HI!

Hello from Paraguay, the hottest place on earth!!

Seriously, I am melting away, it's awesome!!! I'm just gonna cut to the chase. We have been finding a lot of new investigators this week! We have been teaching the Restoration a lot and I LOVE IT!!! My testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon have grown so much! I love testifying of all of it!! My job is so fun!! Like who else in the world gets to walk around all day and teach people about the gospel?! (Only me and 75000 other missionaries) #blessed.

I still love my companion SO MUCH!!! She's really incredible, and so so patient with me and my Spanish and everything else! She talks really fast so I'm always like Ummmmm what did you just say??? hahaha but she's learning so much and has grown a lot!

We had a cool experience this week. We were walking outside and it was hotter than I ever thought possible and this lady was sitting under a tree in her yard so we stopped and talked to her and she is super Catholic. She was telling us to go home and wait until it was a little more cooler to leave and do what we do. I was like "but we're tryna find the people that the Lord has prepared for us ya know?" And she said to me, "That's the difference between you guys and me. That's the difference between the Catholics and the Mormons. You guys will be outside teaching about Christ all day but we wait until it's a more convenient time for us." I don't know if I took it the way she meant it but it's true. We will do anything that Christ asks because we love Him and we know that this is what will give people the most lasting happiness.

This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done but it's so worth it. We see miracles and blessings on a daily basis and I have been blessed more than I thought possible. Keep going and moving forward for the cause of Christ.

Ponderize: Heleman 5:12

Happy Valentine's Week!

Hermana Nielsen

This week has been crazy! We've been finding a lot of new people to teach but nadie is coming to church so........nadie esta progresando. But we're really happy and we have our greenie fire going strong!

My companion is seriously so so so awesome and so fun! She's a really hard worker and she loves the work. I am so happy to be with her! She's taught me how to make fried eggs and good (Latina) rice and I've taught her how to make brownies so we've got a pretty good companionship going on! :) It's just freaking me out how fast the time is going, I don't like it!

This week we had a MIRACLE happen! There's a less active member that seriously wanted nothing to do with us. We have to pass her house every time we go teach one of the converts and she always ignored us or said hi and bye at the same time jajaja. We tried to talk to her a couple of times and she was like no way José but then my awesome companion got here and was like "we should try to talk to her" so I was like okay, porque no?! So we stopped by her house one day and she said that she wanted to show us pics from her baptism but she had to find them first so she told us to come back another day. We went back and SHE LET US IN!!!!!! We started talking to her about everything and I felt like I should share Alma 7:11-12 and she just started bawling. She told us about everything that's going on in her life right now and she just lives alone in this little shed. I've never gotten emotional in a lesson until then. It is really incredible the opportunity we have to help others use the Atonement of Christ. I love sharing with people the hope that the gospel brings and that it's never too late to come back! 

Ponderize:Alma 48:17

Con cariño, Hermana Nielsen 

Here´s some solid highlights of this past week:

My favorite lotion is SPF 100.

My favorite perfume is Off bugspray.

We got lost in the jungle this week but I just pretended like I knew what I was doing jajajajaja

Everybody here takes the siesta very seriously, especially during the summer. Like everybody is napping from 1-4 EVERY DAY. It's pretty annoying and really hot. So this week my comp and I contacted a cow because nobody else would listen to us. 

There was a lizard in our shower this week and it couldn't get out and I was too lazy to care but there was a cockroach in the shower too....I didn't know about the cockroach. So I started to wash my hair and I felt something CRAWLING ON MY FOOT AND IT WAS A FLIPPIN COCKROACH. He's definitely in the spirit world right now and I've made a pact to not shower anymore.

This week a guy that has a food stand by our house stopped us and asked why we didn't eat there anymore, I think the hermanas before us did and so we told him we'd stop by on saturdaynight. He asked about the Book of Mormon so obviously we gave him one! We passed by on Saturday night and ate some goooood Lomitos and he was working so we didn't get a lot of time to talk but he was like "Hey Hermana's I'm sorry but I didn't have time to read a lot in that book this week, I only read 5 pages but it was really good." UM 5 PAGES?!?!?! Sadly, that's more than some converts have read!!! We left him with some more to read and he is such a homie! I'm so pumped to keep passing by and teaching him! He's really interested and has a family so #MIRACLE!!!

My companion and I are doing SO GOOD!!! She's incredible! We seriously clicked so fast and I already love her so so so much! And I'm starting to catch on to her Argentine accent! She is 20 years old and she joined the church when she was 14. She served a mini mission for 1 transfer in Argentina so she really knows pretty much everything, I feel like she is training me! We have so much fun every day and I think she thinks I'm crazy but I love it! I'm seriously so happy! We are so busy all the time and I love it!

This week we were walking outside while it was really really hot and I was a little tired and you get the jist...my bag felt really heavy and I was like "Heavenly Father, my bag feels really heavy today, please help me to be able to carry it." The response I got back was "If you want your bag to be lighter, give away a Book of Mormon." I took that answer so simple and so profound. It really taught me alot. If we want to lighten our load, SERVE OTHERS!!!! There's your spiritual boom for the week! Love you guys! Hasta luego!

Ponderize: D&C 121:7-8

Hermana Nielsen 

Making popcorn in the church for Noche de Rama!

Being outside all day in 100 degrees is getting to me

Adios y Bien venida!

What a week! So crazy! Here´s what´s been happening:

*We got Hermana Austin ready and sent home on Wednesday! It´s still so weird to me that she´s in Utah with the snow and everything! We packed all of her stuff up on Wednesday night and while she was packing I was cleaning....I was in the kitchen and I saw a cockroach on the counter so I sprayed it with some bug killer and it ran into a crack behind our sink and so I sprayed a little in there......about 5 minutes later about 10 cockroaches came out and so I killed them all and sprayed some more in this crack...after like 30 minutes I had killed like 40 cockroaches hahahahaha #blessed It was an interesting night. 

*On Tuesday we found out the transfers. We knew that Hna Austin was leaving but we didn´t know for sure what would happen to me. They also changed the way transfers are for all missionaries and when you are leaving your area you have to travel alone hahahahah WHAT?!?! I was waiting for them to say April Fool´s but they never did....luckily Hna Austin and I got to travel together to the offices because I´m training!!! Crazzzzyyyyyy!!!! 

*My new comp is Hermana Ovejero! She´s from Cordoba, Argentina and she is a dream!!! I seriously love her so much! She´s really skinny (like literally skin and bones) but she eats more than me!!! She served a mini mission in Argentina and already knows how to do mostly everything but she´s just fresh from the MTC and is so excited to work! I am so so so so so so so happy!! I was really nervous at first and felt really inadequate but the Lord had literally helped me know what to do and how to do it in every moment, I feel really blessed! 

Here´s a funny story, we were teaching a less active named Emilia and we were talking about how hot it is and I told her that I want to cut my hair because it´s really hot and she was like "Really?!?!   When are you going to cut your hair??" I was like "I´m not sure if I´m really going to cut it, why?" She told me that if I cut my hair she wants to keep it hahahahahahah people here love my hair so much and it´s kind of scary. Don´t worry, I won´t give her my hair. 

Mango season is winding down which makes me really sad because the mangoes here are huge and soooo delicious! They are the cherry on top of missionary work in Paraguay! 

It´s been a really crazy week but I think I am the happiest right now than I have been in my whole mission/life. I´ve been able to really focus on the work here and the more I do, the happier I am! 

Have a wonderful week!! 

Ponderize: Alma 26:35 (read this chapter this week and I literally thought I was going to die of happiness)

Love, Hermana Nielsen 

No more bucket showers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guys! It's so good to hear from all of you this week! Some weeks feel longer than the others and when we get to email it's like Heaven! 

Random Notice: I am going to start sending better weekly emails so if I don't email you individually, don't feel bad....I just want to be better at letting you know what's going on in Paraguay!

THIS WEEK!

First of all, WE MOVED!!! Just in time for Hermana Austin to go home on Wednesday jajajaja. Our new house is really nice! Like we have a shower now and HOT WATER!!!!!! And there is a little dish washer that we don't know if it works or not or how to use it but I didn't know that those existed here!! It's a really cool place and the view is fun from our back window! I was too lazy to take pics of the inside this week but hopefully next week I'll send you some pics that will make you all jealous! 

We also had splits this week with the Hermana Leaders and it was way fun! I got to show Hermana Fuentealba around the mountain in Ybyraty! She's from Chile and it was just a fun day getting to konw a different missionary! She's really nice and her and her sister are the only members in her family so it was cool to hear about her conversion and how the gospel has affected her life! It's also fun to see my improvement with Spanish, it's cool being with Latinas because you have to say everything in Spanish so when you don't know how to say something and you don't have a dictionary, you've gotta figure it out!! I love speaking a different language, it's so hard but so much fun! 

This has just been a good week. We've been really busy which is good, I love focusing on the work! One of my favorite things about the mission is coming home at night and realizing that I haven't thought about myself all day. I love thinking about other people and stressing about their needs. It's really cool to watch myself change and grow. Sometimes I feel like I haven't really grown a lot on the mission but Heavenly Father always helps me see how I've changed and improved! Have I ever told you guys that I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY?!?!!

I hope that you're all surviving the cold and going back to school after the holidays..I remember that was always the worst part about Christmas break. We have transfers this week but I have no idea what's going to happen so I guess I'll let you all know next week! Pray for us! 

Ponderize: Alma 5:26 :)

Love, Hermana Nielsen 

The view from one of our rooms!

Infierno

I only have a couple of minutes so I´m just going to let you all know about a funny experience we had on New Years....It´s not really funny so don´t get too excited. We ate a HUGE dinner with a family from the ward that we are really good friends with and then we went home to bed...it´s been really really hot here so we were chillin in our AC and then we both fell asleep. I kept waking up every hour and I couldn´t figure out why until about 2 o´clock when I was dripping in sweat and my body wanted to DIE. Hna Austin was awake too and we realized that the power was out because it was raining really hard so our AC wasn´t working. We laid there for a minute and I was like "Hey Hermana, do you want me to go get a fan?" She replied with "HERMANA WE DON'T HAVE ANY POWER" Hahahahahahaha I was like "Oh yeah jajajaja" Then we started laughing and then we both laid on our beds dying (literally I thought that I was going to die in Paraguay that night no joke) and the power came back on and we had AC!!! I don't think my body has cooled down since that night but we are happy and working hard! And getting Hna Austin prepared to go home next week to a first world country....seeing our families and houses at Christmas really threw us off. We haven't seen anything that nice in 6 months/18 months. 

I love you all! Have a great week and keep working on your New Year's goals!!

Ponderize: Alma 7:11-12

Hermana Nielsen

I'm not drowning

Hi fam! Don't worry, I'm safe and okay! None of the flooding has hit our area....I actually had no idea what was going on until I read your emails.

We have been traveling all day today-4 hours in a bus just might kill me over. We went to Asuncion to do Migrations to make sure my companion can still make it home in 2 weeks. It takes us about 2 hours to get to the mission office and then we had to ride in a taxi to the migrations office and back and it's been a looooong day. We also have to ride a bus for 30 minutes every pday to email so that's why I took so long.

The past couple of days have been kind of overwhelming! It was so so fun and good to talk to everybody on Christmas-seriously it meant a lot to me to hear the voices of the people I love so much (my screen was black after the first 10 minutes but igual no mas jajaja).

After the Christmas festivities we've just tried working really hard. We've had a lot of random things going on this transfer so we haven't had a whole lot of time to work every day which is hard but we are doing the best we can! When we were in the offices today our Mission President asked if my comp and I could talk to him for a minute. Our branch is really struggling right now-the church attendance has dropped about 50 people in the last 2 months and there is no priesthood help, it's really hard! But President Wilson talked to us about things we could change and how he can help us because mission presidents are over districts and branches so it's really nice to know that he's concerned and willing to help. He asked me if I knew the area well and was going to be okay to know how to work with everything because my comp is leaving in 2 weeks, I was like "uhhhhhhh......si Presidente.....espero que si!" I was getting pretty overwhelmed with the work that we have in front of us because there's a lot in this area and sometimes it feels like we aren't even making a dent but Heavenly Father really gave me strength and comfort this week that I would be okay! I've had a lot of questions and concerns this past week and literally every single time I have opened the Book of Mormon and continued reading where I left off, the Lord answers my questions or gives me the strength I need. The Book of Mormon is amazing! 

Thank you for your love and support, I hope you all have a happy new year! I´ll be celebrating about 4 hours ahead of you all! 

Also, I have been praying this past month for guidance from Heavenly Father with the goals that I'm going to make for 2016-I usually make goals that I can just check off but I asked Heavenly Father to help me make some that are really going to help me progress and grow, I hope you'll all consider doing the same and asking Heavenly Father in prayer what you can do to make this year the best one yet! 

Ponderize: Mosiah 24:12-16 Heavenly Father really comforted me with this chapter this week! 

Love you all, 

Hermana Nielsen :)

This is where I wash my clothes when I have to!

Ypacaraí