I love you all! I hear that [some of you] are getting ready for missions. I am so proud of all of you and I am praying for you so much. There is no better decision I have made in my life than the decision to go on a mission. Yup. The thing I've been learning in my mission is that Heavenly Father is more concerned with our spiritual growth than in our comfort, but that just shows how much He loves us. Missions aren't easy, but they are the best things ever. For further reference, please read Alma 28:14. There are so many reasons to rejoice in your mission, even though there are reasons to sorrow. And if you're worried about the sacrifice of leaving family, go and read Mark 10:29-30. I just found that one in the temple today.
Speaking of that, I love the temple. We got to go today after 9 weeks of not going (feels like a long time). I feel such peace there and such love. Next time you go, you can too :) I know that Heavenly Father has so much to teach us as we prepare for the celestial kingdom. He lovingly DOES teach us, one step at a time. That's my testimony. I've had to learn lot of patience in this mission as each investigator progresses at a different pace, but that's surely how Heavenly Father feels about me. It's a privilege to be here.
So the big things that need reporting: Karen's mother told her that she'd rather Karen would wait - not get baptized so soon. But she didn't say that she opposed Karen getting baptized eventually...You know, this may be a silver-lined trial for Karen. I think her testimony will grow and she will get to meet more ward members this way first, which is a blessing. We haven't been able to see her this week because of school, but we hopefully will see her soon.
Also, General Conference was amazing, wasn't it? I particularly loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk about regrets. I really liked the thoughts of fulfilling potential and of letting oneself be happy now. I thought that this talk really deals with the timeline of a mission as well as of a life: I hope that at the end of my mission I can say that I've become the missionary Heavenly Father knew I could become, and that I let myself be happy during my mission, not just look forward to the next thing. I've definitely got room for improvement but this was a great perspective-changer for me. I know that the Lord is sending miracles everyday to us.
Speaking of that, Sister Lau and I went paak-muning last week and found a male investigator for the first time (for us)! This is important since we don't have elders serving with us right now. His name is Raymond and he lives near the church and is super prepared for the message. He's a student and accepted a Book of Mormon. We're seeing him tomorrow! Speaking of that, we're kind of the guinea pigs of the mission as we are the only sisters serving without elders right now, but we took some time to talk to Pres. Hawks this morning about things and we feel ready to go. It's not that difficult, really, in the end, once you work with your members. But we surely need them.
Speaking of our amazing leaders, we had a special meeting with all the sisters in the mission in which Pres. and Sister Hawks spoke. I have decided that I want to be like them when I grow up. They are so faithful to the Lord and so faithful and loving to each other. They really care about us missionaries. We had a Q and A section and someone asked Sister Hawks what a parent would like to hear in letters home, and she said the missionary's difficulties and testimony...I realized that I haven't really been totally good at that but I vowed to let you be more involved in the future with all the ups and downs. Suffice it to say, the miracles in a mission really stand out because the other bits are hard. But when looking back, you mostly see the good.
Hey, I want to share a miracle with you before I run out of time!
Remember Iris? She was a walk-in in Wan Chai chapel back in early May when I was still with Sister Wan before she finished her mission. She was amazingly prepared and then she quit answering her phone. Well, the other day the phone rang....and it was her! She had just lost her job again and thought of us missionaries again...She remembered how she felt that one time she saw us before. We have scheduled to see her tomorrow. I hope it works out! I realized that maybe that's one reason I was supposed to stay in Yuen Long so long...I'm the only one who knows her!
Well, clearly the Lord is in the details of our lives. I know He loves us and has incredible patience with us. I pray that we can all choose to do our part and accept the amazing gifts He has given us. Especially Christ's Atonement.
Love you!
Love,
Sister Nielsen
PS Hey, our P-day is now switching to Mondays! So, this Monday the 22nd is my P-day. Great, huh! It will be nice. Please to send me email before then. Thank you.
PPS I am actually dreaming in Cantonese lately! It's so exciting that I can't hardly sleep...no, I'm tired enough I definitely can. But YAY! It's fun!
PPPS Pictures: the inconquerable Yuen Long sisters, twice. One is in an aviary tower that we climbed last P-day. You can see all of Yuen Long from the top. And a letter that I wrote in Chinese! It's awful handwriting, but it's a miracle!
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