Tough times...but keeping on!!!

First Thanksgiving In Georgia!!!

Hey all,

So it is true that i am struggling with anxiety, but more recently with depression... at least that's what i think it is... i have all the signs of it... i am unhappy, i often fell angry, hopeless and indifferent to everything kinda like i am just going through the motions... and i don't laugh anymore, i laugh to be polite when someone says something funny or makes a joke but y'all know me... that is not how i am... i live to laugh, i love to laugh and the fact the i haven't really makes me sad... but to put your mind at ease, and make you aware... i will tell you that i am getting help (as hard as it is for me to ask for it), i am being taken care of. I really desire to serve the Lord with all my Heart, Might , Mind and Strength... my heart is in the right place , but my mind is a little off and with out my mind i cannot serve my Lord, and because of this, i have forced myself (with a little encouragement form my comp, whom i love with all my heart!) to ask for help so i can be an effective servant!  

Please don't worry to much about me, and just know that i am being taken care of. I truly believe that the Lord takes care of his missionaries and although i don't know that reason he has given me this trial, i know that there is a wise purpose that the Lord has for it and that all will be ok. I love you all and thank you so much for your prayers and fasting in my behalf. I will get through this... i know i will (it is just hard to see when i am in the thick of it)... the Lord does not give his children anything that he will not help us through. maybe i must learn  to trust the Lord more and allow him to carry this burden instead of me carrying it on my own... it's just hard to do when i feel so depressed that i can no longer feel the spirit... let me tell you... this is the most lonely and hopeless feeling and believe me, i can hear Satan in my own voice in my head telling me that i a truly alone, but i KNOW without a doubt and no matter how bad i feel that Satan is a liar and that my Savior suffered these things for me specifically so that i would never ever be alone i know that he is truly beside me and because of this i must press forward! I would ask that you mail me talks about the atonement and others that you think might help me further my understanding of the atonement so that i can give this burden to the Lord. And if it isn't too much trouble, i would like to have my art portfolio... i just want something to remind me of the one talent that i sort of posses... and i have people here who have discovered my talent by snooping in my planner and seeing doodles, and now they want to see the real things... wow that sounds totally boastful....

Anyway on a less depressing note!!! thanks giving was GREAT!! although i was away from family i didn't even get sad at all... we were up and going, visiting family after family and it was just a good day! I am disturbed by the amount of food we all ate, but it was totally worth it.... ok so this was our day... 9:00 am borther and sister bowman's (sister galts daughter) house for breakfast, them 11am Adrienne's house (recent convert) for brunch 1pm Lunch with bro and sis adams 2:30 stuffing at and investigators house 3pm dinner with the tuley and johnson family 5pm another dinner with the Qureshi family.. and then dessert with the carlisle family at 7pm.... i don't think i have ever had so much food in my life... all four of us were so full that by the end of the night none of us could sit up stright... it's pretty dross that we ate that much food, but my stomach hurt so bad and we were running all over that i didn't have time to think of what i was missing at home. I was pretty happy! for the first time in a while...

So it sounds like y'all had a pretty awesome thanksgiving... im glad that eirc was able to get home for it this year.

So we have another baptism coming up on saturday...the family will be getting baptized... oh yeah and we are doing it in Lake Laneir.... and it's gonna be cold... im just glad i don't have to get in the water  its an interesting story actually... so the Elders found  the father and started teaching him and then his wife  was very upset with him for speaking to the Mormons, because she had been raised to believe that Mormons were a cult so she was very. When joey had found out for himself that it the book of Mormon was true, he of course wanted her to know, so he bore his testimony to her, and she decided to hear the lessons... so the elders called us and said that they wanted us to teach her, so we got all excited and ready to teach her and then she decided that she didn't want to anymore and tried to get joey to stop meeting with the elders, she tried bringing over her pastor form her church and looked up anti on the computer and everything... finally when he would not give in, she just decided to appease her husband and just get baptized with him... so we began to teach her and challenged her to read and find out for herself... she did, and as she began to read, very attitude toward us changed and she was less hostile and all the very pointed and argumentative questions that she had were eliminated as we taught her that Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught her all the lessons and challenged her to do different things and she accepted whole heatedly and we know that she is keeping her commitments because we can see such a change in her... she quit drinking her sweet tea, cold turkey and enforced it for her family, she sat down with her husband and they figured out how they would pay tithing and are completely willing to live it! She now comes to church with her little family and loves having us over. Her countenance has changed and softened, and to be honest she is the rock of that family, i have no doubt that she will remain strong even after we leave. I am so excited for them and i know that they will never regret this decision to be baptized and come unto their Savior! Oh how the Lord loves this family and is blessing them for their dedication to him! So it will be Her and Her husband and their 11 year old son who will be baptized! so exciting!! I have gained a testimony of the power of the Book Of Mormon. The Book of Mormon changes behavior... because when we read this book, the spirit is with us and causes us to want to change! How can this book not be of God! I am coming to LOVE this book!

Anyway that is what is happening here in the field. I haven't heard anything more about the bikes, so im not going to worry about that till i actually come to it.

I can't wait to talk you y"all on Christmas! hopefully i get to skype!

well i better get going and i hope y'alls week goes great!

l love you and miss you

Love sister nielsen     

11/12/12

We have 2 dinner appointments and a dessert appointment for thanksgiving so far.... last year my comp had 7! i really hope we don't get that many. We defiantly don't starve here in Suwanee. the members LOVE their missionaries and do so much for us! a lot of the missionaries here call Suwanee, Zion... ha ha. it it really great here though. A lot of the members are either vegan or vegetarian... so i have had vegan spaghetti and it was actually really tasty!  

Oh, you would be proud of me, i ate banana pudding yesterday... still not my favorite thing in the world,but i ate it anyway! So here in GGeorgia they use Pine Straw for a lot of their landscaping... all it is, is pine needles that they put in their flower beds, instead of bark or rock.... very strange... that is want we try to remove from our flowerbeds.

We taught the 12-13 yr olds Sunday school class on Sunday. It was really neat, we taught them about honoring their parents. Sundays are so crazy as a missionary... I have a hard time with Sundays because i have to go and meet members in the ward and it really gives me anxiety, i really don't like it, but i try really hard to do it, so by the end of the day on Sundays, i am completely depressed (because this shouldn't bother me) and exhausted. I have noticed that my anxiety has gotten much worse in large groups... during zone conference i couldn't talk to anyone without breaking down into tears. I feel so stupid... i hate it so much!!! My comp though, is so great,  she really helps me through a lot, and is very patient with me when i just break down! i love her so much!

So we have been meeting with the Lavoie family every week and this last week they told us that they were coming to church every week for the next month! and we taught them the very last lesson and i got the opportunity to invite them again to be baptized... i was SO nervous, but i followed the spirit and it turned out just fine... they didn't say yes, but they told us they would think about it... so they didn't exactly say no... but they are coming to church and we are going to continue meeting with them. Hopefully soon, i will be including details about their baptism. this family is SO close. James has tremendous faith, he just doesn't realize it. He is such a good man, great father to his children and a respectful husband! He pretty much practices and believes all that we as members of the church practice and believe, but im not sure that he understands his relationship with his loving Heavenly Father. i think once he internalizes that, everything will fall into place!

Saturday, we went and knocked doors around a less active members home, when she didn't answer her door. we went to the next door and knocked. I was so nervous because Sister Berrett told me i would be taking lead on this one, so i began frantically assembling phrases to say in my mind and then a teenage son answered the door so i introduced us as the LDS missionaries AKA the Mormons and we hared his dad call from  the living room "why didn't Romney win" so we told him that we were politically neutral... blah blah blah... and then he said "why don't you come on in and have a seat" Stunned... Sister Berrett and i looked at each other and made our way to his living room. We sat and talked to this man about our church and we taught him the whole first lesson, discussed his beliefs (he is baptist) and our favorite scriptures, he was so open minded, spiritual and very kind. we left him with a Book of Mormon and a chapter to read, and he committed to read it and pray about it. we will talk to him again in a few weeks. We had NO time to prepare this lesson for this man because we had no idea that we would meet him, but we were able to teach a flawless lesson and the spirit was there. I was completely calm and confident. i was so grateful for this experience and i am really praying for John, he would be so much fun to teach! he and his family are so great! I spent a total of 30 minutes with this man and his family, but i already have started to love them, i am again, amazed at the ability i have as a missionary, to love so quickly. This work is so hard and frustrating at times but just when it seems to get unbearably hard, the Lord in all his mercy gives us a break, by helping us find those who are prepared, and it makes ALL the frustrating times worth it... i can't even begin to describe how much i love this work, and these emails don't even do the experiences justice. i can't wait till i actually get to pull an all nighter and talk about everything!

So with the huge influx of missionaries, due to the announcement, all missionaries will be put on bikes.... sisters included, so ive got to figure out a way to get a bike... this should be interesting. And, now i am stressed out, because the possibility of me turning around and becoming a trainer after i have been trained (at three months old)... is very high, i am not a leader... never have been, and the possibility of me having to train a baby missionary freaks and stresses me out! anyway... this is missionary life... lol very stressful but very much worth it!

I love you all so much and i hope all is still well Give tenna some kisses and squishes for me!

 Sister Dannika Nielsen 

11/5/12 short letter home

We have had an awesome week this week and i really wish i had the time to write it all out, but this p day has been crazy and i don't have alot of time to write. but here is just a little bit of what happened!

we had a wonderful experience with the Lavoie family! Thursday night they called us and asked if we would come over with the elders so that they could give Brandon (their son) a priesthood blessing. he had some sudden health issues. so we went over there and while the elders blessed brandon, the spirit filled the living room. it we tangible. After they blessed brandon, they gave sister lavoie (jenne) a blessing and again the spirit filled the room, even stronger this time and everyone began to cry. they blessed her with peace of mind and comfort. i can't even begin to describe the feeling  that was in that room! and Heavenly Father didn't stop there, the elders blessed their 11 year old daughter because she was having anxiety about the whole thing with brandon's health issues so they blessed her and again the spirit was so strong. we left that house knowing with out a doubt that the Lavoies knew that the power of the priesthood was real! 

Oh i really wish i had time to tell you everything

i love you all and amglad that you all are doing well

love you so much

Sister nielsen

Letter From Mission Pres.

This letter is a little late, we received it on the 15th of October, But I didn't get the chance to get it typed in until now.

Dear Brother and Sister Nielsen,
Sister Nielsen Arrived in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission Safely and in very good spirits! We are thankful that your daughter has been called to serve with us here in theirs great mission. It is a privilege to work with the finest young women and men in the world as we teach the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will receive it.

We have enclosed a photo of sister Nielsen taken with us on her arrival at the mission home. We are excited to have the opportunity to become acquainted with your daughter and to feel of her spirit and testimony.

Our goal is to have every missionary grow in the gospel and succeed in this very sacred calling. it will be a joy to watch her reach her full potential as a missionary. We know she will have sacred experiences, as she is obedient and dedicated to the work . we hope you will also support your daughter by writing or emailing her uplifting and encouraging letters. Missionaries struggle when they hear disturbing news from home. They can't stay focused on the work and they worry too much about home. Missionary work can be challenging and they need your weekly letters to give them spiritual strength and encouragement, not concerns about home.

We are so thankful that your prepared your daughter to enter the mission field where she will continue to be strengthened and grow in the sospel. We know it is a sacrificeto give up your daughter for eighteen omnths, but the Lord loves her and needs her to build the kingdom in the Georgia, Atlanta North Mission . We are grateful to serve with your daughter and will certainly take care of her and lover her as if she were our own. May the Lord bless you and your family for making this sacrifice and sharing Sister Nielsen with us for the next eighteen months.

Sincerley

President Mark A Wolfert and Sister Carol A. Worlfert

 

Georgia Atlanta North Mission.

Sister Merback is the one in the black shirt with the red belt. She really helped Dannika When she got to the MTC. they entered the same time, were in the same district in the MTC and both went to the same mission.

Hiking Amicalola Falls

11-5-12

P-day must have been spent partly hiking. Sister Galt sent the picture of the girls after they hiked Amicalola falls . Her weekly email was posponed, because I took the week off from work, and she sends my emails to work...so next week will be two!

Birthday Wishes From Georgia

Dannika May be 2000 miles away, but Sister Galt Made sure she got birthday wishes to me on my birthday.  And in usual artistic "Dannika Style".

The Galt Family is very Kind to the missionaries. Sister Galt is one of the ward missionaries, and brother Galt is the bishop of Swannee ward. It looks as though they take very good care of the msionaries...first carving pumpkins then on halloween, the missionaries had dinner at their home.
Sister Galt is wonderful to send pictures home via Text so we get them the same day. Although Dannika is missed in Idaho, It seems that she is being taken care of and not missing out on festivities.