#26 "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....."

Hei Hei fra Asker!!!

This week was another amazing week!  As usual:) Just making sure everyone in Norway is getting excited about Christmas and remembers why we celebrate the holiday! 

Monday

Today we went to Oslo and met the Oslo District...we had lunch at Max..a typical American lunch.  Hamburger and shake!  It was delicious and we all sat there saying, "This is so American" HAHA! After lunch we went to the "Jul i Vinterland" (Christmas market) and it is the cutest thing!  There were a bunch of little booths set up but they're all made out of the old wood and then they have these cute little signs and this huge ferris wheel...it's hard to describe...you just have to look at the pictures:)) But anyway, so all of us went on the ferris wheel and since it gets dark at 2:30pm... the sun was setting and we could see all the lights and the city of Oslo below us! We walked around downtown Oslo because the whole city was decorated and had lights all over the place!  We ended up walking into some Sami shop and listened to some Norwegian who lived in Nashville sing country music!:) Then we walked up to the castle, walked by the American Embassy and then went back to the Institute Center in Oslo and just hung out with the other missionaries before it was time to go back home!  So much fun!!

Tuesday

ZONE CONFERENCE! So today we had Zone Conference with our zone and the Vestlandet zone (So the people in Stavanger, Bergen, Kristiansand, etc.) and we had it in Oslo!  President talked about "What Lack I Yet?" as a mission and what we can do to have a better mission culture!  Then Sister Hill talked about using music in teaching.. so our District sang "Come Unto Jesus" for the zones!  Then the AP's talked to us for a little bit and showed a video of a bunch of the missionaries in the mission opening their mission calls, which was super cool because it all brought us back to that moment! After that we had lunch and then we had our talent show! I was laughing so hard!  Our District had done a parody of Santa Baby and addressed President Hill, Sister Hill, and the missionary couple in our district! One of the elders was the center of it all and then we were the backup dancers while another elder sang!  It was hilarious!:)) There were other missionaries that had written a songs, some did  skits, but there were three elders who did a dance from Napoleon Dynomite and we were laughing so hard!  It was hilarious!  Then we had a Christmas presentation of where we had the pictures of the missionaries as babies and growing up and then we were trying to guess who was who! That was super fun and we all got good laughs out of that too!  After the conference one of the sisters from Bergen went with us to our next appointment because her companion had a meeting because she is leaving this week. So we went and visited a less active!  We showed the Mormon Message "True Identity" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and she just cried through the entire film!  We then talked about how our Heavenly Father loves us and how we need to find those around us that are going to help us realize our true identity! We did a little bit of Personal Progress and picked one of the experiences that we are going to work on next time! After that we went home and made dinner and then dropped off the sister from Bergen at the Hill's house.

Wednesday

One of our appointments fell through so we decided that we were going to prepare some things for service for the ward.  We  wrapped a couple of Book of Mormons and put one of the Light the World cards in with it, and used it for contacting on the street!  Then we went and visited our new convert and we talked about how we can prepare ourselves to meet God and how we can find joy along the way. Then we went back to the church and picked up the elders and then drove to a random neighborhood to go banking..they took one side of the street and then we took the other.  We make it into a competition...which is always fun!:))  We started banking and it was raining and I felt like the girl in the Errand of Angels movie...when they knock and knock doors but no one wants to talk to them. But we had a couple of gospel conversations and found one person that was super nice... but none of them were interested in our message.  The last door that we banked on wanted to talk to us about how we are wrong and how there is something wrong with what we believe...so we stood up for our beliefs and then ended the conversation very nicely!  Later we went and had an appointment with a member.  We had never met with her before because she is fairly new to the ward... so we sat and chatted with her and then we showed her the Christmas initiative and invited her to participate in the days of service as well!  Really good lesson and lots of fun! 

Thursday

Today we had Weekly Planning and met with one of our investigators and a member in our ward at the church.  We talked about the church in earlier times and then started comparing it to the church today...which is the exact same... but he told us that he still believes that all the churches need to work together and that we can then become one true church. So I asked him if he thought that the church in earlier times was all in one place or if it was in different places... and he said that in earlier times the church would have all been in one place.  So then I compared the Restoration of the church to Skolebrød (didn't know you could do that could you hahaha).I told him that if I had the recipe to make skolebrød and given all the ingredients that I needed... I would be able to make it, and then if I pulled out that exact same recipe later then it would still make the exact same skolebrød! So if the church in earlier times had a prophet, apostles, priesthood, revelation and then it was restored later, then why would our church today be restored in all these little pieces? Well, he couldn't answer that question so we asked him to read in Gospel Principles about the church today and the church in earlier times... so we'll see how this next lesson goes!:))

Friday

Today we began preparing our seminary lesson that the elders, my companion and I are teaching Monday morning at 6:30am!  We also visited one of my favorite investigators,  and she fed us pizza, chocolate, ice cream, wafers and solo...talk about walking out of that house stuffed!  But it was delicious!:)  We talked to her about faith and repentance and shared lots of scriptures!  But we were talking and I thought of that scripture that talks about the peace the Savior gives to you, not as the world giveth unto you..and I wanted to share it with her! I just couldn't remember where it was.  I knew it was in John and I had an idea of where the chapter was, but I couldn't find it.  So I said a prayer that I would be able to remember where the scripture was and I immediately thought John 14:26 and so I flipped to that scripture and it was the scripture directly underneath it!!! I know it was a small thing but it really stood out to me! It really strengthened my testimony about a few different things.  One being that the Spirit truly does bring things to your remembrance.  If you truly put in the time to diligently study the scriptures, to prepare for lessons, then the Spirit has something to pull from and you will be supplied with the things you need when you need them.  Also, Heavenly Father always hears our prayers.  Every. Single. Time.  It doesn't matter how simple, how small, how short, how quick the prayer is...it can be a simple plea..but it is always answered.  Also, Heavenly Father knows His children.  I've been teaching this investigator for a long time and as a missionary I'm always trying to teach her and give her the things that she needs that will help her progress... but our Heavenly Father knows exactly what she needs and exactly what is going to help her the most.  He knows what she needs to hear and what is going to resonate with her and all I am is the instrument in His hands, and it is the greatest thing!  Front row seat to miracles once again!  Then later we went contacting in Sandvika Sentrum and my companion and I split up...we were in the same area, but we were talked to different people.  We talked to so many and it was so fun!  Contacting is one of my favorite things to do! I absolutely love it!  I stood on a bridge in Sandvika and asked those who passed me if they believed in Jesus Christ..how amazing is that!? It was one of those moments that just resided with me.  I get to be on His errand for 18 months and testify of Jesus Christ the entire time!  I had a few people who would stand and chat with me for a little while as I asked them questions and others were not interested but that's okay!  Maybe they'll be interested later down the road!  And there was one girl that we talked to on the way back to the church and she said that she didn't think there was a God or that Christ lived because of all the bad things happening in the world...but I got to stand there and say that I know that Christ lives and that He is there!  I just think it's so incredible that I literally get to bear my testimony of Christ on the street to someone who doesn't think He is there during Christmastime!!!! WOW!  Then later we went and taught another investigator. We only got to Pre-earth life and earth life because he had so many questions:)  It was a good discussion and he has a lot of potential!

Saturday

Today we played soccer and then ate lunch. We got ready and then headed to our appointment with the guy that we met last week that was from Poland that just moved to Norway.  We knocked on his door ready to teach...ready to teach a Polish family, in English, with a Norwegian Book of Mormon!  But he wasn't there and it was just his wife and his son, and she told us to come back another day... so it wasn't a success this week but we'll be trying them again this coming week!  So we drove to Drammen and had dinner with Mommo and Besse! (grand parentes)  Mommo had made Fiskeboller and potatoes for me and hamburgers for my companion and I was stuffed..like to the point where I thought I might explode!  But it was delicious!! and Mommo was cracking us up the entire time:))! We showed them the Christmas video and they really liked it! We talked about that and then just sat and visited with them for a little while!  It was a great visit and I like sitting there and just chatting with them!  I also got the Christmas package and now it's sitting in our apartment!  So excited for that!! 

Sunday

Today the Elders had a baptism!!  They've been teaching him for a really long time and then today finally came!  So, funny story...so they were figuring out who was going to give talks, etc. and they had asked him who he wanted to speak and he had said, "One of the sister missionaries...they're both American right?  I just love American girls" and so they asked which one and he said, "The one from Utah" so guess who spoke about the Holy Ghost at his baptism? Me!:))) It was a great baptismal service and the talk went well! Then we had church and I translated in sacrament meeting and that was exhausting.  It is so hard to be able to listen to Norwegian and then put it in English quick enough so that the story still makes sense for those listening to the translation!  But I managed!  Then we went to the missionary couple's house and had dinner.. and that's always a blast!! After dinner we went to a family in the ward and it was a great visit!  Their home teacher was there too and he told us how he had found the church and how he came to know that it was true and the Spirit was so strong! None of us were even moving, we just sat and intently listened.  So cool!  Then we sang a couple of Christmas hymns and then were off.

Today

Today we got up at 5 and went with the elders to go and teach seminary to 4 of the youth in the ward!  We all know them pretty well so it was a lot of fun!  We taught John 9 and talked about afflictions and how they build our faith and that we can't be spiritually blind.  It was so much fun!  Now we're e-mailing and I don't know exactly what we're doing for the rest of the day! 

Love you all lots and miss you tons!!!  Go get in the Christmas Spirit!

Pictures from the Christmas market (Thanks to Sis.Hill) and from the Christmas Zone Conference