Sweaty, but not shaken

Wow, sometimes it feels like it was yesterday that I was emailing and then sometimes it feels like I haven't been on a computer for decades...haha weird how that all works! 

This week I got my new companion! Her name is Sister Hamm and she is from Ogden, Utah. She has been out for 3 months and she just got done training, so we will get some great insights on how we can help our area. 

We have been biking a lot and I turn into a sweaty monster so it is kind of funny! But the people don't seem to mind. We had the opportunity to have dinner with a less-active family and it was a really cool experience because we were able to talk to them about why they don't attend church. It was a neat experience for me because I have been studying a lot about conversion and how we need to get to a point in our testimonies where others can't shake us. Kind of like Jacob when Korihor came along and he said "I could not be shaken," I think that we all need to get to that point. I think that is a major reason why Heavenly Father wanted me to serve a mission. So I could figure that out, or at least gain more understanding than I had before. 

I hope you all have a great week and I hope that you are doing all you can to strengthen your testimonies every day. 

Love, Alisha 

Moore Miracles :)

I get the chance to stay in Moore for another transfer! Yeah! Sister Swensen will be going down to Texas and I will be getting Sister Hamm! 

The greatest experience happened this week! I think I have told you all about Paul? We found him knocking. We have seen his heart change and it has been so wonderful to see. He knew that transfers were coming up so he offered to take me and Sister Swensen to Red Lobster (deal, man!) haha and so that is what we did on Tuesday! It was such a cool thing because he just thanked us over and over again for putting his life back on course and how he is going to try harder in his marriage! He has been studying everyday and He can tell that his relationship with God has been strengthened! At the end he shook our hands and told us that we have saved his life. Such a cool man. I am grateful for the chance to meet him because I know that every contact doesn't turn out at baptism but that doesn't mean that it was unsuccessful. Paul will not get baptized because his wife doesn't agree with that, and he wants to make her happy. But he has changed, and that is what is important! Baptism can come later :) 

I love you all and I hope that you have a great week :) 

Love, Alisha

The District

"Let Us All Press On"

Hello! 

This week we had a couple of hard times, as we have recently have had a drought in our teaching pool. haha We have seen so many first contact miracles and then they fizzle out. How do you prevent this? No clue. If you know, help a sister out and spit some advice this way :) But anyway, after waking up in the morning after a rough day of work, "Let us all press on" was stuck in my head. What a tender mercy :) I had to write the first verse in my journal just to explain how happy it made me feel! haha and then I almost yelled "courage, for the Lord is on our side," but I thought writing it down would be a better form or expression at 6:30 in the morning!

Another miracle! We have been seeing a less active named Abby, recently she has had a huge change of heart and she has decided to come back to church. She has been there the last two weeks! Abby has just made a huge impact on my heart. She is a single mother to two autistic children, and every time I have been in her home and something arises she is so quick to respond with love to her kids. She talks to them with love and she talks to them about their Heavenly Father and how He would want them to treat themselves and others. I wish you all could see what an amazing lady she is. This realization just got stronger as I was sitting by them in sacrament and they were fussy and so I was doing the best I could to have them draw in my notebook or play with my Plan of Salvation cut out pieces. Life as a mother is rough but super rewarding; and I am not even there yet! haha 

Later on this week we had someone approach us with Anti information and at first it was scary and I doubted some things but right there the thought "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" popped into my head then the spirit just confirmed to me that I had not been led astray as this person had thought. I have had so many spiritual confirmations that I know that God would not confuse me like that, or anyone for that matter. I just thought that was a really neat experience and I am grateful that it happened. We didn't try to convince this person of anything, but I just bore my testimony about how I have come to find happiness and that is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope that you all have a great week :) thank you for your prayers :)

Love, Sister Nielsen 

Happy Summer :)

Hello Everyone! 

This week was a little hard because we have decided to drop people and then we have been dropped by people that we would never want to drop. haha missionary work :) 

This week I have had some pretty great studies and honestly I think that studies could be one of my many favorite things about a mission! haha So this week I studied about our purpose, not just our purpose as missionaries but also as members of the church. I was reading Moses 1:39 "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." That is His purpose so He provided a way to get back to Him through the atonement. Christ was sent to "do His Father's will" and we are asked to follow Christ! We all have the same purpose, just different jobs :) Many of you probably knew that but Sister Nielsen over here, some times needs a little time to have things sink in :) Do missionary work people, haha or temple work! 2 Nephi 2:30 "I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls." 

Have a great week everyone :) I love ya! 

Sister Nielsen

"All you need is love"

hello! 

This week was great! I had the chance to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday and it is still really hard for me. But I always feel like I get a lot out of speaking, so I am pretty grateful for it but don't sign me up for a little while :) 

This week was pretty great and we had the chance to experience many miracles! The best (not to compare miracles here) was when we went over to a less-active's house named Abby. Such a cool lady and she is super smart because she is a licensed counselor and all that jazz, so she gives us a lot of advice. The reason that she is less active is because she has two autistic children which makes church difficult. Well we went over this last Saturday and we were sitting on her patio and she just came out and said that she will be going to church next week!! WHAT?!?! haha she was offended a little while back and so she didn't show signs of coming back but she recently had surgery on her throat and through some experiences she and her ex husband want to come to church! oh man, it was the coolest thing ever because that is all we talked about! Her change of heart. 

So my talk this week was given on President Monson's talk on Love- the essence of the Gospel. It was great because honestly this is my whole testimony. The Gospel is based on LOVE. Love is the driving force behind the Gospel because Heavenly Father loved and still loves us so much that He provided us a way to return to Him and He is continuing to provide a way! I am grateful that He loves us enough that He has given us the fullness of truth here on earth today! WE ARE BLESSED! 

I hope you all have a great week! I LOVE you all! Stay classy. 

Sister Alisha Nielsen 

I have the greatest family ever.

Hey there. 

Happy Mother's Day. 

I was graced to be able to chat with the coolest family on the planet, which happens to be my family haha it was great to talk to you fellas and especially to my homie Elder Ethan Nielsen. haha really, though. I am grateful for my opportunity to be able to be with my family forever :) Mom, I hope that you had a great Mother's Day! 

This week was full of service and it was so great! We were able to help BB and her family (investigators) sand a room and we will be painting it this week. Oh my, is sanding hard work! haha I thought that my arms were going to fall off. But I was grateful for the chance to serve! Bobbie and her family are so great we have only been able to teach them a little bit but when we do teach them they have a desire to learn. We committed them to read from the Book of Mormon last week and hopefully we will be able to set up a church tour to help them get to church next week! They are really great! 

Yesterday I was studying about motherhood. Mothers day celebrated as a missionary by studying motherhood. I was studying and the first thing that came to my mind was the Stripling Warriors and their mothers. They had faith in the Lord because their mothers taught them to. I mean think about it, if you were to have children that did not doubt that they were children of God and that He can provide and protect them, wouldn't that be the greatest blessing of all? I think so. To see that your children are "firm in the faith" and they are supported by their testimonies and nothing in the world will shake them. I think that would be a parent's greatest joy....but I am not parent, I just studied about motherhood. :) haha 

Good tidings to all of you. I love you guys! 

Love, Sister Nielsen! 

GOOD. BETTER. BEST.

"Sacrifice is giving up something good for something better"

This quote was said at our adult session of stake conference this last week and it really stuck with me. Giving up something good for something better sounds like it would be pretty easy right? I mean if you think about it, of course you would want to do the better thing! If you wanted a single scoop ice cream cone that would be good, but a double scoop dipped in chocolate with nuts and a cherry on top would be better. (Not better for you, but better nonetheless) 

So I was thinking about this and wondering how we can become 'Better" and then voila! the Doctrine of Christ allows this in our life. Let's give an example of Sister Nielsen praying every single night. That is good and wonderful but maybe she just goes through the motions and checks things off a list when she prays? It is still good, but what would be better? If Sister Nielsen sincerely talked to Heavenly Father and let Him know of her desires and concerns and then she gave Him the chance to reply. This is just an example, but what good things are we holding back that could be better? I have a ton of things. So this week I have been working on my prayers. :) 

"It doesn't matter the speed, but the direction" It might take my whole mortal life to become better, (It for sure will, and then some), but it doesnt matter how fast I become better but it matters what direction I am going. Because if it was a race or about speed, we all know that I would lose because I am dang slow. :) 

I love you all. I hope that you have a great week :) Happy 2 years to Erika and Trevor :) and Happy 12th birthday to Evan :) 

"The church is not a museum of perfect saints, but a laboratory for learning saints" 

Love, Alisha