Complete with all the glutinous trimmings!

International Thanksgiving Meal! I guess the missionaries made PB&J sandwiches because its American. Hahaha…and probably because its cheap! :)

Soster Neilson captioned this one:

"Elder Shanklin and his peeps!"

Turning on the lights at the Centrum (center of the city)!

Soster Neilson LOVES getting snail mail!

The RS in the Los Alisos Ward sent her Christmas greetings and MADE her day!