02. 24. 2014

It is Monday!!

So this Sister Missionary put it best when she said, the days feel like weeks, the weeks feel like months, and the months feel like days. It has almost been a month. Can you believe it? me yes and no. I feel like I am more stuck on the weeks feel like months haha I am so happy though

So I don't have a lot of time this week, and so much happens in a day it is impossible to share it all, if only you could all be here! You would never want to leave because it is just so edifying. I will share the highlights of my week.

The sisters and I love tracting. I like to call it tracting and laughing. The weather is perfect here so as we are out and about I can't help but smile. Sadly no funny stories this week of crazy things people say to us. Those are always entertaining. I see miracles though how the Lord really is directing us to where we need to be. Sometimes we go to an area and we meet and talk to people we know we were suppose to see. Other times we have no luck and go to another area where a family just got home 5 mins ago and if we would have been there any earlier we would have missed them. As we seek, we find. The Lord truly does put us in there paths or them in ours. Tiny miracles like that never cease to amaze me.

This last Saturday was one of my favorite days. We were put exactly in the places we needed to be at the time we needed to be. We were on exchanges so the Sister Training Leader, Sister Bonner, was with Sister Nielsen and I. We dedicated the whole day to giving service. So we prayed to see where we were needed. We drove to the area we felt like we needed to go and then bam. There she was, a little old lady weeding her yard. We stopped and asked if we could help, she said yes and begun to teach us how to pull weeds. She was so sweet. She actually went to West Minster college. She has had a lot of exposure to the Church and knew about missionaries although she had never met with them. We had such a great conversation. Her sweetness really reminded me of Grandma Pat and guess what her name is? Pat. Coincidence??? haha. I also found a four leaf clover in her yard, yes a four leaf clover. Now that is not just luck. She let us in her house and we shared a message about faith, how it is a little seed that needs nourishment. She completely agreed. We left her with a Book of Mormon and then made a return appointment. We will see her this Tuesday. So met our two new investigators, Jesse (her husband) and Pat Johnson. What a miracle.

Later in that day we also helped wash someone's car and were able to share messages along the way. We met a Buddhist who gave us his number so we could go back and have an open discussion with him. I can't wait. We also met a teenage couple Justin and Alanya. Justin said he doesn't know if he believes in God so we asked him if he would ever want to know? He said yes and gave us his number. I can't wait to meet with both of them.

The lesson I learned this week is you need to be persistent. Not pushy or annoying but persistent. After all it is true isn't it? Why would we let them get away with an answer of just no thank you? it reminds me of this quote

"My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness- be they family member, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent on each of us" _Thomas S Monson

He is dependent on each of us, would the Lord give up easily? No. He never gives up on us so I can never give up on His children.

I love you all so much. We have been extending the commitment to the ward members to pray every day for a week for missionary experiences. I extend the same commitment to you. The gospel is true, we have to share it in anyway that we can.

xoxo

Sister Niedert

02. 17. 2014

I am in Texas!

 

So first impressions.

1. it is flat flat flat.

2. It is warm and that is my kind of weather

 

Where do I even begin?

My flight went great. I sat next to a man named Rod. He is in his 30's, married, and has two sons. He is from Wyoming but works for two weeks in Texas and then goes home for two weeks. I was so nervous to talk to him because I could just feel the little voice in my head, "you are a missionary, you have to talk to people" haha So I said a prayer in my heart that I would be guided to what I could say to share the gospel with Rod and then started talking! We had a lot of small chat. He would ask what I was doing and I answered I am a missionary. Then we would sit in silence. So then I would ask have you heard of Mormons? and then he would say yep. Then more silence. I was thinking that this would go absolutely no where, and any minute now he was going to put on his headphones and that would be it. But to my surprise, He kept talking to me. And it was great. I honestly don't remember all the details to our conversation, but we talked about church and the importance of raising families the best you can. Teaching your kids to be good people and then hoping what you taught them was enough to help them make good choices. He told me that one day he would pick a church and go to it. So of course I said "well what about the Mormon church?" we laughed but that opened up the way to asking questions. It was a funny conversation. I remember laughing a lot but also feeling the spirit and bearing my testimony. I gave him the Book of Mormon and I promised him if he would read it with an open mind that he would see the importance of it. He promised he would read it, but he also made me promise I would read a book called the godmakers...pretty sure it is some anti-literature. So don't look it up haha that stuff is poison. But I told him I would at least read some of it so he would at least read some of the Book of Mormon. And there we go! The first Book of Mormon and the only Book of Mormon I have given.

 

So after training, dinner and a devotional, then the next day more training we finally got assigned to our new companion and area. I am serving in a trio with Sister Fullmer, and Sister Nielsen. We are serving in the Woodlands. First off, my trainers are the sweetest girls I have ever met. They are so kind and so loving. I feel lucky to have them. The second they were called up and were describing the area they served in I knew they were my companions. I know that we will do great work here. Second, the Woodlands is WEALTHY!!! the houses are literally huge. Like all the sizes of the Knoxs. no lie. We are very blessed. Our apartment is nice, has a big bathroom and plenty of room. It has a gym we go to in the mornings as well. We have a brand new car to drive as well. The members are so nice. I met a lot of them yesterday for the first time and so far since I have been here we have had dinners in members homes every night. They are so giving. I tell you all of this not to brag but just to let you know I feel soooooo blessed. The Lord has given me a lot in this area so I know now that the least I can do is give him my all.

 

So to try and recap the last few days as quickly as possible.

My first day out we went tracting, just for an hour. We knocked on doors and asked people if they would like to hear a message about Christ. The lucky thing is people here love Christ. There is a church on every corner, different churches I might add. So talking about religion here is easy and common. That is a blessing. The hard thing is everyone has strong loyalties to there church so it is hard for them to open there hearts that there is more to church then what they have. We ran into a lady who was outside with her granddaughter. Oh this was an experience. We started talking about Christ and she just started bashing. She told us that we are going to hell because we are leading people away from Christ with our "other bible" She told me that if I were to read it that book and study it more I would realize my wrong. I stood my ground. I told her that I studied the Book of Mormon daily and that I would stand by it until the day I died. She looked at me and said well I am going to Heaven, but I wont be seeing you there. What an experience for the first day. It is hard because most of these people believe everything we believe, they are just missing one or two of the puzzle pieces. You can't argue with them though so as we saw that all she wanted was to argue we respectfully left.

 

Sister Nielsen and Sister Fullmer have been working hard and we actually have a good number of investigators and progressing investigators. I haven't met a lot of them yet though. I met Betty and Eric McDaniel. They are a good family and we went and read from 3rd Nephi 11 with them. The spirit was there. Eric had done some reading in the book of Mormon. We testified to them that if they prayed specifically, and kept their minds and hearts open, that they would know if the book was true and if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I guess in the last lesson they had a hard time with Joseph Smith. But this lesson was a turn around and Eric said he would pray to know if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Lets hope he does it.

 

I have learned that you really can not do missionary work without the Lord. Duh that is silly to say but it is something that you really have to learn and strive to do. Saturday was a good day and definitely a good learning day. So the sisters had a total inspiration a few weeks ago to go around and ask if we could rake people lawns. The woodlands is full of trees. literally you can't see anything but trees. It is beautiful but has a lot of leaves as you can imagine. So that is why this service project is brilliant. They have found a few investigators from doing so. So Saturday we went out to found lawns to rake. We knocked on one door and the mans reaction was just so unexpected I had to laugh! He said "Guess what! I am excommunicated! I'm the devil!" and shut the door in our face. So that was exciting. The next door we knocked a young boy answered. He said he would ask his dad and then came back saying it was okay. So we started raking. About 45 mins into the little boy came out with water for us. It was so sweet. An hour later the dad came out. His name is Roul. His family is from Mexico but has been living in the states for a few years. He apologized for not being able to come out sooner but he was working. He was so kind and so appreciative of all that we had done. We told him we were missionaries and asked him what his religious background was. After discussing for a few we asked if he would be interested in letting us come back to share a message with him. He said yes, but he just needed to ask his wife. I couldn't help but feel pure joy. I know we needed to meet Roul that day, even if to just perform the service. This week we will contact him and hopefully set up a time to go and meet with his family.

 

So the learning part of Saturday. I was feeling really confident, and happy. We have had a few cancelations but other then that things are going great for the first few days. Well after a dinner appointment with a family, our phone fell out of my bag and into their car. So we got dropped off and had no phone. I felt horrible that I lost it. We were by an investigators house though that I hadn't met yet but the Sisters came up with the idea to ask to use her phone. That is exactly what we did and as we talked to her she started bringing up prophets and why it was wrong to believe in them and wrong to put a man before God. I tried my best to stay loving and it was going well at first. But then I stopped listening to the spirit and just wanted her so badly to understand why we needed a prophet. It turned into a debate and it was wrong. It wasn't heated but it was still wrong. I could tell the spirit wasn't teaching anymore but I was still trying. I could feel the difference of lessons that we had had early that had the spirit teaching. We left and I just started to cry. I cried because I realized that a mission is not going to be easy. I cried because I felt inadequate and then I felt homesick. I cried because I didn't know how I was going to be able to do it. But then I realized as the Sisters talked to me and comforted me that I wasn't suppose to be able to do it. The Lord needs to do it. The spirit is what does the teaching not me. I just need to trust and turn it over. Easier said then done of course. It was a good learning experience for me. I needed that. The song "how firm a foundation" came to my mind

"Fear not, I am with thee. Oh be not dismayed. For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand. Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand."

The Lord is with me and because of that I cannot fail and should not fear.

 

The Lord is with all of you too. Remember, we have been given this gospel not to just bless our lives but to bless others. Share it. We have too. We have to be bold because if we are not some people may miss out. We have to help everyone and love everyone. That is where true joy comes from. So be bold family, be an example. Always stand for what is right and you will be a missionary.

 

So Dad what is this nonsense about your hand???? surgery??? are you okay? no one told me. I do not like not being there! I am sorry Dad but I hope all is recovering well.

 

Mike tell me more about the dance! details people! Good for you Carter and Mike to go find lawns to mow. I hope you find lots and lots. Erin I love that you wear your purple Texas shirt and support me so much by putting posts on instagram. I feel your love. I love you sibling and miss you all.

 

Love you mommy and daddy. Don't worry about me, really Texas is going to be very good to me. Thank you for emailing me once again! Until next week! also give my love to the Holmsteads and their new pool, to the Remunds, and to Danielle and Ashlyn. as great as the ward members are here, no one is better then GV 4th ward.

 

xoxo  

Sister Niedert

02. 11. 2014

The MTC is obsessed with Frozen. So I hear the songs all the time, Elders and Sisters. It makes me think of my wonderful family. I love you all so much. 

Thank you for the emails and the letters. I get spoiled here. Knowing you all believe in me makes this all possible. The district loved your jokes Carter. It made me so proud to have such an hilarious brother. Congrats on your game Erin!! Your team is doing so well! Good luck this week with Jenna's team, you will do fantastic I know it. Just do your best and have fun! Mike when was preference??? Did it already happen or is it this weekend? you better send pictures! Dad I tried to get pictures of me cleaning the toilets again but we did different chores for our service. Thank goodness. Actually this time we vacuumed and It was worse then the toilets. We have to vacuum in between ridges haha oh service. Like I said last time though, it really is great. Also quit commenting on the messy room! We are all living out of suitcases, what do you expect??? haha I do make my bed every morning though. Can you believe it?? I can't. I guess the MTC really does change you!

So now what do I tell you all about this week. It was better then the last that is for sure! I can't believe it is already over. Where did the time go??? I am so excited to get to Texas though. SO excited! I just can't wait to talk to people, to help them come closer to Christ. There is so much joy everyone could be having in their lives right now it is incredible! I am honored that Heavenly Father trusts me to find his children, to be his mouth piece, and to help bring them home.

This week we had this thing called in-field orientation. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. it started at 8:30 am and ended at 5:30. we moved from two rooms the whole time. Yes there were beneficial things to it, of course! I did learn somethings....but it was LONG! the whole day sort-of felt like an out of body experience. hahah I can't wait for you boys to experience it soon.

I have had a lot of growing experiences this week. So the investigators we teach, the majority are members. But they are so good at playing their parts you would have no idea! It is crazy. The lord really does train his missionaries through role playing. When you teach the lessons, and you are doing right, by the spirit, it is amazing. you can feel the love from Heavenly Father in the room. Teaching is not easy though. It takes a lot of faith and trust. You have to overcome your doubts and fears in order to let the Lord work through you. That has been my biggest growing experience. Letting go and letting the Lord work through me. I love the opportunity it has given me to grow though. I know it will only continue too as well. 

So I have a few favorites of the week to share with you first is the sunday night devotional we had. It Stephen B. Allen on the missionary board spoke to us and it was great! He showed us all these old LDS commercials and then used the ending catch lines and applied it to our missionary work. haha hope that made sense. I will share my favorite quotes. 

"When everything says you can't, believe in the part of you that can" 

"It's not who you aren't, it's who you are. and being yourself is being great." 

those two stuck out to me a lot. They can be applied to any aspect of life so I want you all to remember them okay??

My second highlight was last night. Our district for our last district study got together and had a small testimony meeting and then all the elders gave each of us a priesthood blessing. It was so special. There is just something strong about being in a room full of missionaries with their hearts on one purpose. My blessing was just what I needed. I am so honored that I have a family with worthy priesthood members. The boy who gave my blessing just turned 18. I couldn't help but think of Mike. I am so proud of you boys. all of you, Dad, Mike and Carter.
 

So I have heard this quote and every time you miss me I want you to think of it. 

"A missionary is someone who leaves their family for a short amount of time so others can be with theirs for eternity" 

When I think of bringing the joy of a forever family to peoples lives I cry. because I know that my forever family is what brings me the most joy. 

Be good everyone! Pray everyday and read at least one verse a day! And know that I LOVE YOU!

xoxo 

Sister Niedert

02. 04. 2014

Family!!! 

I have been looking forward to this day ALL week long. It makes me so happy that I am actually crying (that isn't out of the ordinary for me though). there is SO much to tell you that I doubt I will be able to tell you all but I promise to do my best. First things first. Thank you so much for your package and your letters. It meant the world to me. Each one of your letters have given me strength when I needed it. I loved your picture you drew for me Erin, and your testimony. It is so beautiful and so strong, you will make a great missionary one day. Mike I love you. Your letter was sweet and to the point. But you are so right, you better start mental preparing yourself now for this day because it is the hardest thing you will ever do, but I can promise it is the most worth while thing you will ever do. You will love it. Carter, oh my gosh I laughed so hard at your letter hahah especially the second letter in proper english. I miss your stupid puns everyday. Each of you have a great testimony and that is what I could feel the most when I read your letters. Man, I have the best support system ever. Mom and Dad, don't be mad, I haven't read your letters yet, I started reading moms and cried so hard that I decided I better put them away and save them for a different day. I can't wait to read them. Even looking at them I feel of your love. And last thing thank you for all your dear elder letters! It makes me smile so wide when I get to read them, keep them coming! 

Okay so the first day was the worst. I cried, hard, walking away from you all. and it didn't stop for about an hour. Everyone just looked at me and instead of saying "welcome" they said "are you okay?" haha truth be told I wasn't. I already ached to hug you all one more time. Then I met my companion. Oh boy. She is a ball of energy and a goof! she is always SO happy and seeing her and her excitement made me so excited myself! The coolest thing is I know that Sister Colton and I wouldn't be friends out of the MTC, we are just so different, but this is what makes us strong. And because of the love you feel in the MTC, I love her with all my heart. I'm still getting use to being with someone all the time, but it will come. So we met the rest of our district and I have grown to love them so much. We have the best district. Everyone is 19  and one Elder is 18 so I feel really old haha but I can testify that these Elders and Sisters in my district were part of the reason the age requirement was changed. They are all so prepared and I learn from them every single day. We have class every day twice a day for 3 hours. That is alot of class but it honestly goes by so fast because you are so caught up in the spirit and the excitement of things! Sister Colton and I have 3 investigators right now. Scott, who we have taught 3 times, and then Chae who we taught for the first time last night. We then teach Lance tomorrow morning. Teaching is harder then I thought it would be. I had a rough lesson with Scott yesterday. It just did not go well. There was no purpose and honestly it felt like it was just Scott and I in the room and I was drowning. But you learn from your mistakes. Teaching is all about the investigator. It has nothing to do with you. It is all about loving them, finding their needs, and then teaching principles of the gospel they need according to their needs. It is important to study because as you go in there to teach you need to be prepared so the spirit can direct you in anyway it needs too. It is beautiful, but can be intimidating. I am working on Faith right now. There is so much more to faith then I ever thought. Having true faith and being converted to this gospel, having true charity, is what makes you a great teacher. It has nothing to do with you and how well you can speak memorize and teach. Missionary work is all about others. 

Okay I only have 20 more minutes! ahhh where does the time go? I have had amazing spiritual experiences here. The word I use to describe the MTC is love. It is all about love. Love for the investigator, love for your companion, love for your district and love for your zone. Most importantly though love for your Savior and Heavenly Father. There have been times during class, and during teaching lessons where I have literally felt the Saviors love for the others with me. It was so strong it was like the savior was right by me. It is such a beautiful opportunity to be a missionary. Christ is right by you and he is right by you because he loves all of his children and he wants you to bring his children back to him. It is a big responsibility and i feel honored he trusts me with it.

Alright, I have time for just a few more fun facts. 1. I had to clean 40 toilets the other day so kids, stop complaining about your chores! (It was actually fun haha it was nice to do something else other then sitting) 2. I got sick the second day because of the orange juice. I threw up. 3. the food is actually really good! 4. everyone LOVES your sugar cookies mama. 

I miss you all. Today I get to go to the temple and I can't wait to just sit in the celestial room and think of all of you! We are so blessed to know what we know. Oh happy anniversary Mom and Dad! I am thankful for your example to me but more so for your testimonies. You have blessed my life and all of our lives so much, I love you and will forever be thankful. Okay Im going to send some pictures now, boy ending this email is another one of the hardest things I have done. Never forget how much I love you and also stop missing me. I have never been doing better in my whole life and I have never been happier! 

I LOVE YOU!!!!!

xoxo 

Sister Niedert

(oh thank you for sending me the calling card, I haven't gotten it yet but when I do I will let you know! also next emaill I will let you know my flight schedule and when I will be calling! I CAN"T WAIT!)