#19 Baptism!!!

Hei Hei Alle Sammen!

This week was incredibly busy and was packed full of all sorts of things! So here we go!

Monday

Last P-Day we went walking around Sandvika Sentrum and I needed a pink, red, purple, or maroon shirt for Sisters Conference so I went to H&M and got a maroon one!  We did originally have a dinner appointment at a members house planned, but she ended up cancelling because her husband got sick. My companion and I had delivered the pound cake that one of the elders had made so that they could still have a dessert, even though we weren't able to come. 

Tuesday

Today we picked up the Drammen Sisters headed down to Oslo for Sisters Conference!! That was the greatest thing ever!!  We first listened to President and Sister Hill both give talks, and the whole conference was themed around how we don't need perfection but that we can become perfect in Christ.  We heard from many people in the surrounding wards who are returned missionaries and they came and talked about their missions, and what they have learned from them, and how it's prepared them for their life now.  We then had breakout sessions about meal planning, exercise, working with members, scripture study and being filled with gratitude. Later that night we had a panel discussion where more people from the surrounding wards came and answered questions, and talked about their missions as well… I was scribbling down notes as fast as I could...I was soaking up the entire day and it was all wonderful!  So much fun!!  They even gave all of us sister missionaries a necklace with a heart on it and that was super cute!  Us Sister Missionaries are spoiled over here!!  

Wednesday

Today was also Sisters Conference for about half the day and we had more sisters from surrounding wards come and talk to us about their missions.  They were so inspiring and I loved every single second of it!  It's hard to explain all the stuff I learned and all the things I loved from it because it would literally take a thousand years.. but I fully enjoyed it!  After we dropped the Drammen sisters off at the train station, we had an appointment with one of our investigators  who have a baptism planned for this Saturday!  She has just recently moved back to Asker… but one of the sisters in the ward has been teaching her stuff over the phone as well, so we met with her, and had dinner, and then taught her the Plan of Salvation and then went over the Word of Wisdom. This lady is phenomenal!  Every time we would teach her something and think that it would be new information, she would explain what we just taught her because she already knew it!  Incredible!  Then we went and picked up the STL's sisters and planned for the next day!

Thursday

Today we met with our investigator early in the morning and taught the law of chastity and tithing and fast offering.  It was just the same as last time...she would basically explain everything we thought would be new information and she understood it all!  She is so prepared!  After teaching her, we went back to our apartment and had lunch and then it was full blown trying to plan this baptism!  One of the STL’s sisters and I had planned to try and visit another investigator because we hadn't met with her in a long time and we knew she wasn't doing too well, but her family was in town so we went to the church and began making the baptismal program.  Then we picked up my companion and another STL sister and drove to a members house. We split up…my companion and the STL  left to teach one of our investigators and the other STL and I, plus the Elders stayed at the member’s house.  We watched a conference talk and then spent the rest of the time singing hymns. One of the elders played the ukulele because this sister loves to sing!  It's amazing how quickly the Spirit can be brought by just singing hymns!  I loved visiting them!  Then we walked to the nearest bus stop and took the bus to Sandvika. My companion picked us up and we went home and had dinner and did splits review.  Then we dropped the STL's off at the train station and then we were back to planning the baptism!

Friday

Today we had District Meeting and we talked about commitments and how to make the commitments more specific and making them a little bit bigger. It was a super good District Meeting!  The Elders had also gotten us Mac and Cheese and Dr.Pepper because we were stressed out with putting this baptism together, having just gotten done with Splits and Sisters Conference. That was super nice of them!!!  So we just ate Mac and Cheese for our lunch that day!  Then we went to call people in the ward about the baptism, and also to finish the baptismal program!  Then before we knew it, it was time to go to our investigator’s appointment. While driving to her house we got a call from the bishop and he had told us that one of my favorite people had passed away that morning.  She was the less active that taught us how to knit and we would go and visit all the time.  That was super hard and I just broke into tears.  She was one of my absolute favorite people to visit!  But she taught me a lot in just the times that I met with her and she was one of the happiest people I had ever met even though she was battling cancer.  This is when I'm so incredibly grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Plan of Salvation and even more grateful that I get to share that with others so that they can find that same peace that I have.  We then got to our investigator’s house and taught her laws and ordinances and she was phenomenal with that as well… just like all her other lessons!  She was so excited to talk about callings because she was anxious to be engaged in church.. and she is just so awesome!  One of the elders did her baptismal interview and then we talked about things she needed to know for the day of! Then we went to go and send the program… and the computer was so nice that it didn't save the changes I had made even though I had hit save… but we finally got it sent!

Saturday

BAPTISMAL DAY!!!!  We went and played soccer for only an hour and  those people that we met on the street last week came again!!  And guess what!?  I scored 2 goals!  Woohoo!  After 3 months I was able to score 2 in one game!  Progress!  Then we got ready and headed to Sandvika Sentrum to get Andrea a gift for her baptism. We got her a journal and a necklace with her initial on it!  After that we headed to Europris and Kiwi to get other things for the baptism and we were running around all over the place!  We finally made it to the church and we were busy folding programs and setting up the refreshment table and filling up the font and it was so busy!!  But it was all worth it!!  Our investigator came and she got dressed in her baptismal suit and then we started the program!  My companion and I talked about our baptismal days and how it has affected our lives. The elders did a musical number and one of them sang the last verse in Portuguese and  Andrea was crying the entire time...the Spirit was so strong!!!  Then it was time for her to be baptized… and as my companion and I were leading her to the font she just stopped and broke down crying and then told us how excited she was and how it was the best day of her life!!  So of course that got the tears as well!  We then watched her get baptized by Eldste Sanchez… and I literally can't even explain the joy that comes from watching someone you have come to love enter the waters of baptism!  The joy is indescribable and I now fully understand the scripture that talks about the joy you will feel by bringing many souls unto Him.  The joy of finding the one that was lost.  IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!! We then came back into the chapel and heard our investigator  give her thoughts on her baptism. Her daughter gave a talk and her and a friend both bore their testimonies!  It was an incredible baptismal service and I wish I could've bottled that experience in a jar so that I could keep it forever...but it is a day that I will never forget!

Sunday

Today Andrea received the Holy Ghost!! Eldste Applegate confirmed her and then she was welcomed  into the ward.  I couldn't help but smile the entire time!  It was the greatest experience!  Our investigator was glowing and I have never seen her so happy and joyfu!l  That is exactly what the gospel does for people!  That is why I'm here on a mission!  So that other people can experience that joy that I have been blessed with my entire life!! AHH IT WAS SO GREAT! Then they had the Primary Program and that is always entertaining!  You know there is always that one kid that keeps the congregation entertained and my companion and I were having a good time!  Then we found out that we have to hold off on another investigator’s baptism… and then we went to the missionary couple for dinner!!  After dinner we had to drive the Elders to the Bishop so they could get the baptismal form signed and then we dropped them off at their dinner appointment.  My companion and went home and we did Weekly Planning while watching Mormon Messages!  

Today we have just e-mailed and we don't actually know what we're doing for the rest of the day!  We have a dinner appointment, well it's a Halloween themed dinner appointment at a member’s house with all of us missionaries, so we're all excited for that!  

Hope you all have an amazing week!  It's supposed to snow here this week so Norway winter here I come!  Also, we have transfer calls this Sunday so we'll see if I move or if I stay in Asker!   You'll know next Monday!

Love you all lots and miss you all tons! 


Pictures from the Sisters Conference
Pictures from the baptism

#18 I get to share the Greatest Message!

Hei Hei Fra Asker! 

Denne uka har hvert full av flotte oppleveser og mange morsomme  ting! Jeg elsker å være en misjonær så utrolige mye!  Men det er ikke noe nytt:) For those of you who have no clue what I just said..basically saying the exact same thing I say every week, just trying to spice it up a bit:) 

Monday

Last P-Day after e-mailing I got my package! Thank you again for sending that!!! Everything that was in it has already been eaten:))… but thank you thank you!  We had Mac & Cheese for dinner that night!! We got a call from the Elders asking us to come and rescue them:))  They were going to a FHE, but there was only one girl there and they couldn't go in the hous,e so we had to go, and we were just laughing the entire time because the Elders needed to be rescued...they didn't think it was too fun to stand out in the rain, but it gave us a good laugh! So we had FHE with a few members of our ward and talked about the enabling power of the Atonement and then played a card game as the activity.  It was a lot of fun and it helped us be able to get to know the other members!  Then we called to make appointments for the week:)

Tuesday

So we called people from the area book today and I got through a big huge stack of them...some of them were super nice, some of them were just not interested, some of them didn't pick up, but the important thing is, is that we almost got an appointment with one… and many people asked us to call them back because they were at work or busy at the moment! So that was good!  Then we went contacting in the pouring rain, but I wasn't worried because I had an umbrella.  Well actually let me tell you that story, Mom, I know you're going to laugh at this one. So I had the umbrella, but it wouldn't stay open! There was a string on the inside that I thought you probably just had to cut off, so we went into the library to cut off the string and I thought the problem was solved.. but nope...still wouldn’t stay open. I found the button on the umbrella and it shot open and I was still in the library… so of course everyone was staring at me!  So we quickly exited and got outside and I thought everything was good to go… but the umbrella still wouldn't stay open! It was closing on me as I was trying to walk, and this random person on the street was just cracking up! So I just threw the umbrella away, even though it almost shot out of the garbage can...but I got a new umbrella!:)) So once the umbrella problem was solved, we started contacting…we talked to this lady that was explaining all about her religion, and I began telling her what we believe, but she told me that I didn't need to tell her that… so I just did what Dad had mentioned in his e-mail last week and said that I hope that she continues to be the best that she can be in her religion and that I hope she has a great day! We continued to contact and then we invited some people to come play soccer with us on Saturday. Although it was raining pretty bad, we still managed to talk to a few people… but many people were rushing to get inside.  I was offering mormon.org cards but some people just don't want that either! We went to our dinner appointment who had invited 2 non-member friends to come to dinner with us, so we introduced the Book of Mormon and it was awesome!  That's one of my favorite things to do, to just go through the pictures at the front of the Book of Mormon and telling them all about it! After that appointment,  we went to another one that we had with someone who had met with the missionaries a couple of times and a member came with us.  Our plan was to talk about the Plan of Salvation but then he kept explaining something, so I thought that maybe the Restoration would be better….but then he kept talking and I thought well maybe the Godhead...I just had no clue where to take the lesson!  So I prayed that the Spirit would guide me to know what he needed and we ended up introducing the Book of Mormon and as I was talking about Christ coming to the Americas…. it just hit me… what a great  message I get to share every day!  I get to testify of Christ.  I get to testify that He is central to every message we share as missionaries and that He is the center of the Book of Mormon.  That's incredible!  The Spirit was there and it was a good lesson!  But then after the lesson he asked for my companion’s hand and put it on his eye/forehead and said, "I’ve never felt this warm feeling before":)  We literally just stood there and I looked at my companion so confused… and you know… it's amazing that we didn't laugh because my companion and I are always cracking up about something...but we literally just stood in silence. So that was that!:)))

Wednesday

We did weekly planning today and then went to Asker Sentrum to wait for one of our investigators.  She hadn't arrived yet so we just decided to contact while waiting. I actually love contacting, it is one of my absolute favorite things...I don't know how going up to a random stranger and telling them what I believe in is my favorite thing, but it is!! I meet all kinds of people!  We met someone that had asked us if we were Mormons and so we obviously said yes and we had asked him what he had heard, and he said he had never heard anything bad about a Mormon, only good things so that was pretty cool!   When we met our investigator I asked her how things were going and she said that they were not going well…. and I proceeded to ask what we could do, what was wrong, and I felt this heavy, burdensome feeling.  We knew that this would be the last visit with her because she was moving… so we spent the entire appointment testifying of the Book of Mormon and Christ.  Another moment where I realized what a great message I get to share.  Christ.  It's amazing as a missionary that you can truly feel the burdens that others are carrying, but you can also feel the love that God has for them.  Walking away from that lesson, I just began to cry.  Before I came on my mission I thought, "Will I be able to love the people enough?" and I didn't even know it was possible to love the people here that much.  My investigators, the people in the ward, those who are less active, even the people that I just have the chance to talk to on the street.  I meet inspiring people every single day, people that have changed my life, people that I will not ever forget even though I only talked to them for a minute.  That's the incredible thing about a mission...unbelievable.  How could I not be full of gratitude every single day when I get to experience things like that!? After conctacting we went to an appointment with some members of our ward… and they are the coolest people EVER!  They are from Africa!  We watched the talk by Russell M. Nelson from conference, and  sang hymns with them while one of the elders played the ukulele!!  Loved every single second of that!  They even sang for us in their language!

Thursday

Today we called some more people from our area book and we got 2 appointments with potentials!  Well, one of them cancelled this morning...but we still got one going strong!! Then we went to one of my favorite investigators and talked about the Word of Wisdom!  I asked her if she knew what it was and why we have it and she basically taught it to me, so it was a pretty quick lesson on that part...but there are some things that we need to work on… but she is completely willing and knows that she will receive heavenly help.  She is so awesome and has such an incredibly strong testimony of things already!!  Then we went and visited our ten year old and taught her about tithing and fasting… and we played a card game with her and she was so excited!  She understands so much about the gospel even though she is only ten, and she still has her baptism on November 5th! SO EXCITED! After that we went and visited a member and showed her a Mormon Message about the Savior and then she was telling us that she wanted to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon that she had found and why she liked it! That was incredible! It was such a good lesson and we love visiting her!  

Friday

Today was Zone Conference!  We had it in Drammen and it was really great!!  We talked about commitments and following up and my companion and I had to go up and talk about how we got so many baptismal dates and how we made those commitments.  It was so much fun being with all the missionaries in our zone!! There are only two other sisters in our zone and we have so much fun with them! So zone conference was just good all around!!  After zone conf.  we went to our dinner appointment… to the cutest old lady!! We were talking about Christmas traditions and just Christmas in general and it's was great!  Partly because I'm just SO excited to be a missionary at Christmas time… and also because I love listening to stories of people who have experienced so much more than I have!  After that appointment we had an appointment with another investigator…but with the Elders this time.  We watched Finding Faith in Christ and we had such a good discussion about faith, preaching the gospel, and just answering his questions and how we shared the gospel before we came on our missions!  

Saturday

We did service  at 8:30 in the morning and my companion and I were sanding down an old desk while the elders were trimming trees and let me just say it was just a teensy bit chilly...or a lot chilly!  So cold!!!  Then we went and played soccer… and the people that we invited while in Asker sentrum CAME!!  They were the best soccer players we’ve ever had…so good thing one of them was on my team!:)  Then we drove up north to teach an investigator….and while driving… guess what I saw!? SNOW! Yep...there were indeed white flurries!  So that just tells you how cold it is getting and how quickly! When we drove back home, we saw more snow… and went to our dinner appointment with a family in the ward that always invite all the missionaries And we had hamburgers!  American food!  It was so good!  We shared Alma 37:37 with them and it was so good!  

Sunday

Today we had stake conference and we had to drive to Romerike and be there at 9am because our whole District was singing in the stake choir...it was almost all missionaries in the stake choir! Crazy!  We saw so many of the other missionaries in the surrounding areas and that's always fun!!!  Then we went to dinner and had pulled pork sandwiches and cobbler. We drove the Elders to their appointment, did språk studium, called some people and planned out some baptisms because...Surprise!!  There might be a baptism on Sunday!! We met this lady awhile ago…and a member has been teaching this lady some of the lessons over the phone and she wants to be baptized… but wants it to be before my companion or I leave. So we shall see...there may be pictures of a baptism next P-Day!!!!!! 

Today

Today we cleaned our apartment and then now we're emailing...we have a dinner appointment tonight and we are also picking up the Drammen sisters…. they are staying with us until Wednesday because we have Sisters Conference in Oslo tomorrow and Wednesday with all the sister missionaries in the mission… so that is super exciting!!!!  Then we also have splits on Wednesday and Thursday so this week is already crazy!!!  

Love you all lots and miss you tons!  Have a great week…and I always look forward to hear from you all!

Søster Love

1.Kylee enjoying her favorite food from home
2.Asker...her area
3. Asker Sentrum...where she goes contacting
4. Asker area
5. 5 min from where she lives

#17 Building friendships

Hei Hei fra Asker!

This week was another great week!  It was a little bit slower because not as many of our investigators were able to meet this week, but I still got lots of experiences and good things to share! 

Monday

So we went and played Ping Pong with our District after we walked through Sandvika Sentrum, and that was the most hilarious game of Ping Pong I have ever played!  I couldn't even explain to you why it was even that funny, but it just was and it was great!  After that we went shopping for food, and had our Family Home Evening appointment with a great family!  I absolutely love visiting them!  The boys in the family had started talking about missions and when it would be time to go on their missions, so my companion and I talked about life as a missionary and what we do every single day, and then we decided to do a little practice!  So one of the boys was the missionary and I told him to introduce himself as an Elder and then talk about the Book of Mormon:) He came back into the room and introduced himself as an Elder to my companion and he did such a great job introducing the Book of Mormon!  The little girl got to wear my companion’s tag for a little bit and it was such a good lesson!  Then we played the game Sorry with them and had brownies. It was a great visit!!

Tuesday

We had District Meeting and we talked about our areas and how we can help them...we have a lot of stuff going on in our area...lots of investigators, 2 baptisms on the same day, and lots of different situations with investigators. It’s always nice to help each other on how we can work with our investigators and those who are in the ward as well!  We then talked about asking inspired questions and how that can help in our teaching!  We had District Lunch, called a few people who said we could call them back, and then we went to Asker Sentrum to go and meet with an investigator. Unfortunately she never showed up, but we have an appointment with her next week, so that will be good.  Later we went to our dinner appointment …someone from the US…they had made pulled pork sandwiches and we had so much fun with them!  We shared a video about Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk about Happily Ever After and it was great!  It was also their daughter's birthday the day before and she was turning 5, so we gave her a princess crown and some treats:)  She loved that!

Wednesday

Today was a day filled with contacting! Contacting is always fun because you meet all kinds of people! One person we talked to told us that we needed to go home and read the Bible...when we said that we do read the Bible she said that we really needed to go home and really read it:))), Haha…we just had to laugh!  We did find one potential that gave us their telephone number,  and we are going to deliver a Book of Mormon in Chinese which is super exciting! We contacted for awhile…we had someone ask us if we could turn up the temperature outside, we had another one that just responded with, I don’t live here… and then walked away really fast and then we had another that was talking to us and then suddenly said, "Klem"  (Hug) so my companion and I turned our backs and ended up getting a side hug from a stranger on the street...life of a missionary I guess!:)) But we have been referring to this stuff all week and we just laugh!  We have our ups and downs while contacting but it is  so much fun!  After dinner we went to visit one of our investigators,  which was a blast!  We read in Ether 12 and then taught her a line dance to one of our EFY songs and she absolutely loved it!  It was a testimony builder to me that you really do need connections before conversions...we've finally built that friendship that she needs, so that when we invite her to come to church, read the Book of Mormon, etc.  it's not just some other missionaries extending an invitation, but friends out of love and concern.

Thursday

Today we had weekly planning which took us into the afternoon, had an early dinner, and then went to visti our 10 year old!  She had been keeping her commitment of praying but had forgotten what pages we had asked her to read:)) But we gave her  the chocolate and she was so excited!  We then talked about the Word of Wisdom and played soccer with her behind her house. She had loved that too!  Another testimony builder about connections before conversions!  It was so much fun and it's those moments that I think, "This is why I'm on a mission...to love the people and invite them to come unto Christ"...it's the greatest work we could be doing!  After that visit we went to teach another investigator with the Elders, and we each shared our favorite stories about Christ.  I shared about when Christ calmed the sea.. and this story was one that never really stuck out to me before my mission, but ever since my mission I have just loved it!  I just love when the disciples say, "What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" That story applies to so many different things and I absolutely love it!!  Go read it when you have the chance and see how it can apply to you!  It was a great discussion, many great stories, and what better way to invite someone to come unto Christ than by talking about Christ!

Friday

Today we went to the church to call potentials and we actually found a few people who may be interested and even made an appointment with one!  Then we went to teach one of my favorite investigators. The elders came along and our investigator absolutely loved that!  Both of her kids are away studying at college so she loved that so many people were able to come and visit her!  We taught her about faith, repentance, baptism,  receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  It was a great lesson and she had asked questions that all of us were able to give her insight on!  I love visiting this person and it's one of the greatest things to see someone progressing in the gospel! After that we went to a dinner appointment..this family invite us over every week now (all of us missionaries) and we have so much fun with them!  They love it when we can come and visit them because they feel missionaries don't have much time for members...so it was great to be able to just sit and talk with them!  They were asking about our life back home, what it's like in the US, and it was so much fun!  Friendships building all around!  

Saturday

As usual we played soccer this morning, and as usual I still can't play soccer..but you know what's new? Maybe one day...or maybe not I'll be good!  But it was fun none the less!  We went to our old apartment and made that all clean and spiffy with the the missionary couple’s help, so they can rent it out to someone else!  So the majority of our day was cleaning and then we had the ward party!  We got cake, they taught the ward a dance, and several people performed. My companion and I were asked to go do the dishes so we missed the line dancing part of the ward party, but we were serving!!  

Sunday

We had church and some person that had texted us a couple of weeks ago just decided to come to church and stayed for all 3 meetings which was awesome! This person is not sure about having lessons, but to come to church is a start!! After church we had stake choir practice and then went to our dinner appointment. We had  lasagna and brownies and it was delicious!  Then we went and did our språk studium, watched a couple of Mormon Messages, becasue we share them literally every single day, and then went and called all our investigators to make appointments and potentials. We have our week filed with appointments and 3 dinner appointments too! so this week is bound to be a good one!!

Monday

Today we went and got my permit because now I have to go to driving school to get my license here. We also went grocery shopping and one of the workers talked to us for about 20 minutes! He talked about how we need to just be good people, no matter what religion we are... we need to treat people like human beings and be nice and good people, and if we are that, then we can be the best of whatever religion we are. He had a really amazing story and was one of the most inspiring people I have met on my mission...he just said, "I just need your prayers and you guys are doing a great job" which was the coolest thing!  Then here we are emailing and then we are off to the tour shop in Oslo!

I love you all lots and lots, and miss you tons!! Thank you to all who write me…It means more to me than you’ll ever know!

Part of Kylee's new apartment
Forgot to post these last week...the missionaries are making dinner!

#16 I should be on a cooking show!

Hei Hei Alle Sammen! 

So this week was quite the week!  Trying to be a full time missionary and move apartments is not exactly what I would say an easy task, but my companion and I made it out alive so all is well! 

Monday

So guess what family and friends!? I MADE SALMON!  Yep!  I had no idea what in the world I was doing so I just kind of winged it, and ta dah!! the salmon was delicious!  So we had salmon, rice and cooked carrots!  I should basically be on a cooking show because I was killing it!  Then after dinner we spent the rest of the day trying to call people to set up appointments for the week and trying to get members to come with us on teaches! So that was that!

Tuesday

Today we had District Meeting and we talked about listening and what an important role that plays in our missionary work, whether it's listening to our companions as they are teaching or our investigators.  Listening is key!  Then we had District lunch and then we went and visited my favorite person!  I talked about her last week as well, she is just incredibly strong and knows what it means to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We decided to share Alma 26:12 with her, and as soon as she read it she just broke down and cried and started explaining to us how much she loves the gospel!  She is incredibly passionate about the gospel and any time she begins talking about the gospel in any aspect, she begins to cry because she is just so grateful!  I have never met anyone that dedicated to the gospel and it blows me away every single time we visit her!  I wish you all could meet her!  Then we went and visited another lady and it was a shorter visit, but we decided to also share Alma 26:12 with her!  It was a good visit and we are excited to meet with her again this coming week!   

Wednesday

The first part of the day we were moving things into our new apartment and trying to unpack as we wen,t so by the time the beds and desks got there then everything else would be settled in!  So then we had a dinner appointment with another incredible investigator, and we brought eplekake (apple cake) that I made!  Mom, you would've been so proud!  It was BEAUTIFUL! I didn't have time to take a picture of it because we were trying to get out the door:)  But even our investigator was saying that you would be proud because it tasted delicious too!  There you go Mom!  But anyway, our investigator made us some Greek food that was actually delicious!  It was potatoes, meat, and it was in a casserole type thing and salad!  So good!  We decided to teach her a little bit about prayer so we started off by sharing Alma 37:37 which is one of my favorite scriptures!  I read it once and the minute I was done she asked if I could read it again because she thought it was so beautiful, and that really stuck out to me!  How often are we reading our scriptures and just reading to read or to check it off for the day? The Book of Mormon wasn't written for the Nephites or the Lamanites, or the Jaredites, or the Ammonites, or the Amulekites, or any other ite but for us!  Next time you're reading the scriptures, imagine it being the first time...pretend that you have never read it before and you just now stumbled upon the words that are written.  Let it fill you up, truly feast!  We continued to teach her about prayer and we had shared some experiences that we had had in our lives about prayer and she was asking questions and it was great!  Then she had asked me a question and I had broken it down into a simple way of explaining it which is usually what I end up doing in all my lessons...but when I was done she gave the greatest compliment ever! I was so touched! She told me that I had a way of teaching things that just made it sound so simple, and that it was so easy to understand. The gospel isn't complicated, it doesn't need to be and it shouldn't.  Nephi says multiple times in the scriptures that, " I delight in the plainness" so we shouldn't be trying to make it the hardest, most complex thing that it just far too difficult for anyone to understand. It is simple and I love it!

Thursday

3 MONTH MARK!!!  I've been on my mission for 3 months!!  Is that not the craziest thing!?! Time literally just flies and I'm not even sure I even know what time is anymore.  I'm pretty sure it doesn't even exist on a mission!  The days are long, but the weeks fly and that doesn't even make logical sense but you know..it happens!  We had a few investigators cancel on us today so we spent a few hours trying to pack,unpack, clean and move the last few things over before the big things got moved over on Friday!  But while we were unpacking, cleaning, etc. a miracle happened!  One of our investigators texted us!  We haven't heard from this person in a month and a half and she texted us!  We have contact again!!!!!  That is so, so, so exciting!! Then we went and taught our cute 10 year old about the prophets and commandments.  We were trying to help her to make the commitment to pray and read her scriptures so what do you do when a 10 year old needs help making a commitment...tell her that if she does it we will have candy for her next time!  Bingo!  So we told her that that's what we would do and then we will play soccer with her for a little bit after our lesson!  She is so excited and we love teaching her!  Then we taught another investigator with a member and we went over Family History!  He was so excited to do the work and had already started gathering information about his family before our lesson, which was awesome!  There is nothing better than seeing your investigators progressing!  Every little thing, and every big thing is so exciting!  

Friday

Today was moving day and also the craziest day ever!  We got help from the AP's, the Elders, and the missionary couple, and we were done with moving stuff to and from by 11:30!  So then we changed into our church clothes and drove to a town up north to have a lesson with an investigator.  She was so sweet and made us lunch and then we finished up the Plan of Salvation!  She is still such a positive investigator and is still pressing forward to her baptismal date!!  We then drove back home and went to go pick up a member to come on a teach with us to go and teach the girl that texted us!  We taught her the Plan of Salvation!  It was probably the best lesson we have ever had with her!  She was opening up and talking to us, and every single time our member friend began talking or bearing her testimony, our investigator was fully focused and intently listening!  Having members present for lessons is so powerful,l so if the missionaries need you...please, please, go help them!  You have no idea what it does for the investigators and for the missionaries!  Such a great lesson!  Then after that lesson, we dropped our member friend off, and went to pick up the Elders to go do service. We carried wood from the parking garage  up to her 4th floor apartment!  That was quite the workout!  But service is always so much fun...even if it is just carrying wood!!  

Saturday

So today we played soccer as usual and you know...I'm still absolutely terrible at it, but it's still a lot of fun!  Then we went and got ready to go to Drammen!  So first off, there is a girl that knows my companion that lives in Ålesund…and she came down to Drammen to give a talk at the stake conference. So we met up with them and talked to her and her mom and then we went over to mommo and besse’s (grandma and grandpa’s)house. I had to go take pictures of the playground that I literally was at every single day when we visited..so I will be sending those!  But we went and had dinner with them and it was delicious!!!   Then we went to stake conference and I saw so many people that all knew me! It was so, so fun to talk to them all!!  Besse’s  talk was phenomenal!! It was so, so, so good and I'm so grateful that I had the chance to go!! (Her grandpa got baptized four months ago)  I couldn't even hold the tears in so I was a cry baby...you know I think that's a thing that comes with being a sister missionary..you just cry!  But it was so good!  

Sunday

Today we had church and guess who had to translate? Yep, me!  And do you think the headset worked? No. So do you think I had to go sit behind the people and translate for them? Yep! Talk about a little nerve racking.. I was able to do it but it was definitely tricky!  It's a little bit of a challenge to listen to Norwegian and have to switch it to English quickly.. and there were plenty of times when I caught myself saying a word in Norwegian and then realized that they wouldn't have a clue what that was...but I survived!  Then we had choir practice and then ate at the missionary couple’s house and made cod!  They taught us how to make everything! I was actually cooking some food! The dinner was delicious!

Today

Today we have eaten lunch yet, and now we're emailing!  We're going to go to Sandvika sentrum later and then play ping pong after that!  We also have a Family Home Evening appointment tonight which I'm so excited for!

Love you all so much and miss you tons!! I look forward to hear from you all!! 

#15 Follow promtings and pricelss moments

Hei Hei Alle Sammen!

THIS WEEK WAS PHENOMENAL!! I have absolutely loved every week in my mission and every week is always one for the books, but this one was a little bit above the rest!  

Monday

So for the rest of P-Day last week we played chair soccer with our District, and that is an intense game! You each have a chair and then one soccer ball and then if you kick the soccer ball and hit one of the chairs then that person is out, and if you get that person out, then the other person comes back in...that probably made absolutely no sense but it was so much fun! After soccer we went and visited one of my favorite people!  She is an elderly lady and she literally has a heart of gold!!  Ever since I met her I've said that I want to be like her, and I still do!  She has sacrificed so much for the gospel and has a lot on her plate, but she happily carries on, and I've never seen her without a smile!  We were talking to her and she looks at us and asks us if we have dreams for after our missions. We all nod and smile and she says, "I'm not going to ask you what those dreams are, but I want you to know that I'm praying for them, because I know you all have dreams!" That was one of the simplest phrases but also touched my heart!  I started crying in the lesson because I was amazed at her charitable heart!  She has so many other things to be praying for and she cares enough to pray for the dreams of the missionaries serving in her area.  It was unbelievable!  Then after that we went and visited her daughter  and read in the Book of Mormon with her in English, and talked about the story. She is so much fun!  Always making us laugh and is just a joy!  Later that day we had an appointment with someone that was sort of a new investigator, because he had been taught before. We met in Asker Sentrum and he came up to us and said, "Hi, I'm the one that you are looking for.  You have 15 minutes to tell me about your God."  Talk about being put on the spot...but we began answering his questions.  He said after a little bit that he wasn't getting sufficient answers to his questions, so we covered the Godhead, Restoration, Plan of Salvation, relationship between the Book of Mormon and the Bible, and the background of the Book of  Mormon.  He  asked me what the gospel does for us and I began answering the question and as I was talking he says, "Well how does it actually help you on a daily basis?" So I just bore my testimony about how it has helped me in my life and then he says, "That was a good answer" but he said that he wasn't interested in learning anymore and we said that we respected that and then we were on our way!

Tuesday

We had a really quick lesson with one investigator at the church today…we just ended up showing a Mormon message. It was more to say good-bye to one of my companions that is leaving. Then we taught another investigator and we talked to him about family history and he was so excited!  He was telling us how he is going to get his father involved and his face just lit up talking about his ancestors!  Later we had a dinner appointment with the Elders with a lady in our ward. She knows how much my companion and I love Mac and Cheese so she had made homemade Mac and Cheese...my companion and I thought we were going to be brought to tears...not really, but it was delicious!!  We had so much fun and this lady kept us laughing throughout the entire dinner!  Then we went and visited a lady  who one of my companions had taught a little bit ago, but is now a member of another church. But since it was one of my companion’s  last day, she wanted to go visit her and she is awesome!  She has such strong faith and has great faith in knowing that God is there for her all the time and always has a plan.  We are going to go over and study the Bible with her pretty soon so that will be a lot of fun!

Wednesday

Today we dropped one of my companions and best friend off at the train station:((  I was sad to see her leave:( We’ve had so much fun together!! But I love the companion I have now, and we get along great!  We made cards for a little girl in our ward who broke her leg and then another less active who just recently had a baby and went and delivered them. That took a while since they live on opposite ends of the city.  We also sent in our inventory list to the missionary couple so that we can get a move on  the moving! We hope to move this Friday!  Then we went and visited our investigator and taught her about the Plan of Salvation!  The lesson was incredible!!!  The Spirit was so strong the entire lesson and we were sharing personal experiences, scriptures and it was unbelievable!  The lesson went really really well and we are so excited to continue to see her progress!  Later one of the elders called us and said that the Zone Leaders were planning on calling a companionship in the zone to do a challenge...so guess who got called? Yep the Asker Missionaries!  The challenge was to see who could extend the most baptismal invitations before Sunday night and whoever won would get drinks from them at Zone Conference. So it was between us and the Drammen Elders, so the game was on!

Thursday

We had District Meeting today with our tiny District of 4 missionaries!  We have the smallest District in the entire mission!  We spent District Meeting talking about our investigators and how to help our areas and it was super beneficial!  Then we had weekly planning and then we were off to our appointment with one of our investigators.  We reviewed the Restoration with her and she was asking questions and was involved in the lesson the whole time!  Granted she did have her questions like how the people in the scriptures learned how to write or how much of the Book of Mormon was on one side of the gold plates, but she is 10, and she was giving us a good laugh!  But she was telling us her thoughts and actually understood more of the Atonement than a 10 year old normally would which was incredible! But...we got a new baptismal date!!!  She is going to be baptized on November 5!!!!! Then we went and picked up the Elders and went to a family in our ward for dinner and it was delicious! We had lots of fun with them, but it was a shorter visit because the Elders had an appointment that we were also going to!  Speaking of which, they are teaching an investigator and this lesson was one of my all time favorite lessons in my mission!  The Elders had asked us to come along and the only preparation we had gotten was "If you have a prompting, follow it", so we were ready!  They were teaching the 3rd lesson which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and you talk about faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!  But as they were teaching she had expressed how she didn't think she knew Heavenly Father loved her and she expressed how maybe He didn't know her yet because she hadn't been taking the lessons for very long. I was prompted with an experience that I had when I was at Girl's Camp when I was 15 about praying and finding out that God knows us personally and loves us, so I began sharing this experience and testifying to her that God knew who she was.  The whole time I was talking she was nodding her head and saying yes and as soon as I was finished she said, "That exactly answered my question.  That is what I needed to know" and it was INCREDIBLE!!!!  Then later one of the elders asked me to explain how I knew I needed to share that and she said, "How did you know that?" I then began explaining how I had thought of this experience and that although I had only just met her, Heavenly Father knew what she needed because He knows her personally and so all I had to do was share the experience.  IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! How could you love anything more than sharing with someone that the most powerful being in the universe is your Heavenly Father and that He knows you personally and loves you unconditionally!? 

Friday

Today we had a lesson with an investigator and the Elders had to come with us because one of my companions  is no longer here.  So we began teaching the Plan of Salvation to him and when we got to explaining earth, we talked about faith, repentance and began talking about baptism!  We extended the invitation to him to be baptized and he said yes!! so now he has a baptismal date for October 22!!! It was a great lesson!  Then after his lesson we decided to go and try and find this girl we have been trying to get a hold of. Because we haven't met with her in a while and we are struggling to get in contact with her, we decided to go to Asker Sentrum. She is always in Asker Sentrum so we thought we might have a chance to see her there. We decided to say a fervent prayer that we would be able to be led to her and then went out walking in faith!  We went to where she usually is and first off we saw one of our potential investigators!! Then we found her!!!!!!!! So we asked her if she had time and we taught her about Jesus Christ and about the things that He has asked us to do here on the earth such as have faith in Him, repent, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.  We extended the invitation to her as well but she told us that she needed to think about it which is totally fine and we are excited to continue to teach her! She is a sweet girl and the gospel can truly change her life!  Then we tried visiting one of our investigators who has been in Germany for a while and we were hoping that she would be back by now, but apparently she is still in Germany so hopefully she comes back soon!  Then we went and tried to visit a less active and she said that we could maybe come back another time so we'll keep on trying! 

Saturday 

We drove to a town up north today to go and visit a lady who used to be the AP's investigator. Since they moved to Oslo she is our investigator now!  So we went up to go and teach her and she had already told the AP's that she wanted to be baptized!!  So we taught her the 3rd lesson as well and she set her own baptismal date after we extended the invitation! November 19!!  She is incredible!  It's incredible to see how the gospel changes lives!!! Then later we went and looked at our new apartment and we will hopefully be fully moved in on Friday!! I have the address which I will put at the end of the email!  After our appointment we picked up the Elders and headed down to Oslo to watch Conference!  The Elders had bought us Dr. Pepper because we have to drive them so many places because they only have bus passes!  But CONFERENCE WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!  I absolutely loved the Women's Session and I think that my favorite talk from that one was President Uchtdorf's talk! Then we watched the Saturday Morning session and I just loved it all!!!  It's hard for me to even pick favorites!  It's so different watching Conference as a missionary!  I felt like a sponge that was just soaking up all that I could...it's like I could truly feel what it meant to "feast upon the words of Christ" INCREDIBLE!

Sunday

Today was another day filled with Conference and I loved those sessions too!  We took the Elders early so that they could watch the Priesthood Session and my companion and I just sat out in the foyer.. but there was a speaker out there, so we got to listen to that session too!  The Saturday Afternoon session was probably my favorite session!  IT WAS UNREAL!!! Obviously I loved all the focus on missionary work because I'm a missionary!!  Then we went to President's house with the Drammen District and had dinner, watched the Sunday Morning session, and then had dessert and talked about what we had learned!  AMAZING!! Literally I wish I could just experience Conference like I have as a missionary for the rest of my life because it is literally a different world!  So I'm grateful that I have 2 more conferences on my mission!!!!  Then the zone leaders called us and we said "Hei" and we just heard screaming on the other line because they were so excited about our baptismal invitations and dates!  So drinks for us at zone conference! 

So we end this week with 3 baptismal dates, General Conference and a whole lot of happiness and fun!  Literally can't put into words how much I'm loving my mission!  Miss you all lots and love you all!  

New Address

Søster Kylee Love

Semsveien 44A

1387 Asker