Monday, August 31, 2015

DAVID!!!!!

Well, this week was fantastic!`DAVID GOT BAPTIZED!!!!`We went and visited him last night and he is so so happy! All of his family is inactive and they all want to come back to church now, it´s so awesome! I don´t think I have told you about him...he´s 10 years old and lives with his grandparents. They aren´t active but they were cool with him getting baptized; it just took the grandma a couple of months to come around. We worked with them a lot this past month and he´s now a member of the church! `He´s very intelligent and can remember EVERYTHING that we tell him! It´s great!


And our miracle from last week is named Ino! He is totally ready to get baptized, we have to tèach him about the law of chàstity tonight because him and his girlfriend live together #yay`but he´s really excited and ready to get baptized.

`This week we also ha`d a conferencia en Asuncion! President Gonzales taught us along with his wife. He´s the presìdent of the South America South area for the church...one of the area 70´s and he is so great! `They talked à lot about The Sabbath Day and keeping it holy.

We also had Stake Conference yesterday but it was broadcast to Paraguay, Uruguay`and Argentina. Elder Oaks, Èlder Hales, Sister Marriot from the general young womens presidency, President Gonzales and another man (I cannot remember his name to save my life)`spoke to us and it was `so fun! It was all in Spanish so I couldn´t understand èverything but I got most of what they were saying and they all talked about DÍA DE REPOSO`aka SABBATH DAY. `They are seriously cracking down on that here. Sister Marriot talked about how the Sabbath Day isn´t a list of things you can`´t do, she said when you are doing all of thè things that you need to do and making it a day set aside for the Lord`, you will `not even have to worry about the things you shouldn´t do. I really liked that! 

Sunday´s as a missionary are super different because we still go out and teach all day ànd don´t have time to take a siesta (ps the siesta is real`here.)`or do whatever we want but I love it! We are putting all of our time and efforts into building the Lord´s ki`ngdom on Sunday´s and it´s really spècial! Don´t worry about what you "can´t" do on Sunday´s`, do what you need to do to make it a day centered on the Lord.

Èverything here is going really great! We´re working really hard and seeing lots of miracles!`Paraguay is literally the best place in the world!!! Love you all!`

Àlso, sorry for all the accent marks, I´m not turning into a crazy Spanish `person, my keyboard is just wacko...

`Love, Hermana Nielsen 


Monday, August 24, 2015

Milagros!!!

Well, this week has been full of miracles!! The craziest thing happened to us this week...we were walking down the road going to teach one of our investigators and we heard someone behind us yelling "Hermanas!" We always hear that, especially from the little kids so we turned around and nobody was there. We started walking forward again and both stopped at the same time and knew that we needed to turn back. I told my companion that I thought somebody needed help or something. We tried clapping at a couple houses that we thought it might be coming from but nobody was home. We felt prompted to turn down another street and clap at a house of a less active family. They have the cutest little boy that is always yelling at us so we thought it might be him. We clapped and he came outside but it wasn't him yelling at us so we decided to leave. Right as we were walking away, the daughter came out who is 20 and lives down the street with her boyfriend. She started talking to us and told us that her boyfriend wants to get baptized and has been waiting for someone to come teach him....WHAT!!! It was so crazy. We were able to teach him on Saturday night and he told us how he wants to change his life. He and his girlfriend were both crying and the spirit was so strong!

We have had so many incredible lessons like that this week! Paraguay is so awesome and the people here are so great! We have been very blessed in this area and I am learning so much.

My companion and I have been talking à lot about the examples of Lehi's family in the Book of Mormon and their choices. Laman and Lemuel saw so many miracles but forgot about them so many times, we all see miracles every day, I think we just forget about them a lot.

Never forget about the miracle of the gospel and how much the Lord has blessed all of us. I love you all! Thank you so much for your emails!

Love, Hermana Nielsen



Monday, August 17, 2015

2 MONTHS!!!

Ahhhhh today I hit my 2 month mark! Can you believe that?? Time is seriously flying! This week was super crazy...long story short- one day we were walking down the road and a man was standing in a pit yelling at us in Guarani...hahaha the people here are so great! They are crazy but I love it.

I got sick this week with a really bad cold I think..I took lots of DayQuil and ibuprofen and I'm pretty much better today #blessed. I woke up on Friday night and legit thought that I was dead but hadn't made it to spirit paradise yet because I couldn't breathe through my mouth or nose...I am better now though and don't ever want to slow down!

I keep getting questions about Paraguay so I'll try and answer them and hope that whatever I write makes sense...Right now we are in a cyber, it's a little store where you can go to use the computers and it cost like a dollar an hour...everything here is super super cheap. My area is a dream!!

Parts of it are exactly what you would think South America would be but we also have some city parts so we can buy pretty much anything we need and still feel a little bit civilized. I think we are like an hour away from the mission home but we don't have to go there hardly ever, so that's really nice.

There are dogs EVERYWHERE. Sometimes the follow us around and right now they're pretty much the only living things I can talk to so I like the dogs. The people here are really loving and kind! We have lunch with members almost every single day and the food is great! Sometimes a little sketch but an eggshell or two won't hurt, right?

We had some miracles happen yesterday...One of our investigators CAME TO CHURCH and he can get baptized next week! His name is David and he's so great!

We also have another investigator Blanca that is so awesome! She talks our ear off so much but she has been really prepared to hear the gospel. She just brought her family to church last week and wants to hear from us all the time! I love it so much! We have people to teach every single day and we are trying really hard to help the inactive members here in Reducto come back to church and remember why they started coming in the first place.

I really love missionary work! Teaching the basic doctrines of the gospel every day has really helped me to understand what is most important in life and in the church. The fact that we know that Jesus Christ lives and that we can be saved is the most glorious message ever. Don't ever forget the simple truths that are so powerful. 

I love you all so much! 

Love, Hermana Nielsen :)


Monday, August 10, 2015

Semana 2

This week has been crazy! I feel like I have already gained a lifetime of experience in one week. This week my companion and I got to try pig tongue! It was somebody's birthday party after a ward activity and they asked us if we wanted to try it so we went for it! It tasted pretty good but it was like eating a sponge and it was weird to think about it.

It's been a really cool week; we have been teaching an investigator named Blanca that is so prepared to hear the gospel! She moved here and has been looking for a church to start going to so obviously Heavenly Father put her in our pathway! She came to church with her family yesterday and that was really exciting!

The members here are incredible. They are super faithful and willing to help us all the time! They are incredible examples to me. I've realized that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ doesn't just include going to church and weekly activities, it is helping the missionaries and less active members and everybody else, we should be doing daily things to strengthen our wards and stakes because they are incredible blessings.

Paraguay just keeps getting better and better and hotter a hotter :)

I just read this email and it is all over the place...sorry! The more I try to learn Spanish, the worse my English gets. I am going to sound like a hillbilly by the time I get home.

Have a great week! 

Love you all, Hermana Nielsen


Monday, August 3, 2015

Best Week of My Life

Hi everybody!!! I am in Paraguay!!! I already love it with all of my heart! Being a missionary is the greatest thing on the face of this earth!! I wish I could tell you everything that has happened this week, oh man. 

I met my companion on Wednesday, Hermana Porter. She is from Logan, Utah!! Yeahhhhhh, she ran track at BYU before she came and wow she is the best trainor ever!!! Seriously, her and I get along so well and she speaks English so that is a solid bonus!! 

My first area is called Reducto and it is gorgeous! It is super hot here and they are just finishing winter....I know that in about 2 months I am going to be dying!! I seriously cannot tell you all how happy I am! A lot of returned missionaries told me before I left that the first 3 months are the hardest and that you just have to "push through it." That is not true at all! It is definitely challenging but so fun! 

I am having the time of my life! Teaching people about the gospel in Spanish, what more could I want? I have been meeting so many new people and the members here are incredible! They are so kind and loving and they make the most delicious food! 

Here´s a funny story for the week, we were walking in the street and started talking to some kids about the gospel and it was my turn to teach them about baptism and invite them to be baptized and this 11 year old named Cesar was just laughing at me hahahah it was so funny! So many people here love to call me the North American and I think Cesar was laughing because he has better Spanish then I do hahahaha oh man, I have been able to teach this week a little bit but it´s really hard to understand people because they literally talk with their mouth closed so my companion tells me what to say or what to bear my testimony on and then she continues to listen and do most of the teaching, it´s quite the experience. 

We were in the middle of a lesson this week and just started laughing (don´t worry mom, it was controlled laughter and the investigator didn´t see it) because sometimes when I take a step back and look at what I´m doing, it´s so funny. I´m just this 19 year old in a whole new country trying to teach people in a language that I don´t know and it´s seriously just a good time. 

I love the people here already and I love this language. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am already doing things I never thought I could do (I asked my companion to go running this morning....) and I am having so much fun. I love Paraguay!!!!!


Love, Hermana Nielsen

The Spanish Fork missionaries in the CCM together! 
We met these little girls and their 
puppy is named "Poopy"
 so of course we had to take a pic!