Transfer Week

So another transfer has come and gone!

Sister Olsen got transferred to Canandaigua! I was so sad to have her leave! We were such good friends and I'm going to miss her so much, but she'll do great things in Canandaigua and she'll get home the transfer before me so I'll eventually see her at home! 

Now for the big news:

Introducing my new companion: Hermana Davis. Hometown: Smithfield, Utah (home ward, Same as Dad's). Graduating Class of 2013 and was also in Mr. Rigby's 4th grade class with me. Haha I seriously can't believe we're companions! When we got transfer calls on Monday I was seriously so excited to be her companion. I knew it would happen eventually! She's so great! And everyone in our area already loves her!:) It's going to be a great transfer!:)

Sister Olsen and I had a pretty great last week together! Norma is still doing really well. She came to church and just loved it! We had met with her on Friday and she had told us that coming to church was either going to make or break her decision to be baptized... No Pressure... But we prayed really hard that she would be able to feel the spirit while she was there. She was a little worn out by the end of it, but she absolutely loved it. She said she just learned so much and she just felt right at home! It was so funny, as we were walking out of Relief Society, she turned to me and asked "Why was that lady doing a crossword puzzle? Shouldn't she have been paying attention?" haha She is just such a crack up! And Monday, when we met with her she was talking about how she's got the beginning signs of Alzheimer's and how she worked in an Alzheimer's ward in a hospital for awhile she she said she's only expected to live for about 10 more years and then she said "That's if I live long enough to die..." When she realized what she'd said we all just cracked up laughing!

Then when I was on exchanges with the Pal-Mac sisters, I went with Sister Stoddard to do service for a member. They had told the sisters that their basement had been flooded for a few weeks and that they'd kept the door closed the entire time so it didn't stink up the house. Sister Stoddard and I were both expecting the worst. We were expecting ankle deep water, smelling like we were in the sewer, with unidentifiable objects floating around, but as soon as we started walking downstairs she took a deep breath and turned and looked at me... No smell... So we walked downstairs and there was literally no water on the floor. They'd had a de-humidifier down there. The member handed us some trash bags to start throwing away things that had been destroyed. The only things that had any signs of water damage was a wood post.. Haha So instead of cleaning out their basement, we put together a shelf. Tender Mercies are all over the place!

I just love this area so much! I love the people! I love the sites! On Saturday and Sunday I was able to take this family through the sites. One of the daughters had served here 8 years ago. One of the others was preparing for a mission in NYC and the other was a sister in one of 'The District' videos that all missionaries watch as they're being trained! That family was so amazing. The mom is a convert and now 8 of her 9 children will have served missions! I'm so lucky to be serving in such a special place!

Every single day, as I focus on where I am and the things that happened here, I almost get emotional because I'm literally living in one of the most sacred places in the world, doing one of the most sacred works that can be done. Because of the Restored Gospel, there are so many truths that have been such a blessing to my life. Eternal families! What a comfort to know that I'll have my wonderful, crazy family FOREVER! Answered prayers: We know that we have a LOVING Heavenly Father, who will give us truth as we are prepared to receive it. We are loved: Our Heavenly Father has given us so many tools to help us be happy and successful, not only in this life, but in the next. I LOVE this gospel! I'm so glad that I have it in my life!
I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Love,
Sister Nield 

 

Throwback Thursday

Hello everyone! I just want to start off by saying THANK YOU for all the love and support. This week I've just been extra grateful for the people that I have in my life, who help me to be the person that I am and motivate me to be better each day! I've got the BEST friends and family and I will FOREVER be grateful for that!

This week has been pretty good! We've spent a lot of time in the sites and have had a lot of really good experiences! We had a family come in from New Caledonia (a French speaking island off the coast of Australia) and only the mother and the children were members. It was really cool to have the kids bear testimony of the Book of Mormon and to have the father hear it. You could just see his countenance change as time went on. 

Saturday when we were on exchanges with the Fairport sisters, there was a HUGE miracle that happened. We were getting ready to head out for the day and all of a sudden I hear this big gasp. I turn around and Sister Walsh (from the Amherst ward) and the sisters and STEVE came in! Sister Walsh just hugged me for like 5 minutes and then Steve went to give me a big hug! haha He started talking about the first day that Sister McLaren and I knocked on his door, when it was super dark outside and in the negatives and how we looked like Popsicles but that he just felt something so powerful when we came. He had stopped meeting with the sisters for a little while, but then started again just a little while ago. I took him through the Publication Site and we talked about the Book of Mormon and the purpose for it and how it's helped him. It was really funny because at the very end, we were having this discussion and I asked him what changes he though God wanted him to make because of the things he'd learned. Him: "I know you're talking about baptism." Me: "haha I sure am. What would keep you from being baptized Steve?" Him: "I don't know..." Me "Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true?" Him "Yes" Me "Do you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet?" Him "Yes" Me "Then what would keep you from being baptized?" Sister Walsh : "Remember how you wanted to get baptized in a lake? Summer is almost over" Him: "I guess I better do it soon huh?" Me: "You tell me the date and I'll be there:)" So they're working to figure out a date for him to get baptized!:) I'm so thrilled for him!
Then James received the Priesthood this week! And when we met with Norma, we got her to agree to come to church! At the end of the lesson, we had her pray and she just started bawling and thanked Heavenly Father for sending us to her so she could change her life. Oh my goodness! If that didn't bring tears to my eyes I don't know what would!

Being a missionary is the most fulfilling calling in the world, at least that I've had so far (Some people say being a mother is pretty great:) haha) But I absolutely love being able to see these people change and to see them build their own PERSONAL relationship with our Savior. Jesus Christ is literally my best friend and I've come to know Him so much better on my mission. His love is unconditional and always present. He is ALWAYS there!

I love you all! Thanks again for all you've done for me!

Love Sister Nield

 

 

Another Week in Paradise

So things at the sites are starting to slow down. The weather is starting to cool down. I just keep thinking to myself: "It's August. This is still summer. This is supposed to be the hottest month of the year.." But nope.. It's starting to feel like fall here! Luckily, it makes it a little bit less sweaty when we do our run every morning. But today, Sister Olsen thought it would be a good idea to, instead of running, do lunges up the Hill Cumorah. We'll see if we can move tomorrow.

This week has been so great! Sunday, James had his interview with the bishop. He walked into Sunday school a little late but walked in with a big smile on his face. I asked how it went and he said "I get ordained next week!" AH! It makes me so happy to know how excited he is about the Gospel! I hope I never lose my excitement for the Gospel because it really is such an amazing blessing. I don't want it to ever become commonplace.

Norma finished reading the Book of Mormon. She loved it! We were able to have a member come pick her up and we took her to the church for a lesson and a church tour. The spirit was so strong and when we walked into the chapel her jaw just dropped and she said "Wow... do you feel that?" It's amazing how well she can recognize the spirit! As we were leaving, I had this feeling that we should also take her down to the temple (which luckily is basically across the street). So we drove down and sister Olsen and I take her out and we're just standing in front of the temple, talking about the blessings that it brings. She just started crying. She felt the spirit so strongly! The temple is where the Lord wants Norma. So yesterday when we met with her, we asked what would keep her from being baptized. When she couldn't think of anything, we were finally able to get her to set a date! September 19!:) It was also such a tender mercy because when we went over, Becky (her daughter that I was teaching when I was in Canandaigua) was there and I got to tell her to get her booty back to church!:) I LOVE Becky! 

I'm just so amazed that I get to see so many of these people that God has prepared for His Gospel! The Gospel really does have the power to take hard lives and make them much better, but also has the power to take good lives and make them better as well. It doesn't matter what your circumstances are, the gospel will help!

My "non-spiritual" high light of the week was when I was on exchanges with one of the Newark Sisters, we had a dinner appointment with this family and the dad is a Falconer. So... I got to hold a Falcon!!! Cross that off my Bucket list!:) Haha it was the coolest thing!:) 

God is Good. He cares about us. He doesn't just care about the big things but He also cares about the little things. 

I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Love Sister Amanda Nield

 

 

In The World but Not of The World

I can't even tell you how wonderful this week has been! So many wonderful blessings!

First and foremost! JAMES IS NOW OFFICIALLY A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS!!!!! Thursday was his Baptismal interview! It went GREAT!!! Then Saturday was the big day! He was baptized and there was such a great turnout from the ward! They're so great! His girlfriend's dad baptized him then confirmed him on Sunday! I have never seen him look so happy! The gospel is such a blessing and the spirit has just really impacted him! And now he has the gift of the Holy Ghost which makes it a million times better!:) It was funny because when we were first explaining him to the bishops wife, we told her how he was GOLDEN! He has a job, a car, and all his teeth (Which in western NY is an amazing phenomenon if you have all three!!) and after the baptism we overheard her telling him what we'd said!!! Haha SO EMBARRASSING!! Sunday he was confirmed and it was so funny because, literally, almost every single person that bore their testimony bore their testimony TO HIM!!!:) They talked about their conversions and different things like that! It was so cute, there was even this little old man who got baptized a year ago who got up to tell James that if he needs any books to read, like teachings from the prophets, he'd be glad to share!:) 

Then today we had interviews! Um... I LOVE PRESIDENT FRANCIS!!! He just always knows exactly what to say to help me! Everything he said today was everything I needed to hear! We also had a picnic on top of the Hill Cumorah before our interviews! Who else gets to do that? No one..:)

We met with Norma again on Monday! She's just chuggin' along in the Book of Mormon! She'd already read through most of 3 Nephi! So by now she's probably done! We're trying to get her to the church for a church tour this week and hopefully to church! It's a bit of a challenge when she doesn't have a car to get her there! But we've got some great members who we're trying to get involved!

This month I've been focusing on the Christlike attribute of diligence! It's amazing to also be studying the New Testament and to see how Christ really is the perfect example of diligence! He always gave 100% to everything He was doing! He fasted for 40 days and still didn't give into temptation. Even when it would've been so easy for him to tell the multitudes to leave Him alone for awhile, He welcomed them with open arms and taught them all that the Father wanted them to know! While in the Garden of Gethsemane He could've easily given up and had the Father "remove the cup" from Him, but He didn't. It probably wasn't always easy for Him to give ALL of Himself ALL of the time, but because He did, WE have the chance to receive eternal salvation! Because He did, we have the perfect example to help us in our times when it would be so easy to only give a half-hearted effort. With His help, we can do all things!:)

What a blessing it is to have the Restored Gospel in our lives!!

I love you all! And I hope you have a fantastic week!

Love Sister Nield

P.S. James does smile I promise! We just can't capture it on camera!