Miracles, Love, and Forgiveness!…Week 21

Hei Sann Dere! (Whats up y’all!!!)

     

Woah! My heart is so full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I find myself crying all the time but it is usually for other people. My mission has already taught me so much about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of mother I need to be for my children. I am so eternally grateful for the trials that have been put into my life and I am excited for more!!! 

SOOOOOO...this week was fantastic! We got 3 new investigators!!! That is a MIRACLE here in little Ålesund! You have to remember that the church here is so small that our church is a room in the front of an old bakery and we have 4 active members....incredible!! 

     

We had this huge Zone Conference last week and in it, Elder Kapitchki, talked about how important it is to have a miracle journal and to write down miracles we see every day! So, I bought myself a little note book and got to work! The miracles that you see when you are looking for them are incredible!!! One little miracle Heavenly Father gave to me on a hard day (the following is a journal entry):

"Today I saw the hand of the Lord in my life because...

I am in Ålesund. Many cruise ships come here because it is BEAUTIFUL! So today a cruise ship came into port. You always know it is a cruise ship because they blow their horn 3 times while coming into port. So I was sitting in the apartment eating lunch and I hear the 3 horn blows and I said a quick prayer. I asked Heavenly Father if I could find some Americans that day because I really needed loud people in my life that day (Norwegians seldom talk and when they do, you can hardly hear them!) So, about an hour later, Søster Buhler and I are walking to the church and we are crossing the street. I see this lady next to me as I’m walking. I felt the spirit tell me to talk to her but I kept putting it off. I thought it would be weird but then I thought to myself, 'Well hey! I am weird!' so i looked at her and said, 'jeg liker din hatt' (I like your hat) and she looked at me and said "Excuse me?”........... I then asked in English where she was from and......... *drum roll*......... SHE SAID AMERICA!!!!! Ah!!!!!!!!!! I freaked out and almost hugged her but then thought that would be a little too weird! hahaha! We got to talking and she actually had to leave but I was SO grateful! Heavenly father really does know his children! He sent me an American!"  -January 22, 2015

SO incredible! Just a little tender mercy from the Lord to Søster Neilson that day! :) 

This morning I was thinking a lot about why missionaries do what we do. My companion has a busted knee and two twisted ankles. I have a dislocated hip, broken teeth, shin splints, I pulled my lower back and we both have broken hearts for the people who turn down this incredible message of håp! (hope!) I looked up from my studies this morning and I started laughing (my companion thought I was crazy!) and I looked at Søster Buhler and said “Søster Buhler, WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING?! We live in another country, speak another language, eat weird food, live a whole different life style than we’re used to, and really actually trying our best! Everyday we get laughed at, ignored, threatened, spit on and avoided...but I have never been so happy in all of my life! What are we doing?!?!” AND THEN  Søster Buhler simply answered, "The Lord’s work Søster Neilson!” (My companion is Asian and I always tell her she is so wise just because she is Asian haha ;))  It is true! This is the Lord’s work and we literally do NOTHING! The Lord is preparing people everyday and all he asks from us is to share what we know to be true... how simple and beautiful! 

I read a talk this week from President Uchtdorf about forgiveness. If there is one thing I have learned on my mission is that forgiveness is way easier said than done! Its true that forgiveness is not easy but it is a commandment from God... “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. -Doc&Cov 64:10) We are REQUIRED

to forgive all men! INCLUDING ourselves! In this talk President Utchtdorf talks about how the person who is the hardest and needs the most forgiveness is ourselves. REPENT and then forgive yourself... God does! He loves you, and I can say that with full confidence because I have repented and forgiven myself and I know God loves me! He loves you ALWAYS! No one is perfect and God doesn't love you more than He loves me! He loves us both in different ways and He is happy when we choose what is right and cries with us when we choose something not as good. BUT...He loves us both!!!!! President Holland shared this story in the last General Conference:

"A journalist once questioned Mother Teresa of Calcutta about her hopeless task of rescuing the destitute in that city. He said that, statistically speaking, she was accomplishing absolutely nothing. This remarkable little woman shot back that her work was about love, not statistics. Notwithstanding the staggering number beyond her reach, she said she could keep the commandment to love God and her neighbor by serving those within her reach with whatever resources she had. “What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean,” she would say on another occasion. “But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less [than it is].”9 Soberly, the journalist concluded that Christianity is obviously not a statistical endeavor. He reasoned that if there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance, then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages."

SO true! I love this! YOU are loved my friend. I cannot even begin to express how much your FATHER in Heaven loves you! The bottom line is... forgive as you would want to be forgiven! LOVE your enemies and pray for those that hate you! LOVE THEM TO DEATH! Love them until they hate you even more! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!! 

I love you guys so much and I am so glad to be apart of this great work of Salvation! 

Gud vær med deg til vi sees igjen,

-Søster Neilson

"This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!" President Uchtdorf

Soster Sunshine! JOY!

Cruise Ships and Miracles!

Our new kitty friend! We named him Peaches! :)

"My WISE Asian!" -Soster Neilson

Apparently Eirik wasn't a fan of his first root beer! :)

King Eirik! "People…PLEASE!" -Soster Neilson

Family Home Evening…haha! Not really! ;) They LOVE to play games like yahtzee and skipbo! :)

Church Cemetery! Beautiful! 

One of my favorite peeps!…Ase-Marie! :)

Soster Neilson's street! BEAUTIFUL! :) 

"It's kind of the ghetto part of town but it's home!"-Soster Neilson

Soster Crazy Person and Simon! :)

BEAUTIFUL Norway! <3

Finding JOY and silliness in the journey! :)