Hallo Deutschland

 Hello family!

I miss you all! My last week at the mtc was pretty sad. I didn't want to leave. The 2 German districts became pretty close. And for mom wondering about the picture. The last girl is from Germany and then the other 2 were in the other German district. The boy closest to President Hammon was in the other German district as well. The boy next to him is from Norway and the last one did at home mtc learning Persian.
But I'm going to miss my district very much. I'm hoping we stay in contact with one another. My teachers were also hard to leave. Brother Schild wrote us all letters, so that was really special. I really liked him, we had a good bond. Um I actually had to do a musical number in sacrament meeting before we left. I did a duet with elder wunderlich in my district to the song love is spoken here in German. I was pretty nervous but people said it sounded good.
The flights were good, we didn't really sleep very much except for the last flight. We all tried to spread out on empty rows so we could lay down a bit. The boys were great and we're trying to talk to everyone in the airport. The good thing about landing in Atlanta is that the gate that we exited was also the gate going to Frankfurt. So we didn't have to move around at all. Being in Germany has been pretty fun. It's really pretty here. When I first arrived I didn't understand the hype about the beauty because it reminded me of California and there was a lot of graffiti that I wasn't expecting. 
We got to the church and filled out paperwork and got to meet the Hammons. They're both the sweetest. President Hammon looks like dad's family so that's been comforting. He also is so in tune with the spirit, he gets emotional a lot and it melts my heart. When we met our trainers Sister Brown got put in this area where they play volleyball every week. He wasn't aware of that and it was super sweet to see how it was inspired. President Hammon also gave me the sweetest blessing and their were some promises for later in my mission that I thought were really cool. That night we had street contacting and I was a bit nervous but it was pretty easy for me to stop the people on the street. I think it was easier since I didn't know what they were saying haha. I was a bit down that I could only say a few phrases but the Sister I was with was getting so excited whenever I approached someone. We had some good contact with a few people and I was able to pick out bits and pieces of the conversation. The area reminded me a lot of New York with all the people and the billboards. I wasn't expecting a lot of Germans to smoke but the streets stunk of smoke from the big crowd. Then we had dinner back at the church and met Shirley (President Hammons ice cream machine). It was good. After that we went to one of the senior couples apartment and had milk and cookies. We were all so exhausted that we couldn't keep our eyes open, it was bad. Then we went to a sisters apartment with all the trainers and had a big slumber party.
The next day we had more training and then headed to our areas. I'm in a town called Feucht, it's very small and homely. On the train ride is when I realized that Germany is beautiful and very different from Nevada. We're pink washing the area which means that we're taking over the elders area. There hasn't been sisters here in a very long time so the ward is very excited. I've heard that the ward is great and the people are really nice which will be helpful. We also have a list of names left from the elders so it looks like we'll be busy. My trainer, Sister Barden, is super nice. I'm very thankful that I have an American for a Trainer. I feel a little bad because I'm so quiet. She always asks how I am because I never say anything. I'm trying to work on opening up more so that we can build that bond. We had a lesson last night over zoom and I'll be completely honest. It went right over my head, but it was good and he's coming to church. That night I was feeling a bit inadequate but my trainer reminded me that the lord wouldn't send me here if he didn't trust me. So this transfer I'm going to really be relying on the lord. 
Today was my first pday so we got to go grocery shopping for the first time in Germany. It was interesting and there are no American Brands so I didn't know what anything was haha. We also went to Nürnberg which is a really famous town. This is where all the nazi trials were held. I've heard that it was almost bombed to the ground. But we went to altstadt (old city). It was so cute, it had the cobblestone streets and all the old churches. It was how I envisioned Germany. Over all its been a good first 3 days in Europe and I'm excited to see what comes. 
Also I'm so glad to hear that Carly made varsity. I hope she enjoys it and doesn't dread it. I love you all so much!
Sister Nielsen 
1. A little Christmas booth that was being set up while street contacting 
2. Us on our run, we found a cute church
3. Well known little canal in Nürnberg 
4. The Hammons gave us pastries when we first arrived 
5. In front of my new town's train station
6. Sister Barden and I on our trip to Nürnberg 
7. My view of one of the old churches in Nürnberg 


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