The Absolute Last Call for Christmas Cheer

Okay Blog Readers, this is the last call for Christmas emails for Sister Nielsen - I am mailing them off to her on Wednesday. Thanks to all who have contributed - I really appreciate it and I know Sister Nielsen will love them! If you wish to add your Christmas wishes and thoughts to the bunch please send them to jenessafinland@gmail.com (please make sure you spell her first name right). Thanks so much! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sister Nielsen's mom

"Look what I found in a Finnish thrift store! Yep, that's the Salt Lake Temple!!"

"We decorated cookies"

Sisar Thayne and Sisar Nielsen on exchanges

Ahhh The Temple

"When I say I'm on a train this is what it looks like :)"

"A member shared a taste of home with us"

"I should be studying Finnish"

Sisar Nielsen and Sisar Bitner

"S and I in our matching glasses at church - can you see my pink eye? not fun"

12/8/14 - Your Faces Light Up This Dark Finnish Winter

This has been a really good week, in spite of the fact that many things have gone really badly. Throughout it all, this quote has been going through my mind:

Be grateful. Be happy. Know that the Lord, in His time, will bring about all your righteous desires. Sometimes in ways we predict. Others in ways we could not have possibly forseen. Those who delight in the Lord even in times of adversity will carry with them through their trials an inner and abiding peace - Jospeh B. Wirthlin

With that being said, I will recount to you some of the miracles and trials for this week. Let's save the best for last so we'll start with just some of the trials. This week I got pink eye! It's the worst! Especially as a missionary. Plus it's been raining all week (which is just aweful) so everything is muddy and wet (including my glasses). "Hey, I'm Sister Nielsen do you want eternal life?... oh wait let me dry off my glasses so I can see your face." Yeah, not fun. Oh also, remember that way awesome American lady? We got a text from her and she said she doesn't want to meet again. So that was really sad. It's also been so dark lately! In the whole month of November, the sun shined a total of 13 hours. Yep, you read that right. In the past 2 weeks, we've only had 20 minutes of sunshine. The sun rises really late and sets really early, so basically we're always in the dark now. Plus it's always so cloudy that even if the sun is up, we can't see it. And to top it all off, I can't find my memory card anywhere! Like the memory card that has my entire mission minus the last 5 months on it. I opened up my passport case (a very safe and secure place to keep it) and it wasn't there. I literally about died. So there goes the pictures from my mission... 

But friends, as I mentioned above, this week has been a really good week and that quote has been sticking in my mind the whole time. I can't even describe the peace I've felt this week. Even the incredible peace I felt as I wrote the above paragraph. Everytime I have gone to get upset (especially about my memory card) I feel like I'm wrapped up in a blanket of peace and I just feel so good. It's seriously the WEIRDEST thing. It's like I go to get mad, remind myself how frustrated I am, and tell myself how this is basically the end of the world and then I just can't help but feel happy and grateful to Heavenly Father. I just keep getting this feeling in my heart like "everything's okay." When I watched the "He is the Gift" video again this week, the thought came to me "this is what is most important. everything unfair in life is swallowed up in Him." It was such a humbling experience for me to feel so peaceful and calm when it seemed that everything around me was falling apart. It's so interesting for me to think about the Sisar Nielsen a year ago and the Sisar Nielsen now. The Sisar Nielsen a year ago would be pretty irate and probably depressed right now. The Sisar Nielsen today just feels... happy. And I'm not saying this to be like "wow, everybody look at me and how righteous I am" or "wow, I'm just such a good person now." No, I don't mean any of that. All I mean is that Sisar Nielsen today understands the Atonement of Christ more than she ever has in her entire life. I've felt the power of the Atonement more now in every aspect of my life, not just the repentance part. And as a result, He's changed my heart. I encourage you all to come closer to Christ and really work to understand and apply the Atonement in your life more. I promise you, you will feel happiness on a level and a depth you've never felt before. 

So let's move on to the miracles of this week! Tuesday we went and did exchanges with some sisters that I just love! Their area has really been struggling lately and we prayed that the Lord would help us know how to help them. When we planned together Monday night for our adventures the following day, both sets of companionships had only a couple lessons and lots and lots of extra time. We made it a goal to use the "He is the Gift" campaign and focus the whole day on bringing others closer to Christ. We set out on Tuesday with that in mind and had an AMAZING day! We seriously just focused on really testifying about Christ in every contact: on the street, bus, and train. Throughout the whole day, this sister and I could not stop laughing! We were full of so much joy from telling others about our Savior. We got on a train and this man that had been waiting near us came up and asked "may I sit with you?" we were shocked because Finns NEVER talk to people they don't know and so of course we said "absolutely." He said, "I just have to tell you something. You two shine. You have a light in your eyes. I could see it while you were waiting for the train. Your smiles and the light in your faces light up this dark Finnish winter. I was shocked by how happy you were and how much you glowed, until I saw your name tags. Then I realized why: 1. because your Americans but 2. because you're Mormon missionaries." He emphasized the last part. We were shocked. He is a very strong Catholic, but we had a great conversation about Christ. It was so cool that Christ really is what unites all of us. We all need Him. He is the Savior of us all. We were able to share the "He is the Gift" video with him and he was really excited to watch it and said that he has a Catholic blog he writes every week and he might just include our video on his next post. It was a really cool experience. Later that day, we were on a very crowded bus. I was standing because there weren't many seats and I saw a woman at the front of the bus wearing an orange hat. I had the feeling "go sit by her" so I turned to my comp and said "I'll be back" and I walked up and sat next to her. And guess what... she was ASLEEP. Well, I did not just walk the length of the bus for her to be asleep, so I made some noise and moved around until her eyes shot open (hehe) and then I turned to her and was like "hey, how are you?" She was from South Korea and we had a great conversation. I told her I was here as a church representative and she said "oh, I don't believe in Christ. I'm buddist". Well I also didn't move over here to get shut down this quickly, so I brought up the He is the Gift video. The Spirit got waaaay strong as I testified of Christ. She said "yes, I want to see this video" and took my card. She then jumped up and said "oh, this is my stop! but have a good night. and thanks for waking me up :)" She then got off. It was a way cool experience. When the four of us gathered together that night, we counted up our numbers and realized that we had solidly taught 25 PEOPLE about Christ that day! It was a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE. It was seriously amazing! The sisters looked SO HAPPY and we all left feeling so good. They said that that day alone almost fulfilled all of their goals for the whole week! We told them to wake up the next day and do it all again. We got a call from them on Thursday. They were like "sisters.... we have been teaching so many people! Are our numbers supposed to be this high?... is this okay?" we assured them that this is in fact AMAZING and to elevate their thinking and keep raising their goals. Ahhhh this He is the Gift campaign is taking over Finland! I love it! :)

We also had a way cool opportunity this week to be invterviewed by a journalist. He is about to graduate from college and for his big final project he decided he wanted to write about Mormon missionaries. Our President called us up and asked if we would do it. It was so cool to meet with him and answer questions about what we do and why we're here. At the end he was like "so... if people want to learn more about this and your temple, what do they do?" We explained that we teach them and give temple tours. He paused and we asked "would you like a temple tour....?" and he quickly responded "yes I would love one!" so we're meeting with him again this week. Super cool!

Saturday was Finland's INDEPENDANCE DAY! HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY SUOMI! We got to spend it with one of my favorite families here. And oh my word the food was AHHHHMAZING. I about died. They have a tradition where they light 2 candles and set them by the window in honor of the soldiers. They let me be the one to light them this year :) It was so fun to celebrate with them and they treat me like I'm part of their family :) On Sunday in church, the person that said the prayer prayed for the missionaries in our ward. He then said "bless Sisar Nielsen, Sisar Bitner, Elder..." and proceeded to list out the names of all 6 of us missionaries in the ward! It meant so much to us that he prayed for us BY NAME. Pray for the missionaries in your ward by name. If you don't know their name, go up and ask them or at least just look at their name tag and write it down so you'll remember. The work of the Lord will go by even faster if we truly help each other and work together. For the closing song, we sang "Finlandia hymni" (Finland's Anthem to the tune of "Be Still My Soul." Fun fact, the composer is actually Finnish so it's a Finnish song) and so many people started crying, including me. It just really hit me how much I love this land. How much I love these people. How much they mean to me. And how much I will miss them when the time comes to say goodbye. I love Finland. I love the trees, I love the sun. I love the snow, I love the chocolate, I love the fresh air. I love the thousands of lakes, I love the temple. I love how crazy the language is. I love how it's a refuge for foreigners. I love the peace. I love this place. 

So moral of the story, Christ lives! He is the gift! And with Him, we can be happy and have peace, even when we experience trials. I love you! I love this gospel. #sharethegift this Christmas season. 

With lots of love, 

Sisar Nielsen

12/1/14 -PLEASE - More Letters for Sisar Nielsen

Another call out for emails for Sisar Nielsen for Christmas - I've extended the deadline a week (lucky for you:). Please send them to jenessafinland@gmail.com and I will print them off and send them to her as a package - it's all she's getting Christmas morning. The more the better so pretty pretty please with a cherry on top? It doesn't have to be long or eloquent, unless you want it to be. And if you don't know her? Great! She would love to hear from you! Thanks a million to everyone who has already done it! Thanks so much everybody! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jenessa's Mom

Sister Training Leaders

Turkey Bowl

Thanksgiving!

12/1/14 - He Is The Gift

#sharethegift. So as I'm sure you've all heard, the church has launched this huge new Christmas initiative called "He is the Gift." Oh my word. It is seriously the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I am so PUMPED to be a missionary this Christmas season and spread the message of Christ throughout the world. We had MLC (mission leadership council) earlier this week and our President trained us for how we can best use this campaign here. He explained to us how it will be all over youtube, Times Square in New York, in every copy of the Liahona and Ensign church magazines, and all over social media. Oh my word you guys this is HUGE! Then he showed us the video and words cannot express the feeling I had in my heart. I felt like it was going to overflow. It hit me so hard. He is the Gift. He is Christmas. This Christmas season, share the gift. Tell others about Christ. And be BOLD in doing it. Why wouldn't you be bold?? What have you got to lose? You are spreading the message of the Savior of the World. Will you shrink from your call to be a disciple because of your fear of people's opinions or will you stand bold and tell the world the you know He lives and that He was given by a loving Father for you? Make a goal right now to tell as many people as possible about this video. Spread it so it will take over the whole world. And watch it over and over again to remind yourself what Christmas truly means. christmas.mormon.org

So to kick off this week, we had a good old fashioned turkey bowl in the snow. It was freezing to say the least and I couldn't feel my hands by the end, but it was still fun. It was nice to have a taste of home. A shout out to my brothers (and Dre), you better watch out when I get home! Imma beat you all at football! You don't stand a chance! That night we headed to a smaller city called Kerava. It was extra fun because my old comp Sister Heggie is there. It was nice to reunite with her and have a blast going on splits. I went with her trainee which was super fun as well. It's crazy how I really am the "experienced" missionary now. She kept asking me questions about my mission, what I wish I'd known, what I've learned, etc. It was way weird. We contacted this guy and ended up having a great teach with him about the Book of Mormon. He took it quite graciously and said that he really was interested in reading it. I love the feeling of giving a Book of Mormon away. It is seriously the best. The Book of Mormom has helped me so much, that I can't help but want to share it with others. 

Also this week we met with this way cool American woman named L. It was our first real meeting with her and it went amazingly. She is just hungry for the gospel. Seriously though. She's lived here for about 6 years and is a very spiritual person. We simply taught the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. I had a really humbling, cool experience. I was telling her the first vision (we recite to people Joseph Smith's exact words) and the Spirit was really strong. Now, I've got this thing memorized in English and in Finnish and have probably said it on my mission about 1,000 times. Well, as I'm in the middle of it, I mess up and say the wrong line. I was shocked and thought "oh my word! I cannot believe I just messed that up! I ruined it.... I never mess this up... what do I do now?!" and suddenly this incredible peace came over me and I just corrected it and finished it. The Spirit was very strong and I had this feeling come into my heart that said "see, you're imperfect but my message is not. As long as the Spirit is there, it's ok if you make a mistake. I won't let you mess up my work." I felt so much peace and gratitude. I know that God really is with me. All the time. Every moment of everyday. This is His work. And I am SUCH an imperfect person, yet He still lets me be a part of it. The Spirit is the real teacher. It was a very valuable lesson for me, not only for my mission but for my life. I want to always live my life in a way that I always have the Spirit with me. I can't function without it. 

Thanksgiving in Finland. HOLLLLLAAAAA! I love Thanksgiving. It sure doesn't beat Thanksgiving in good old Amuuurrrrica but it was still fun to celebrate it here. We went over to a member's house that is a Finn but was born in Canada and lived in America for a long time. Her Finnish husband and son were there along with S and L from Taiwan, and our friend H and his brother from Vietnam. Sister Bitner and I were the only Americans. I guess you could say it wasn't the most "traditional" Thanksgiving but it was so fun! And it was fun to introduce Thanksgiving to all these people that have never celebrated it before. It was so cute because we went around the room and shared what we were grateful for and L looked at me and said "that I met the sisters and can learn about Heavenly Father." Oh my word I thought that my heart would burst! She is just so dang cute! S too said that she's grateful that she met us. Ah, I'm so grateful that I made the choice to come on a mission. I think about how I wouldn't have met all of these amazing people here and it makes me want to cry. I'm so grateful that I made that choice. At MLC, Sister Watson made us Thanksgiving dinner and I about cried! It was so good. God bless America :). And Finland! We got to go to the temple again at the end of MLC. This temple is seriously the MOST amazing place ever! I'm going to miss it with all my heart. I only get one more chance to go :( I love it so much. It has become a part of me. It is "my temple" now.

So going back to this He is the Gift campaign. Sister Bitner and I wrote the website on all of our pass along cards and set out on Saturday with the intent of telling EVERYONE about it. Well, we ended up talking with everyone and their snowman about it and had such a BLAST doing it. It seriously gave me the extra fire that I needed to shoot me forward. We ended up teaching 10 people in one day, 8 of which were unplanned! It was a miracle day! We didn't focus on the numbers at all throughout the day, we just focused on telling the next person about Christ. And that's really what this whole thing is all about. Everybody loves Christmas. We all talk about the "Christmas Spirit" and the magic that Christmas brings, but really that Spirit that we're feeling is the Spirit of Christ and that magic we're feeling is the joy He brings. I can't believe that it's already JOULUKUU (December)! My how time flies! I can't wait to light up this place with the Spirit of CHRISTmas!

On Sunday we were asked to do the music in the Primary. At first I'm gonna be honest, I was a little frustrated and stressed, but it ended up being a great tender mercy. It was so fun and the kids are so dang cute! I love singing the primary songs that I adored as a child in a language that is now so special to me. When the little kids all sang "Oon lapsi Jumalan" (I Am a Child of God), my heart felt so full. I remember singing that song as a little kid. I love singing it now in Finnish. It has brought so much more meaning to the song for me. I am a child of God and He has sent me here. He loves me. "For God so loved the world," and Sister Nielsen "that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. This Christmas season, remember and focus on what this gift means to you. Because God so loved YOU. 

"The first gift was not wrapped, had no bow, wasn't purchased online or in a store. The first gift of Christmas was a simple gift, a sacred gift. It wasn't gold or frankincense or myrrh. It was a gift of love and life and peace and hope given by a Father to all His children. 'For God so loved the world.' And so loved you, and every single one of us. He gave His Son. He is the Christ. He is Christmas. He is the Gift. This Christmas season, discover the gift, embrace the gift, share the gift." --He is the Gift video. 

I love you!

Sisar Nielsen

Greetings blog readers!!! This is another plea for letters for Sisar Nielsen for Christmas. A huge thank you to everyone who sent them last week! I really really appreciate it - they are wonderful and I know she will love them!! To everyone else,  PLEASE just send a quick email to Sisar Nielsen wishing her a Merry Christmas and letting her know who you are and why you enjoy her blog - what have you learned? did something make you laugh? cry? inspire you? You can say whatever you want - it can be 2 lines or 200! Please please please! Email them to jenessafinland@gmail.com (make sure you spell her first name right). These letters will be her whole Christmas morning in Finland before she arrives home January 1st to her presents under our tree. Thank you so much for supporting and loving Sisar Nielsen - I know how extremely busy you are and I appreciate you taking time to send her some Christmas cheer. Deadline is December 1st - no time like the present to make someone's day - both mine and Sisar Nielsen's :) Merry Merry Christmas!!!!
Love,
Jenessa's mom