Let the Christmas Season Begin!…Week 65

Haylee wasn't feeling too great today so she wasn't able to send a mass email but here are a few excerpts from the emails she sent me and Walt…

“Woah! What a week! How have you been Mom? I am doing well. I got a little sick last night and I’m still sick now. Icky! :(“

“There is zero snow here. Its just cold and dark and slippery...haha! We went to the first advent celebration here in Skien and danced around a huge Christmas tree...SO fun! I will send pictures. :)” 

“I love the youth in this ward Dad. What good kids. I am so proud of all the youth here in Norway. They really are so impressive!”

“I have so much peace Daddy. It brings me to tears. I am going to miss my mission. When I was in Sarpsborg, I found much peace in knowing that when you were 19 you were doing the same thing, only a couple hours away. Thank you for your example. I love you! :) Have a wonderful week!” 

(Note: Sarpsborg is located on the border of Norway and Sweden. It’s near Gottenburg Sweden where Walt served a good portion of his mission 27 years ago.)

Celebrating the First Advent Sunday! :)

Dancing around the Christmas tree! :)

A sign Soster Neilson made.

It reads "FREE WAFFLES"

The missionaries and some of the members

 set up a booth on a street corner,

served free waffles, and shared a

happy message to anyone interested. <3

Thanksgiving Blessings!…Week 64

Hello people of the world!

How was life this week? Boy oh boy! We had a super busy week this week! We visited a ton of members and taught! It was so special! One thing that our stake is really big on doing is teaching the members the missionary lessons and one thing our ward is really big on now is teaching the youth! So we will be visiting all the youth in our ward this week and teaching them the missionary lessons and we are so excited! What good youth we have here in this ward!

We had this wonderful mission conference on Friday in Oslo (which is a two hour drive both ways...) hahaha it was SO good! We got together with another zone and I got to see so many dear missionary friends that I love so much! :) I also saw A LOT of new faces! It was so strange! We have had HUGE groups of elders coming in the last few months so I made some new friends too. :) We learned a lot about the importance of obedience and how we can be better. It was WAY good! I think it really inspired all of us to get on our feet and get to work! :) MISSIONARY WORK! :)  

Winter is upon us. Its snowed last week... wahooo! Haha...it really is beautiful but it is not sticking so that’s sad. BUT...we went to a members house yesterday after church and they live up in the mountains so we got to be in the snow for a bit and we are going back today for some more snow FUN! Yahoo! I am excited! :)

So Thanksgiving is this week right? This SWEET member family made us a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner! It was AMAZING! I felt SO blessed! We went around the table and said what we were grateful for and the one I chose was Norwegians! I am so grateful for Norwegians. They are such good people. They are not fake. Sure they may not be super warm and fuzzy the first time you meet them but when you become a friend with a Norwegian, you have a loyal friend forever! I LOVE THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE! I am not sure I could say that a year ago with conviction but I am grateful to the Lord who has softened my heart and helped me love more and deeper! I love my mission! ALL OF IT! 

I love you all so muc!. I hope you have such an amazing week and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Don’t forget to thank THE LORD for all of your many blessings! 

Gud vær med deg til vi sees igjen! 

-Søster Neilson :)

Happy Thanksgiving from Norway!

The missionaries brought dessert to 

a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving feast!

Happy AND Grateful Hearts! <3

Kid Magnet! :)

Dual Zone Conference in Oslo! 

Eldste Whitt, Eldste Beck and

Eldste Whittbeck…HILARIOUS!

 P-day…Snowday! 

Do you want to build a snowman?!

LOVE this happy soul! <3

 Optical illusion or snowball to the face?!

NORWAY…Oh the LIFE!…Week 63

HELLO WORLD!

Hey everyone! All is well here in FREEEEZING Norway! Hahaha...it’s actually not too bad right now but its getting there! :) There is a lot of frost on the road and it makes me nervous because I have never driven in snow but I will sure learn quick! :) 

This week has been so good! We have been visiting people left and right and it has been way fun! I love my amazing companion and all these adventures we are on together! So in Norway, high schoolers take a religious classes and 200 hundred seniors came and visited the church. We did this huge tour and taught a bunch of other classes. Its so fun! I toured 30 students around four times and they had so many funny questions! "Why are you wearing a skirt?" Hahahaha...when the kid asked me that I looked down at my skirt and said "Oh my! I don’t know!" Everyone thought that was pretty funny. I then explained that it is to show that I am different! I am a missionary called of a prophet of God and with that title I ought to dress a little more formal and stick out so people will know too! :) It’s so cool to see how curious these kids are! They were really blown away with the fact that we CHOOSE to serve missions! It was really special to share my experiences and why I am a missionary. :)

We had such a fun week with so many amazing members and investigators! People are so good... did you know that?! People are just truly good. Sometimes you have to search for the goodness but it is in there somewhere! 

OH! A couple of days ago I got hit on the head (on accident) with the trunk door and it knocked me out! Pretty epic! It was really funny... seriously hilarious! I woke up on the ground so confused and then couldn’t stop thinking about my dog Jack who died like 5 years ago... random but yes! We called President Hill and he asked my companion to wake me up every couple of hours to check on me! Hahaha...I am all good, just a big lump on my head! Good memories and a great story to tell my children!  

I love you guys so much! Norway is amazing! The work is a little slow but the miracles are overflowing! I love you all!

 Gud vær med deg til vi sees igjen! 

-Søster Neilson

I LOVE this photo! This sweet little girl calls

Soster Neilson her "best friend"! 

She sits with the sisters at church 

every Sunday! <3

Pdays and Basketball! :)

These are two dads getting a few rays of 

sunshine while they take care of their babies

on Sunday. I LOVE this! :)

So Norwegian! LOVE it! <3

A BIG part of Soster Neilson's mission is 

about service and love! <3

If a picture could say a 1,000 words! <3

Happy Hearts! <3

Youth Fireside! :)

A wonderful family from the ward! :)

The Bishop and his family! :)

"This is a tradiotional Norwegian Christmas 

cookie! It tastes like it looks…a little strange!"

-Soster Neilson

Hello Everyone!…Week 62

Dear family and friends!

Hello! How are you all doing? I am doing well. The sun is going down sooner and getting up later... THE DARKNESS IS UPON US! Ah! Hahaha...it’s really not that bad! :) I love Norway in the winter. I am getting really excited to spend Christmas in Norway...Norwegian Christmas is really just the best! It’s so fun! It’s a way different experience being away from your family during the Christmas season but also really cool. You get to focus so much on others and just see the goodness they have in them! :) 

This week was really good! We had a lot to do which is always a good thing! We have been trying to use public transportation more and more because when we do, we are able to talk to more people. I have definitely talked to some interesting people...hahaha it’s been way fun! 

I met this really kind muslim man named Karama and we had met a couple of times before. It was just kind of rough because he really wanted to teach me about Islam and I really wanted to teach him about Christ! He called us on Sunday morning and said he got me a gift and wanted to give it to me before I went to church. We met up with him on a street corner and he gave a Quran which is the Islamic holy book. It is so beautiful! He was so excited to give it to me and got it in English so I could understand it. It was SO sweet! Muslim men are not allowed to touch women unless they are married to them but I really wanted to shake his hand! Ugh! So kind :) What a good guy. I really feel for Karama. He is such a sweet person and he is so passionate about what he believes! It was really cool to share about what means the world to me and to him. I love those opportunities. :)

Well anyways, not much to report! I am cold! Haha ;) I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! Ikke glemme, GUD ELSKER DEG OG DU ER HANS BARN! :) (Don’t forget, GOD LOVES YOU AND YOU ARE HIS CHILD!)

Gud vær medg til vi sees igjen! 

-Søster Neilson

Happy Heart! <3

Ferry Selfie with Eldste Gurr! :)

Friends Forever! <3

God's Little Army in Skien! :)

Finding JOY in the journey! <3

Rich Norwegian history in Skien!

The days are shorter and the nights

are longer but the light of

Christ still shines BRIGHT!

Beautiful Norway in Autumn! :)

Søster Neilson…ROUND TWO!!!…Week 61

DISCLAIMER: The following blog post contains unusual usage of capital letters and exclamation points…even more than usual! ;)

Kjære alle sammen!!!

OH MY GOODNESS! BEFORE I CAN EVEN TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT (one I am sure everyone already knows because everyone has Facebook except for me...) SØSTER BRITTNEY NEILSON (my second cousin) WILL BE LEAVING FOR THE MTC IN JANUARY AND PREPARE TO SERVE IN THE NORWAY OSLO MISSION SPEAKING NORWEGIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! She is actually one of the missionaries replacing me and my MTC group... THE NEILSON LEGACY LIVES ON IN NORWAY! They thought they could get rid of us?! ;) NOPE! I am so excited for Brittney to come to this wonderful mission and keep sharing the Neilson love to these amazing Norwegians!!! Okay, freaking out over. Yay!

WOAH! I got a new companion this week! Her name in Søster Randall! She is such a sweetheart! She is probably one of the smartest people I have ever met, in the Gospel and life in general! She has already taught me so much! I adore this girl :) I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with her! :) 

We have met with some crazy awesome people this week and have just been loving the heck out of Skien! I am not going to lie, Brittney getting her mission call really wants me to work so much harder so that she can have a worth legacy to come into! WAHOO! MISSIONS ARE THE BEST!!!!!

I love you all so much! I am sorry for the short email! Lots to 

Gud vær med deg til vis sees igjen! 

-Søster Neilson

Søster Brittney Neilson

with her mission call to NORWAY! <3

Last p-day with the adorable

Søster Horner before she transferred! :)

District hike…GREAT times! :)

Eldste Gurr munching on wild blueberries! ;)

Eldste Daly was the Master Hotdog Chef! :)

Ward Pumpkin Carving Activity!

"It was the first time many of the ward 

members had ever carved jack-o-lantern!"

-Søster Neilson

Happy Halloween!

Missionary Ghouls! ;)

Eldste Daly and Søster Neilson

Creepy and Cool! :)

Søster Randall and Søster Neilson <3

"Last Halloween I had a kebab which is like

Norway's version of a burrito…kind of. 

Its hard to explain but here's the one I got this 

Halloween. It was loaded with feta cheese

and OH SO YUMMY!"-Søster Neilson

Beautiful Skien! :)

Winter is quick on the heels of Autumn! 

For Bear: "GO DIABLOS! GO MVHS!" ;)

-Søster Neilson

"Which way to go?! 

ALWAYS choose the right!"

-Søster Neilson