Guess what!? THE SUN CAME OUT!!! It was out for almost the whole week! You don't realize how much you miss the sun until it comes out again haha! Also, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! I think I'm more excited about 4th of July this year than I have been...HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!! Our District Leader even got permission from our mission president to talk about America in our District Meeting haha! Also, this week has been the craziest hectic week ever so here's a little roller coaster for ya!
Monday
After emailing last week, we went and just all hung out in the church. Sister Bennett and I went back home to eat dinner and then I was headed off to Oslo!! So I spent the rest of the day flying down to Oslo all by myself...it's really boring to travel by yourself. Especially when you're used to having a companion all the time haha! But I got to meet another sister missionary and she is super cool!
Tuesday
I was in Oslo for the filming for the Book of Mormon Musical. A filmmaker from England came and we started filming at 9am... and they were asking all sorts of questions like, "Why should people on the street stop and listen to you?" "How do you become a missionary?" "What are some of the challenges and joys of serving a mission"...I shared a story about an investigator, obviously introduced myself and yep! It was set up like a talk show..I was on a white couch and had flowers next to me and a picture behind and it was intense haha!:)) Then later we went out and contacted people and they filmed us doing that. They had a group of boys that volunteered to be in the video so we were talking to them about the Book of Mormon. The AP's didn't have anything else for us to do that day so we went and laid outside in the sun and got Solo ice cream and then I also got to see some people from Drammen that were being filmed and people from my first area!! There are two young women who have put in their mission papers/working on their papers that I was really good friends with in Asker! So that's super cool! So it was fun to see people from my old areas! I also was able to say goodbye to Sister Petersen!! (Her friend from EFY) That was the last time that I will see her before she leaves..CRAZY! Then I traveled back home by myself! But everything went well with the planes... and getting on a plane now is just like getting on another bus or train because I fly so often haha!:)))
Wednesday
Today I had to go and renew my oppholdstillatelse! I can't believe I have been in this country long enough that I literally had to go and renew my Visa! Weird! But then we had District Meeting and the ZL's had skyped in to be a part of our District Meeting. Sister Bennett and I were in charge of the doctrine portion so we played a game and then we talked about how we can use the Book of Mormon and how the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together. Then we all had pizza and salad for our District Lunch and all pitched in! So that was super fun! Then we were sitting in the church and Sister Peterson was sitting in a chair and had moved wrong or something and her knee just couldn't extend and hurt super bad!!:( She has had knee problems before. So then we were trying to find someone from the ward that we could call... and there were a few people that stood out to us who we knew would come the minute that we called. But that really got me thinking, would I be one of those people that others could know that they could call or would I be one of those people that they figured were busy and would be skipped over? I would hope that I would be one of those people that they knew they could call. I want to do everything I can to be that person! She had asked if the elders could give her a blessing! I don't know if there is anything I love more than being able to see the priesthood in the works! Especially the Elders! It's just so cool to be able to see someone your age being able to use the priesthood, God's power! It was a super cool experience! So boys..honor your priesthood! Then one of the older ladies came and picked her up. The other sister missionaries had a baptismal interview that they had to go to...so my companion went with the other sister missionary and I sat with Sister. Peterson in the doctor's office and tried to entertain her for about 3 hours haha! Then we got sent to the hospital and had to wait even longer...another member (she calls us her reserve mom) came and sat with me while I was waiting in the hospital. That took about another hour and a half! So none of us went to bed until really late that night and Sister Peterson stayed overnight. President Hill kept calling me to see how things were going and if I was okay and I just said, "I'm great! I want to be a nurse so this is like being early on the job" and he just laughed...then every time he called after that he just laughed because I was "in my element" haha!:))
Thursday
I don't think I've ever had a day in my mission where I have been so tired! I was literally exhausted and so was Sister Bennett! HA! Today we went and pulled weeds for a less active in the ward and then she fed us lunch! She was asking us if we did yard work often when we were at home and then I just laughed because I just pictured all of the Saturdays when our whole family was out in the yard and I was put on "pulling weeds duty" and that's exactly what I was doing then! So thank you Dad for preparing me for the mission! Then we had a lesson with our investigator and he's really hard to teach because he literally believes in nothing. But the member that was with us was relating faith to the Polar Express and that made him understand! So then we committed him to read Alma 32 and he said he would read it and that we could meet with him again! He is progressing!!! WAHOO! Then we had dinner with all the missionaries at the bishops house and our investigator came with us because it was like an open house and that was super fun! At the end of the day we called potential investigators and we got a few that were interested!
Friday
Today we had an appointment for lunch at this park called Skansen and it was about half way up to Fløyen and that means nothing to you guys..but it's this big mountain and we had to hike it...about half way up in order to get to this park! We talked about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and the husband had brought a guitar and sang us a song that he had written...yep! That was fun! Then we met some Americans from California and they were talking to us... and it's always fun to meet tourists or even to just hear someone say, "Hi Sisters" Made our day! Then we had weekly planning and the sun was out so Sister Bennett sat in the shade and I was right in the sun (go figure) and so I did the impossible...I got a tan in Bergen!!!:)) Then we went and played soccer in the sun and then planned at the missionary couple's for our 4th of July party for the ward today!
Saturday
Today the other sisters had a baptism! The ward was so incredibly welcoming and so genuine and you could tell that he was so excited to finally be a member of the church! I love being able to watch baptisms! You don't see them that often here but I love it because then when it does happen then you fully understand just how big of a step this is, how important baptism really is. It was a good reminder to remember just how important this work is and that people truly are prepared to receive the gospel. Then we went to språk (language) at the center and then we taught our investigator! She is GOLDEN! We taught her about the Restoration and she knows quite a bit about the church already because she has family that are members. But she didn't know that there was a prophet today and her face just lit up knowing that there was one! She loved the Restoration and she believes it and was so excited to tell us that she had been praying every day and that she had gotten to 1 Nephi 12 and it was such an awesome lesson! I got out of that lesson and just felt like I was on cloud 9! If you had to sum up why I went on a mission in a lesson, that would be it! That's what I imagined a mission would be like, and to see her face light up and being able to testify of Christ and the truthfulness of the gospel is incredible! I literally can't put into words how amazing it is! The gospel is just happiness! It is eternal and everlasting happiness! Then we went and visited a lady who is a member in our ward (she has autism) and she was talking about how she couldn't hear well and I told her, "Just think how great the Resurrection will be then, everything will be perfect" and then she says, "I don't want to die" That wasn't the reaction I was expecting to get!:)) She is amazing and we had such a great visit!
Sunday
TODAY WAS THE BEST SUNDAY!!! My heart was just so full of gratitude and love and I'm just so grateful for the gospel in my life! Today I led the hymns in sacrament meeting and it was also testimony meeting! The testimonies that were shared were so good and then "I Believe in Christ" was the closing hymn which is my favorite hymn! Then one of our members needed a blessing and one of the elders had given it and she had asked that we were in there with her. So I got another experience of seeing the priesthood in the works. The priesthood is one of those things that just testifies to me that the gospel is true, it is God's power and through the priesthood holder, we can receive God's word directly. How incredible is that! It is evidence that God loves us and I'm incredibly grateful for the experiences that I got to have with it this past week! So that was cool to be able to lead the ward I'm serving in to sing that song! Then we went to the English Sunday School class and we taught about the Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and that was super good! Then we had Relief Society and it was such a good lesson! She said, "If you truly understood who you were, then you would do more" and I loved that! She also said, "We just need to do what the Lord expects of us and the Lord will take care of the rest" Church was just incredible today and that was just a tender mercy of the Lord! Then we contacted with the other sisters while Sister Peterson sat in a chair contacting from there and we contacted in a square and we were stopping people left and right and the hood was coming on and off because it would rain really bad and then it would stop and then it would rainagain! I had one person literally run away from me when I said the words "Book of Mormon" because he was "afraid of that"...I just laughed! Then I stopped these girls who took the Book of Mormon...and I stopped another guy that I got an appointment with and he was asking questions that the Restoration perfectly answered! So he took the Book of Mormon and said that he would read the introduction before our appointment! YES! The Lord prepares people!!! Then we did studies with the other sisters and we talked about lessons that we had learned in our missions so far and the week that we've had and charity... and my heart has just been so full this week!
Today
Today we have a 4th of July party with the ward!! Happy Birthday America! (tomorrow)
Also, this week I hit my year mark! Which is just crazy! I don't feel like I have been on a mission for a year! But it has been the best year of my life! Every day I am grateful for the decision that I made to serve a mission! There is nothing better that I could've done with my time and there is no other way that I could've learned all the things that I have learned in the past year! I've had some really hard times on my mission and been brought to tears but I've had so many incredible experiences that have made me feel indescribable joy! The mission is a privilege, it is a privilege to be serving a mission here in Norway. Being able to wear my name tag every single day and being able to be a representative of Him is a privilege. I know with all my heart and without a doubt that this church is true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church, it is Christ's church. God lives, He hears every single one of our prayers and He has a plan for every single one of His children. He is aware of us, He loves us with an infinite love and He is good! Jesus Christ lives, He is our Savior and Redeemer and the greatest friend we could ever have. He gave His life in service to show us the way, and literally gave His life so that we could have second chances and live again. Joseph Smith was a prophet that was called of God to restore His church, Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today who God has called to lead us and give us the guidance that we need to be able to stay on the straight and narrow path. We have God's authority here on earth and because of that, everything that is bound on earth can be bound in heaven. Love lasts forever and families are eternal. This gospel is truly a message of happiness. How blessed we are to live in the time of the fullness of His gospel!
Love you all and miss you all tons! Have a very Happy 4th of July!
Pictures from her year in Norway....
Pictures from her year in Norway....
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