Alma 26:35

This has been an awesome week!

I had an exchange in Tahoe again which is always a great time. This time I was with my awesome STL Hermana Gatten! We had a blast, and I got to meet lots of people who knew my companion when she served in Tahoe.

When we were finding in a certain apartment complex, we went to ring a doorbell and just found a bunch of wires sticking out of the wall. So, me being me, I just touched the two exposed wires together, and we heard the doorbell go off inside! Hermana Martinez thought it was the coolest thing ever, so of course she had to try. After a few moments a woman actually came to the door, and I imagine she was thinking something like "I took the doorbell out because I didn't want to hear it..." but she wasn't mad, and we were able to set up a return appointment with her!

On Saturday we watched the general women's session of conference with Evelyn (while filling up the font!) and it was amazing! I loved president Uchdorf's talk (shocker, right?) and his story of how the missionaries found Hariot. It made me think about how, as a missionary, I am helping to find someone's eternal companion! They are just waiting for someone to find them and bring them the gospel. I can't ever give up, and I can't ever stop working. Future generations are counting on me! (no pressure)

After the conference we had Evelyn's baptism!!! It was amazing. Roberto was able to baptize her, and he was nervous, but he did really well. Her hand didn't go all the way under the first time, so she had to be baptized twice. After Evelyn was baptized, she said "I just feel beautiful!" and she looked beautiful too! Evelyn and Roberto are some of my favorite people, I just love them so much!

I might not have converted thousands of the Lamanites like unto Ammon and his bretheren, but after Evelyn's baptism I don't think that any man (or woman) has ever had such great reason to rejoice! Evelyn is such a beautiful daughter of God, and watching her take this important step towards her eternal progression is something I will never forget!

Investigadores y la Iglesia

This has been another great week! First of all I would like to thank every English teacher I ever had for all the bits of grammar knowledge I never thought I would use. Hermana Martinez and I are helping to teach English as a second language for our service, and I love being so prepared to answer questions. It is awesome knowing English, but also having the experience of learning Spanish as a second language. It helps me relate to all of the women who are struggling with various aspects of English. I am realizing more and more how the knowledge and experiences that I have gained, in school, life, and on my mission, give me an increased capacity to serve others! Remember that you have unique talents and abilities that you can use to bless the lives of others!

Yesterday we had 2 investigators come to church for the first time! One of them, Miguel, was actually a former investigator. We dropped him because he never read the Book of Mormon or came to church, no matter how hard we tried. We were shocked when we saw him waiting for sacrament meeting to start. He told us that he (finally) read the introduction to the Book of Mormon, and he realized that he needed to come and see what he thought about the church. Seeing him at church was a huge miracle this week!

As a missionary, church is an entirely different experience. The hour right before sacrament meeting is the most stressful time of the week, because we are trying to contact investigators, make sure they have rides, talk with members as they come and make sure that our investigators have someone to sit with. During sacrament meeting yesterday it was so hard to focus because I was so busy thinking about what my investigators must be thinking and hoping that they are having a good experience. The members are so critical during this time. We were thrilled to see plenty of members talking to Miguel before sacrament meeting. Unfortunately, when we talked to Miguel after church, he said that he was disappointed to see someone sleeping behind the pulpit. Oof. It made me think of Alma 39:11. As members of the church (especially missionaries!) we have such a huge responsibility to represent the church well. Every member has made a covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ, so we are all his representatives. 

Yesterday a member took the sacrament for the first time in a while, and with tears in their eyes they spoke about how strongly they felt the spirit, and how much more they appreciated the gospel after losing it and finding it again. That was a powerful experience for me, and it made me remember how special and sacred the sacrament truly is. 

Oh remember remember... remember your baptismal covenants and who you represent!

Life in Tahoe!

So it's transfer season, and I'm going all the way to... South Reno (my current area) and my new companion will be Hermana Martinez (my current companion)! I'm actually really thankful that I don't have to leave all my investigators (at least not yet...)

I may not be getting transferred, but this week I did have the opportunity to go on an exchange in Tahoe! It was so pretty there! And it was with Hermana Monroe, who was in my district at the CCM! It was great; it felt a little too much like vacation. In the morning Hermana Monroe and I went to the beach for exercises. She even made me breakfast that morning, she is awesome!

Yesterday we had a "Why I Believe" fireside where recent converts share their testimonies. It was in English, so we couldn't invite most of our investigators, but we were able to invite Evelyn and her boyfriend who is a member. They are young so they speak perfect English. It was such a powerful fireside! They both cried; I'm glad that they were able to come!

One of our investigators let us hold his pet lizard, so that was exciting. 

This week, between bright blue Tahoe and beautiful sunsets, I am thankful for the beautiful world that has been created for us. We have been given such an amazing place to live, and it was created by priesthood power, the same power that we have in our church today! Wow.

Loving Life!

I had my first zone conference this week! I learned so much (including how to check all the fluid levels in my car!) President and sister Chesnut are seriously the best, I love listening to them speak. All of the missionaries who are leaving soon were invited to bear their testimonies, which was so powerful. They all agreed on 2 things: their time in the mission flew by, and they wish that they could stay longer. It made me really think about how much I have to cherish my time here. I want every day in my mission to feel like the best day of my life (and some days that is easier than others!)

The six missionaries in our Spanish branch were invited to a wedding this week for two members in the branch. We went to the reception as our dinner for that night. It was so funny because all the missionaries kept talking about how trunky they were getting being at a wedding. It didn't have the same effect on me; I think I'm still scared of that whole "marriage" thing. That's good though, I'll let it stay that way until I get home!

I don't think I fully knew why I was serving a mission before I came.This week, I was reading my patriarchal blessing, and I realized the reason: before coming to earth, I must have looked some of my spirit brothers and sisters in the eye and promised them that I would find them, and teach them. I have never been so motivated to find people! Here is something to consider: I bet every single one of you, even those not serving missions, made similar promises. Your friends and family members who don't have this amazing gospel might be waiting for you to share it with them, even if they don't know it. Prayerfully consider who needs to be reminded of their divine potential.

-- Hermana Nielsen

Pictures: 

-The Reno Zone at Zone Conference!

-At zone conference, they used "pineapples" as a metaphor for prepared people. Don't question it, just go with it

-The wedding cake was pretty cool! Too bad we didn't have time to stay and eat it :(

-My companion and I are matching today. We are so cute

What an awesome week! I had my first exchange on Tuesday/Wednesday. My STL came down to my area, so I felt a lot of pressure to know the people and the area! Luckily Hermana Gattin has served in my area before, so she was at least familiar with the roads and everything. Hermana Gattin is awesome, it was so fun working with her. 

We've started doing service at this organization that helps women in poverty. Many of the women are trying to learn English, so we help them practice. Last week I had the opportunity to help a woman, who only spoke Spanish, to check her email. It is so cool how knowing another language is already opening the doors for me to serve others! 

It rained for the first time yesterday! I took a picture because I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes! The rain reminded me of a talk by president Uchtdorf; I have definitely felt blessings "raining" down from heaven this week!

In Branch Council yesterday, I tried to say "pero..." but I accidentally said "perro" which means "dog." My branch president thought it was the funniest thing. I am just too good at rolling my r's. What a funny problem for a gringa to have!

This Saturday we had a branch picnic, so the rest of the week Hermana Martinez and I invited everyone we possibly could to come. On Friday we decided to stop by and see an investigator named Maria, and she was actually home! We were so excited, because we've been trying to track this lady down for weeks. We have seriously been stalking her house; we thought she disappeared off the face of the earth. We didn't have time for a lesson with her, but we talked to her and her kids for a few minutes and invited them to the picnic. Saturdaymorning, Hermana Martinez and I were stopping by the house of another family to try and make them come to the picnic. Well, they never answered the door, but I told Hermana Martinez: "All I want is for Maria to come. If she comes I will be so happy." My wise trainer then asked, "Have you prayed about it?" so I decided to stop and say a prayer right there. Seriously 10 seconds into praying, the phone rang, and it was Maria! We were a little scared because we figured she would be calling to give us an excuse. We answered the phone, and she said that she was already at the park, and she wanted to know where we were! We were so excited, we ran back to the car and drove over as fast as we could. Talk about a miracle. She came with 4 of her kids and 2 grand kids! It was awesome, definitely the best part of my week. 

Don't forget: prayer is powerful!