Whitney late due to the Holiday

 (Whitney gave me (Laurie) some sunflower seeds for Mothers day, 4 in the cute little kit.. I was hoping for 100% growth, until the puppy found them.. there was dirt strewn everywhere in my bedroom.. miraculously after I scraped them up and put them into their pots, 3 of the four seeds have still sprouted/grown.. I shared this story with Whitney, and she starts the letter off referring to it).

 

Funny how you'd say that about the plants. Glad to hear the three of them are doing well :D. Its funny how I feel like sometimes Satan will strew all our hopes and dreams on the floor and then with the Help of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost (you fill it in with what you needed at that moment) we can become once again filled with that hope and become again a striving plant that is becoming what He wants us to be. And we're a little tougher because we CHOSE to grow even though the get go was super difficult.

CONGRATULATIONS DADDY!!! with the Tech Certification :D

 

Temple miracle this past week. I GOT TO GO TO THE LOUISIANA TEMPLE!!! and its two hours away from where I live!! So that isn't normal but we had a temple group going to do baptisms and so we got to go with them because we had a recent convert want and desire to go :D. It was a Tender Mercy to be able to say hey this is what peace is like and even though there is a lot of work to get here... It's alright. 

Speaking of tender mercies.
MOM I'm a YW councilor!!! haha so funny the Branch here is so small (35 people at church usually) that they need us to be quite a few things (we the Hermanas are YW, Sunday School Teachers, and relief society visiting teachers, and we're missionaries haha) We are going to girls camp next week and we have to come up with 60 things for 20 girls!

 

I'm taking this from my letter to Pres Wall because I loved how much it applies to all of us!

Book of Mormon Study has been very interesting, the most prominent thing that I remember is Helaman 5 when Nephi and Lehi are stuck in jail for preaching the gospel. A cloud of darkness overshadows the prison and the earth begins to shake. In this story there is a man who was once a member of the church and He remembers the things he was taught and while his friends are over there having a Panic Attack, this man looks towards the Missionaries. The friends ask him what they need to do and HE (not the Missionaries) tells them what is needed to be done!
I love this story because it goes with what I've understood to be the Mission... for lack of a better word "Goal". To bring those people back to the church and to "... retain and Regain worthy converts". It's helped put a perspective on the idea to do those things that are more important. TO gain a base for new converts to fall on until they have and desire their own testimony.

This gospel is so true! Its great to be fighting along side Him and even though each of us aren't perfect we got to do what the Tortoise did (tortoise and the Hare story) and just keep going with what we have and not stop like the Hare did because we thought we were so ahead.
I love you all!!! Keep plugging along and do those things that you feel keep you going in the right path.

Heavenly Father knows each of us and what we need :D.

I pray and hope all is going well for you.

Hermana Nielsen