Stressful week!

Howdy All!
This week has felt sooo long haha. It's probably because I feel like we haven't done much missionary work. Of course we have, but it's been difficult to focus on the spirit when I've been stressed about college applications. And man has this week been stressful. So stressed to the point where I had morning sickness this week. I don't think I've ever been so stressed in my life.
We had zone conference with many other zones this past week and one of the elders who I served with during my first transfer, mentioned that he's working on BYU applications as well. He mentioned that the priority deadline was the 1st. I had a feeling when I first started working on the applications that I should get them done before November. Now I realize where that thought came from.
Although it's been stressful trying to finish all the essays and make them stand out, it's also been a very spiritual experience. I've been really trying to focus on including the Lord during this time and with everything that's required of me and he has delivered. I was very anxious about the endorsements I needed and receiving my transcript on time. These were all factors that were out of my control and I really worried about them being the reason why I couldn't turn the application in on time. But miraculously and thanks to the Lord's help everything has come together. On one occasion I was trying to send my official transcript from GBC to BYU. I wasn't completely sure how it worked. I said a prayer and tried some different options. It then became clear how I should do it and I know that I was truly led by the lord. BYU warned that a transcript could take up to 3 weeks to process, but mine was received and processed in 2 days. God  is a God of miracles and truly does care about what's important to us. He's there to help us in every aspect of our lives. God instructed me to get my application done by November 1st and he is providing me a way in order to do that. I'm still working on finishing my essays, but I know that God is with me during this process and that brings me a lot of peace :)
Other than worrying about college, we did do missionary work. We had a hard lesson with Yina. She was supposed to be baptized this past Saturday, but hasn't been able to move out. The other issue is that she just started working and German law requires you to lay down 3 paychecks before you can rent a house. German housing in this area is very hard to come by and it could take months before she's able to find an option. This has been very hard for Yina because she wants to be baptized as soon as possible. She doesn't understand why she has to wait and are rejecting her in a way. We tried to comfort her and have set up a baptism interview with our mission President's counselor just to bring some answers for her and hopefully some hope. Please pray for Yina, that she will be patient and understand that God asks hard things of us sometimes.
We met with her son Asier and put him on baptismal date for the 19th! We were so excited for him. Until our next lesson when we mentioned how recently baptized are confirmed in front of the ward during the Sunday meeting. He's extremely shy and this about scared him to death. We invited him to keep praying and asking God for strength. We are still hopeful for him and hope that he will trust in God!
As you can see, it's been a pretty difficult week but even during hard times the Lord is still there and happy with any effort we can give him. I'm so grateful for my Savior and that he's patient with me. I have seen the hand of God so much this past week and am excited for a week with no more essays! I love you all so much and I know that God does too!
Love Sister Nielsen





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