Hello!
I have officially been in the MTC for over a week! And I love it! It's been really hard, but I love being here so much :). I love waking up every morning and putting my name tag on. It feels so amazing knowing that I carry Christ's name on me at all times. The spirit here is so strong. It's amazing how much love there is here. Everyone loves each other, the people they are preparing to serve, and the Lord.
The broadcast Sunday was amazing. (World Leadership Broadcast concerning missionary work - broadcast from the Marriot Center) The spirit was insanely strong there. When the apostles walked in, the whole place went silent and everyone stood up. I was overcome by love for these great men. And I know that they are called of God. I feel so lucky to be a missionary at this time! The work is hastening, and I get to be a part of it! I was so proud to stand there with my fellow missionaries and feel the strength and power that is with us. Afterwards, we walked from the Marriot center at BYU back to the West Campus where I live. I seriously felt like a celebrity! During the whole walk, everyone kept honking and waving at us. People came up to us and expressed their love for us missionaries and were so excited when I told them I was serving in Finland!
Finnish is ridiculous! Seriously, there is absolutely NO WAY that I will be able to learn this language on my own. Absolutely no way. The only way I will be able to is by the power of God. I have definitely been humbled and tried, but I'm soooo excited to become the person the Lord wants me to be! I love the people of Finland so much and I can't wait to show them God's love for them.
Tuesday all of us Finnish missionaries woke up at 3:45 am to travel to the airport so we could fly to LA to get our visas. Once we got there, we realized that the travel people had messed up so 8 of us were supposed to travel on Tuesday and 7 of us were to travel on Wednesday. Well guess what... I was one of the 7. So I had to get back on the bus (without my companion because she was in the group that went Tuesday) and go back to the MTC. I was tired, frustrated, and grumpy. But it's amazing how the Lord is all knowing. That night, we had a devotional in the Marriot Center with all of the missionaries and I really needed to be there and experience it. It was put on by Janice Kapp Perry, and it was AMAZING. Two of the other missionaries in my district, Sister Hubner and Sister Vincent and I joined the choir for the devotional and were on the screen while we sang. No big deal, I'm just kinda famous. Then Sister Perry gave an amazing devotional. She put a medley together of some of her primary songs and we all sang it. The spirit was unreal. It included songs like "I Love to See the Temple" and "I Belong To the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". It was amazing singing all of these primary songs that I love and realizing that they are so applicable to my life today. At the end of the meeting, we sang her new version of the EFY Medley. Instead of having "As Sisters in Zion" it has her new song "The Sisters in Zion". And we all end with "And we are NOW the Lord's missionaries to bring the world His truth". We weren't told to stand, but we just couldn't help it! We all just stood up on our own and sang our hearts out. Everyone on the stand stood up and the spirit was indescribable. The power as we sang was overwhelming. I feel so humbled and amazed to be part of this army. This truly is the STRONGEST army the world has ever seen. It doesn't matter that we don't have guns, or tanks, or fighter pilots. We have truth, and the Spirit, and a determination that will rock this world.
Wednesday we woke up early and traveled to LA. It's amazing the power that comes with this name tag. I had no fear talking to anyone. And I was so conscious of every move I made because it was obvious that everyone was watching us. We went to the Finnish consulate in LA and got finger printed and answered some questions... and I totally embarrassed myself! Shocker! When the lady asked if I was learning Finnish, I said "joo" which means "yes". She asked how it was going and I said "Suomi on tossi tossi lukea". She was like "huh?" and I was like "huh?" and she was like "what did you say?" and I realized that I had tried to say "Finnish is very very difficult" but instead I said "Finnish is very very to read". dang it. oh well, hopefully the language will start coming faster. After wards we went to Panera (hollllaaaa!) and to a look out and saw the beach. Then we got back in our shuttle, went back to the airport, and flew back to Provo. It was the most exhausting day EVER, especially since I had awakened at 3:45 two days in a row. But oh well, it was worth it. And it was so cool being in the LA airport and having random people come up to us and thank us for serving and ask us where we're going and tell us that their son, daughter, grandson, or friend is currently serving a mission. This church truly is world wide! :) KIRKKO ON TOTTA! (the church is true!)
Well my time is running out! I tried to send pics but it wouldn't work! I'll send some next week!
KIRKKO ON TOTTA.
Love
Sisar Nielsen
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