Heavenly Father is Aware of Our Needs

March 25, 2015

Family and Friends,

I am worried about the weight of my suitcases. I have started packing today. We have around 14 lbs of books. Plus, I apparently can't bring a backpack as a personal item. I'll have to send it home. I am already about at 40 lbs. for my carry on and that is the maximum! AHH! It's crazy. 

On Monday at 3:30 am I check into the Travel Office! My plane leaves for Atlanta at 7am. Wow! Early!

Swedish is coming slowly, but surely. It's a lot of memorizing. It's crazy that I'll be there in less than a week. Thank you for all your support! 

This week I was walking home from class and I hat a thought that I should say "Hi" to Jessica Beatty. She lives one floor under me and was really homesick. I was able to comfort her and I wrote her a note. She said she had been praying for Heavenly Father to send her some comfort and I was able to answer that prayer. I am touched by the way Heavenly Father is aware of our needs! 

Flowers at the Provo Temple. This picture is especially for you, Mom!

I got my travel plans for Sweden last Friday! I leave on the 30th!

We do this thing called TALL all of the time. It's a language learning program for missionaries, kind of like Rosetta Stone without the pictures.  It's really helpful!

The last picture of our Zone! The Danish Elders (there were 6 of them) got here one week before us and left this past Monday.

Sister Duncan and I. She is going to the Netherlands. Sister Duncan played 4 years for the University of Utah Soccer Team.

Packing round 2... it's a nightmare.

My Travel Itinerary.

Only a Week and a Half till Sweden!

March 18, 2015

Dearest Family and Friends,

This was a great week. Only a week and a half until I am off to Sweden! It is insane! I feel like I have been here a lifetime and I also feel like it has gone fast.

I have been thinking about something Sister Bradley told me before I left. She said that I just needed to be bold and speak. I need to open my mouth- even if it is embarrassing because I am slaughtering the language. That's okay, that's how I learn. I am trying to be more fearless, and I feel like I am skyrocketing with the language. I'm trying to apply myself and memorize words and it is INCREDIBLE what God is helping me remember. I'll be sitting in a lesson with an investigator, teaching in Swedish, and the words I will have worked to memorize just come to me.

We pray a lot here. On a personal level, with my companion, Sister Mecham, as a District and other times. I can absolutely testify of the power of prayer. When I tell God what is in my heart, I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that He is listening and answers my prayers. Teaching investigators the Gospel has made my question the strength of my own testimony. One of the first things we teach is that we have a God who weeps with us when we weep, that he feels our pain, that he loves us incomprehensibly and that he wants us to talk to him. I know that what we tell them is true. I have no doubt that God listens to me and he will listen to you.

This week Sister Mecham and I went in to teach our investigator, Kirsten, who has been having a hard time keeping her commitments to pray and read the Book of Mormon. We were planning to teach about Christ, but I just never felt really like that was right. I went in and just felt the spirit directing me to teach again about praying and reading the Book of Mormon. Sister Mecham was so good and went along with it, even though we had no communication beforehand. We jumped in with both feet and taught by the Spirit, even if it wasn't what we had in mind. It was exactly what she needed! I'm so grateful for the Spirit.

I read Isaiah Chapter 40 recently and it was AWESOME. It reminded me of Shakespeare and I love Shakespeare. :) I want to share a part that hit me really hard. It was what I needed. I encourage you to read it. Isaiah 40:29 and 31 say: "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth their strength. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." I testify that is true. God has given me power and strength. The MTC is hard. The schedule is hard. Swedish is hard. But I am flying with eagles wings through my Savior. 

Jag älsker ni så mycket!!!

Syster Nielsen

I was SO excited to get my package!! I cannot even explain to you how happy the Harry Potter stamps made me. I was so, so, so happy. I LOVE the stamps!!

SO HAPPY. I love Harry Potter.

How you text in the MTC...

Sister Mecham's Mom sent me flip flops because I forgot mine! I am so grateful!

Søster Bender & Syster Nielsen.

Email day!

Our bathroom...thought you would find this interesting, 

"When we try and take control of things God should control, we won't ever win." -approx. Sister Mecham quote

Hello Family and Friends!

Isn't that Sister Mecham quote awesome? She has some really profound things to say. I write them down sometimes because they are just that great!

Last Thursday something really cool happened!! We went to TRC (Teaching Resource Center) and we go to teach a girl in Swedish that had gotten back from her mission in Sweden super recently. TRC is where we teach members in our language we are learning. She asked me where I was from and I said Portland, Oregon and she says something like: "Do you know an Elder Bradley?" Her name was Sister Sarah Bass (something like that) and she knew Stefan! And I just taught her in Swedish. Small world. Also, Elder Johanson in my District is in the same ward as Brian Clayton. Random connections.

Something I'm learning here in the MTC is the need for more listening and less preaching. I already was aware of this concept before I got here, but it's really a true principle. Real listeners are hard to come by but people willing to "preach" to you are not. I want to be a real listener. That's how you really change people. Everyone wants to be understood, everyone has needs that come from inside themselves. Lots of missionaries preach; not as many sincerely listen to the needs of others. God knows those needs and when we really listen and ask sincere questions, we can show people we care.

Last night Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve came and talked to the MTC. I felt the Spirit bear witness to me of the divinity of Prophets and Apostles. Elder Cook talked about how they assign mission calls. It was fascinating. He talked about how he gets strong feelings inside. He said that he will sometimes feel strongly that a certain missionary needs to be with a certain mission, a certain language, or a certain people. It was fascinating.

I got to go to leadership training with Brother Hartman this week. He taught about the colors and how they respond to rules. SO COOL. He drew a circle and it represented the rules. He says that Reds follow those rules because that's just what they do. Then he drew a circle inside of the circle and said Blues make more rules and follow a higher law than they actually need to. He drew a line going outside of the rules circle and said Whites watch to see if anyone is watching before they fudge the rule circle. Then he said that yellows don't even see the circle. :) haha! So funny. It is beyond amazing to get taught by him. Everyone in our Zone seems to LOVE him. He really has a way with people and he really connects with us.

The Swedish is really coming along. Sister Mecham and I probably could teach a 30 minute lesson with only scriptures and pamphlets in Swedish. I'm doing my best to learn the language and the Savior is making up for what I can't do. 

I love you all so much!!

Syster Nielsen

Natalya's Schedule

My bed is the top one.

The bottom of a desk in the Swedish room. Recognize that name?

In front of the Temple

Natalya and Sister Wadley

Natalya's desk.

SO many washers and dryers.

Brother Taylor Hartman.

God Answers Our Prayers.

Hey Dearest Friends and Family!

Wow, I have THE BEST family and friends in the world.  I LOVE getting letters, emails, dearelders. It's wonderful! I love you all so much!

The MTC is.... an emotional rollercoaster. I've heard it said that if on a mission you aren't tired when you get back to your room at night, you aren't doing it right. Let's just say I'm exhausted a LOT. If that's the criteria for being a good missionary, I guess I'm doing pretty well. :) 

Miracles just happen here in the Missionary Training Center. Yesterday, Sister Mecham and I were teaching our investigator, Fredrick, all in Swedish. It's a miracle how much I can say out of my head in only about 2 weeks. It's the gift of tongues! Anyways, I was really trying to remember the word for "want" in Swedish. I really needed it for a question I wanted to ask Fredrick! I said a prayer in my head asking God for help to remember this word. Seconds later the word "vill" came into my mind. That means "want(s) to" in Swedish. WOW! What a miracle! I had been studying it and God helped me recall it in my mind. What a tender mercy.

Another miracle that happened this week happened on Monday. Sunday I had a really hard day. I was down on myself and feeling miserable. There is a rule here in the MTC that we are supposed to be in bed by 10:30. Our room wasn't doing well at that, and I decided on Sunday night that I would make sure I was in bed as close to 10:30 as possible. I got to bed on Sunday night around 10:30 and WOW. I had a FANTASTIC day on Monday. I think it was a direct result of my obedience to what God has asked me to do. On Monday I was able to teach my investigator, Kirsten, a lot out of the Swedish in my head. I took some notes to the lesson, but I was the least dependent on notes I had been thus far. God really watches out for me.

Sister Mecham and I are doing great. There is some kind of bonding that happens when you teach together. It's high stress going into lessons, speaking a language you have only been speaking for less than two weeks. We ask the investigators questions, but we can't always understand their answers, nor do we always have the vocab to best respond. That's why having the Spirit in a lesson is so crucial, especially when it's hard to even communicate. I've had to rely on God so much.

God really answers my prayers. When I even pray about little things I'm struggling with, I have felt him lifting me up so much. I've received comfort and strength and I'm excited to share that reality to those who need comfort and peace in their lives.

I love you all sooo much!!

Sister Nielsen

Natalya ran into Elder Hinckey!

Natalya also ran into Elder Tidwell!

I ADORE getting letters. I kind of get made fun of for how many I get... :)

Our classroom! The Elders are kind of goofy.

Here is most of the Swedish, Danish, Belgim/Netherlands, Norwegian missionaries. We had a couple gone because they were sick. The guy in the grey suit on the far left is actually from Norway and is going to the Netherlands. He speaks PERFECT English.

Natalya ran into Elder Stott as well!

Syster Nielsen & Syster Mecham

I've been getting a lot of questions about the food... Here is an example.

Sister Mecham gets letters from her fam. :) Happy day!

What eating as a Zone looks like in the MTC.

Among the many things to choose from at the MTC, Eternal Life is an option.

I MADE IT!

Dearest Family and Friends!!

Oh my goodness!! I can't even believe it's been a week already. I have so much to say and my brain is so scattered. It's CRAZY busy in the MTC. You have almost no time to do anything.. Except learn Swedish and read your scriptures. Even getting ready is a struggle. Yesterday I had about a half an hour to get ready, including showering, doing my hair and makeup... Let's just say I went to class with wet hair. :)

SO. You will NEVER believe who is in my Branch Presidency here in the MTC! On Thursday night the new missionaries went to a meeting with their Branch Presidency and a Brother Hartman gets up and introduces himself... He said something like this: "Hi, I'm Brother Hartman. I wrote this book called "The Color Code"..." And I was like "WHHHHHHAAAAAATTTT????!!!! NO WAY!!!! You are my hero!!!!" I was SOOOOOOOO excited!!!! Taylor Hartman is in my branch Presidency!! I literally blurted out my surprise while he was talking. I was SO excited. But it gets better- I got to be interviewed with him that night. Just me and the Author of "The Color Code." We talked about it pretty much the whole interview. I explained to him that I'm a strong blue and started explaining to him some of my typical blue struggles, and how my companion, Sister Mecham, I believe is a red. Let me tell you- I totally hit it off with Brother Hartman. I told him how much His book has changed my entire life. As if it couldn't get any better, I also got to go to a leadership training with him last night. Which brings me to my next point- I have been called as the Sister Training Leader for our Zone (that's why I was at the training meeting).

SO! In our zone there are just 4 Sisters and a BUNCH of Elders. It's two girls going to Norway (Sister Wadley and Sister Bender) and Sister Mecham and I. Our zone is the people going to Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Belgium/Netherlands Mission. There are 7 Elders going to Sweden and 2 Sisters (including myself) for a total of 9 Swedes. I room with the two Nordes. I've been thinking of Dad and Noelle a lot as I am constantly with the Norwegian missionaries. :) It's awesome because some of the things the Norwegian missionaries say remind me of you, Dad. Like when they say "I love you" in Norwegian. :)

We taught our first investigator, Isabel, on FRIDAY. Two days after we got there. Let me tell you- the gift of tongues is a real thing. Sister Mecham and I taught that whole lesson ALL in Svenska. We have now taught 3 lessons in Swedish. The first two I was heavily dependent on notes and things I had written down. Yesterday in our lesson I was able to start to say things actually out of my head!! It was awesome!! It was all God though. 

I had my first official breakdown in class yesterday. Yes, I started crying in class. We were supposed to role play bearing our testimony (or something like that) and inviting our investigator to be baptized in as much Swedish as we could. I was exhausted- mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically. The whole 9 yards. Sister Mecham, my companion, is picking up the language super quickly and I'm struggling. It's hard! But I am BEYOND grateful for what Sister Bradley taught me. It has helped me SO much. What a blessing! If I hadn't have had her, I think it would have been a lot harder for me. But anyways, I left class and collected myself and received a lot of comfort from Sister Mecham, and our FANTASTIC teacher, Sister Haynes, but most especially from God. I felt a lot of peace that afternoon and our lesson with Isabel was so great. I felt the Spirit strongly and I was able to bear my witness to her in Swedish. I felt so much peace and help with my individual struggles. God answers prayers and really is aware of what we are going through.

One quick word about my companion, Sister Mecham. She is a hard worker. Very hard worker. She is from Alpine, Utah and has been to BYU already. She seems like she is a red personality! She is a great missionary!

I saw Sister Helmick!! It was soooo hard to see her at first because I miss her so much. But we got several chances to talk and catch up and that helped me have a lot more peace.

Thank you for all of your letters!! There is a joke in my District that I get more letters then the whole Zone combined. :) I LOVE it!! Keep them coming!! They really help me. I struggle most with homesickness surprisingly in the morning. The first couple of days were really hard. I'm sooo grateful for all of the letters. 

I love you all SO much!!!

Sister Nielsen

With Aunt Lisa and her cousin Ralph before going into the MTC.

Natalya and her companion: Syster Mecham

Syster Nielsen and Sister Helmick. :)

Natalya and Søster Bender, a missionary headed to Norway.

All the missionaries headed to Sweden.

Natalya's second cousin Tucker Perkins (second from the right).

The girls Natalya rooms with. From right to left: Syster Nielsen,  Syster Mecham, Søster Wadley,  & Søster Bender.

It was so good to see Sister Helmick!

I LOVE my letters!

My closet.