#70 I love my mission!

Hei Hei fra Bergen! 

Fall has officially hit Bergen and it's getting a little chilly!  But our hearts are staying warm from all the MIRACLES we're seeing!  Sorry, that was the worst joke ever told... but miracles are happening, tender mercies are being seen, and as always, GOD IS GOOD! 

Monday

Last Monday Sister Stolp and I went with the Zone Leaders to MLC in Oslo!  So Sister Stolp and I stayed at the mission home with Sister Cook and with Sister Horgmo.... and it was so much fun!!!  I haven't seen Sister Cook since March so it was so much fun to see her again!!!  We were having a party!  

Tuesday

Today we had MLC with all of the other STL's and Zone Leaders and then we talked about our mission and what we can do to help our missionaries... and talked about zone focuses and all of that jazz!  So that was fun! Then we headed to the airport to fly back to good ol Bergen! 

Wednesday

Today we had our mission wide webex and then we had District Meeting.  I led the doctrine portion of it and talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then I was asked to come up with the practical... so then we did that about active listening.  It was a good District Meeting!  Our District is hysterical!!!  Then we taught our investigator and we talked to him about the Restoration and discussed it with him. He knows all of the information already but it was a great lesson!  Then we were going to teach another investigator but she called and cancelled on us... so then we worked in our area book and did 12 week! 

Thursday

Today we were out contacting at the beginning of the day and Sister Hatch and I had made a goal that she would stop and ask the first question and then I would carry on the conversation.  She stopped every single person that we talked to!  I didn't stop a single one, just carried on conversations!  It was awesome to see! My greenie is growing up so fast!  Haha!  We even found a potential investigator!  Blessings upon blessings!  Then we went and visited a member family and we took the wrong bus... ended up in the right neighborhood...but we were on the completely different side..we were told that if we would just walk all the way around the little lake then we would get there.  Well little did we know just how long that was going to be... we got a little workout in before we got there haha!  We talked to them about what M. Russell Ballard talked about in his devotional and then we shared the Mormon Message "Same Jersey" and then committed them to write their testimonies in the Book of Mormon...and we would hand out one and then they would pray to hand out one.... and they were so excited about it!  They even wanted to put their own phone numbers in it so people could contact them about the church!  It was awesome!  After that we had dinner and then we went and taught our investigator.  The elders came along because she has a 12 year old son and she thought it would be good for him.... so we taught the Restoration and played games throughout it.  We had him mirror one of the elders with his eyes closed to teach about prophets...and we used a crushed up chocolate bar to represent the apostasy... and blindfolded him... and had him "find the right church" to teach about Joseph Smith.  It was awesome!  Such a good lesson! 

Friday 

Today was weekly planning day! And our area book is immaculate!  It is beautiful! Then we had dinner with a family in the ward with the other sisters and it was a great dinner!  I feel like we finally got a good relationship with them and that they are excited about our missionary work which was awesome! 

Saturday

Today we taught one of our investigators and it was a great lesson!  We talked to him about how reading the scriptures, praying, and going to church are all commandments of God. We had a great discussion about all of those things and then he told us that he hadn't had coffee since we had committed him not to!!  His friend had even bought him coffee and he had turned it down!!  WAHOO!!! Then we went and taught another investigator and something finally clicked for him!  He was literally bearing his testimony to us in our lesson and then we were talking about how to recognize the Spirit and he was telling us his plan for how he wants to move towards baptism and it was the coolest lesson!  I was smiling from ear to ear!  MIRACLES!!! 

Sunday

MORE MIRACLES!!!! We had 2 investigators in church today and guess who was one of them!? The one we talked to yesterday!!!! And guess what!?  HE STAYED FOR ALL 3 HOURS!!  He has tons of friends in the ward that he has known for many years and we have a Spanish Sunday school class that he went to.... and he might be coming to the ward party on Friday..... and also he volunteered to come help clean the church with the priesthood!  What investigator does that!?  That is incredible!  Our investigator that threw away his cigarettes also came to church! Then Sister Stolp and I were planning our presentation for Zone Conference tomorrow because we have to talk about the area book and the phone and stuff like that... and then Sister Hatch and I went to our investigator. We watched Meet the Mormons with her and it's the greatest movie ever!  Every one can connect to it in some way or another!  It's awesome!  

Today

Today we have no idea what we are doing!  But now we're emailing! It's going to be another great week here in Bergen and I am excited to see what other miracles happen this week!  GOD IS GOOD! 

Love you all lots and miss you tons!

Pictures from her STL conference in Oslo...and her and Sis. Cook. They were companions in Drammen...and hadn's seen each other since March! Very happy to see each other again and catch up.

#69 A week of Miracles!!

Hei Hei fra Bergen!!!

This week was an INCREDIBLE week!  There were miracles left and right and let me just say... GOD IS GOOD! 

Monday

We decided that we were going to go a try a less active that was on our YSA list and we were having the hardest time finding the building.... but when we finally found it....there were no names on any doors.. just numbers! The address that we had didn't said anything about what door they lived in... so we decided to just start banking.  We knocked on the second door and it was a family!  I started talking about the Book of Mormon and she said that her husband was really interested and that we could definitely come back!  She took the Book of Mormon and our card and thanked us for coming to her door!  Then we knocked on the 4th door and it was another lady and I started talking about the Plan of Salvation because that's what I felt was needed by the Spirit... and I asked her if that was something that she was interested in and she said yes!  She told us we could come back because she was going to have visitors but that she really wanted to learn more!  ALL THIS HAPPENED AND WE HAD ONLY BANKED ON 6 DOORS!!! TALK ABOUT MIRACLES!

Tuesday

Today we had a WebEx for Pre MLC and then we taught one of our investigators with a member present!  We talked about church attendance and why it is on Sunday and what it means to come to church.  We read 3 Nephi 18 where Christ institutes the sacrament and it was an awesome lesson!  We committed him to read the Book of Mormon every single day and he talked to the member for a long time after the lesson and had a good discussion!  Then we taught another investigator and this is the highlight of my week!  We haven't met with him for a long time and he has been on vacation for the longest time. We could tell something was off... so we met with him and we know that he has thought about baptism and that is something that he wants to do.... but he isn't ready to be baptized right now because there are some other things that need to be fixed.  We started asking him what you need to do to become a Mormon and wrote them up on the board.  One of them being the Word of Wisdom and we knew there was a problem with that.  He knew that he was in the wrong and then I asked him if he had the tobacco with him.... he said he did and I asked him if he could do something.  He said yes and I said, "I want you to throw it away" .....He understood that God was the one that had given the commandment and he had just said that he wasn't addicted.  I wasn't sure what was going to happen but I felt that's what I needed to do.  He got up right out of his chair, got his tobacco and went and threw it away!!  In that closing prayer he thanked God for the lesson that we had had and how he had felt.... he was in the dark but that he had finally seen some of the light again.  He went home and threw away the other tobacco he had and even showed us a video of him throwing it in the garbage!  WHAT FAITH!!!! He told us that he knew that we had been sent from God and that I was promising him blessings and he said, "You say jump and then I just ask how high?" The Spirit was so strong in that lesson!  WOW!! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! BEST LESSON EVER!! That is something that I will never forget! Then we went and taught less actives about prophets and committed them to come to church on Sunday for all 3 hours! 

Wednesday

We had 3 appointments today but they all got cancelled!  So we called potentials and we were out on the streets all day and doing studies and different things like that and honestly I don't really remember all that happened that day! 

Thursday

Today we had District Meeting with our new District.  Elder Burgoyne, Elder Stephenson, Elder Hansen, Elder Lowther, Sister Brimhall, Sister Stolp, Sister Hatch and I! It was a great district meeting!  We talked about the spirit and then we practiced contacting people on the street! We had both of our appointments for the day cancel once again and so we were back out on the streets!  We had some really good conversations with some people but many of them turned us down anyway!  But it was a lot of fun!  I just don't get some people...if they knew what I was offering them then I'm pretty sure they'd give me a couple more minutes to speak:)  

Friday

Today we went banking for a little bit and then we taught our investigator we talked to on Tuesday.  We did a church tour and ended in the chapel with him reading 3 Nephi 17 while I played primary songs on the piano. The Spirit was super strong. He said that he is trying to strengthen his faith and find out the truth and asked about the word of wisdom so we just taught that.  He has a few problems with it but he said that he would give up coffee from there on out!  It was awesome!  The investigators we have right now are incredible!!! Then we did weekly planning and then went to sport which is always fun!  

Saturday

Today we had studies and språk class and then it was back out on the street!  We talked to one guy on a bench and he had said that he believed in life after death so of course I held onto that and started talking about the plan of salvation.  He said it was something he was interested in learning about but that he would never become a mormon, he just wanted the information.  I said that was fine and asked him if we could share the Book of Mormon that talked about this plan.  He said yes and then we left with his number and we turned around later and he was reading in the Book of Mormon...and then we looked back later and he was STILL READING!  So that's incredible!  Whether something comes out of it or not, he can feel the power of the Book of Mormon because that my friends, is not just another book!  Then we (Sister Stolp and I) helped the zone leaders plan Zone Conference and the Zone Focus! 

Sunday

Today we had church and our investigator came to church!!! Talk about miracles!  He started out as an atheist with no knowledge of anything and now he is at a maybe God exists and reads the Book of Mormon and came to church!!!  And every testimony that was given applied to his situation and what he has gone through recently!  Isn't that incredible!?  God knows each one of us individually!  Can I just say that!? God is good!  It was such a good meeting!  I was so excited that he had come!  Then Sister Stolp and I planned our splits focus and then we had dinner and a devotional with M. Russell Ballard for all of Europe.  He talked about how the members need to help missionaries because we can't perform the miracle alone anymore... but that they need to help.  He told us all that we need to believe in miracles because they have not ceased!  That we each have a miracle that must be performed by each of us and the greatest miracle we can perform is bringing another soul to the light of the gospel!  IT WAS SO GOOD!!! BELIEVE IN MIRACLES EVERYONE!!!!! 

This week has just been an incredible week and I have seen miracle upon miracles and just ways, small and big, that God shows us that He is there! He loves us and He knows each one of us individually. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!  Look for the tender mercies of the Lord this week!  They are always there, you just have to find them:)

Love you lots and miss you tons!

#68 Splits to Trondheim and umbrella fun

Hei Hei fra Bergen!!! 

Well another transfer has come and gone and Sister Love is staying in good 'ol Bergen for another 6 weeks at least!  I think it's going to be the rest of my mission which is fine by me!  I absolutely love it here and fall in Bergen is PRETTY!!! It's freezing cold and I'm dressing like it's winter but it's beautiful so it's fine! 

Monday

Today we went and hiked Ståltzen or something like that and that was quite the hike!  But people who live close to it run up it every single day!  The record is around 7 minutes!  Crazies!  Then for proselyting time we rode the bybane all the way to the airport and back to where we live and just talked to people on the bybane because it was pouring rain! It was a fun new way to contact!

Tuesday

Today we watched General Conference (the Sunday Afternoon Session) and then we had District Meeting and then we talked about patience and diligence. We did practicals on banking and that was fun!  Then we went out to go banking and you should've all seen Sister Hatch and I out there haha!  Our umbrellas were directly in front of our faces trying to stop the rain, then the wind would blow it so it flipped the umbrella upside down! We had a good ol time!  Then later we had MMK and then we went and taught our investigator and she's the best!  We watched the General Conference talk from Rasband about how God doesn't do coincidence and then talked about how she has seen God's hand in her life. After that we went to sing in the ward choir and that was entertaining to say the least haha!  

Wednesday

Today Sister Stolp and I went to Trondheim for splits!  We got there and I went with Sister Palmer to go and teach a less active that they were working with... and it went really well!  We were able to invite her to come to church on Sunday and she was really listening to everything we said!  It was awesome!  Then we had dinner with the other sisters and one of the new converts in the Trondheim ward and that was super fun!  Then we did language study with Sister Horgmo who is Norwegian and so that's always helpful! 

Thursday

Today I was with Sister Whetten who is actually from Saratoga Springs too!  We taught a new convert and we watched a conference talk in Arabic because that's his first language!  Good thing I'd seen the talk already in English haha!  Then we ended up teaching another new convert as well and talking to him about his conversion story and it was super cool!  He was saying how he is the only member in his family and how that doesn't matter to him because the gospel is more important to him than anything else and that his faith comes first.  It was awesome!  Then we had splits review and then we were back on trains and planes to come back home to Bergen! 

Friday

Today we had our appointment cancel on us so we were out on the streets and people were just not having what we were telling them today... but I started talking to the girl sitting across from me on the bybane and she was from Austria and was now living in Norway... and I thought about inviting her to sport and talked about our church and how we have YSA activities and different things and she was really interested in that... so we got a potential investigator!!!  Woot woot!!!  We've always gotta be talking to people because we never know where we're going to find them!!!!  Then we went and played sport and I'm getting better...blessings of a mission!  Haha!  Just kidding!   Or maybe it's just mom's skills in volleyball being passed on and they're just kicking in late hahah!  

Saturday

We were going to meet with an investigator today but that got cancelled... so we had lunch and then did weekly planning and then it was off to the Saturday session of Stake Conference!  That was really good!  They were talking about how the gospel has helped others through trials and they were really good talks!  

Sunday

Today we had Sunday session of Stake Conference and they were also way good talks!  There were a lot of returned missionaries that spoke and it was so cool to listen to them talk about their missions and the experiences that they had.... because we can relate since we are missionaries ourselves!  Then we had two appointments but both of those got rescheduled so we called potentials and had dinner and then we had our studies and 12 week!

Today

Today we had transfers!  Sister Wheeler is leaving us and going to Haugesund which will be fun for her but we're all bummed that she is leaving! Sister Stolp is going to be training and then Sister Hatch and I are still going to be companions!  Then as for the elders, Elder Christian is leaving to go to Hamar and then we're getting Elder Burgoyne ....Elder Hansen is training and Elder Cole is going AP! So that's the rundown on that!  I'm way excited for this next transfer!

Love you all lots and miss you tons!!

Pictures from Kylee this week....Training in Oslo with her companion...outside the castle. Splits in Trondheim..outside Nidarosdomen...a big cathedral. Kylee is posing with Books of Mormon...each representing one month...the picture is a little old...she has now been out for 16 months and only has 2 months left!!!

#67 I love General Conference as a missionary!!

Hei Hei Fra Bergen!

This week has FLOWN by!  It was seriously probably one of the fastest weeks of my mission!  There has been so much stuff going on... and in and out of planes.... so it's been crazy... but it's been incredible as always! 

Monday

Last Monday we flew down to Oslo because we had First Transfer Training and that took up the rest of the night!  We stayed in the apartment with the Oslo Sisters so that was fun! 

Tuesday

Today we had First Transfer Training all day!  We had all sorts of presentations by President and Sister Hill and from the assistants.  Then we had break out sessions about transportation contacting, calling from the area book, banking, and something else! It was a lot of fun!  Then of course the highlight is being able to watch the Best Two Years!  I have seen that movie far too many times...I could quote that movie from beginning to end but it's still funny haha!  I loved being able to learn from the other missionaries that led the break out sessions and being able to see different ways to do missionary work!  Since we were in Oslo and there was a showing of the Book of Mormon Musical.... we had a chance to hand out Book of Mormons to people coming out of the play which was a super cool experience.  I love that the entire mission is so focused on the Book of Mormon because of the play and I have definitely gained a stronger testimony of it because of it!  

Wednesday

Today we had First Transfer for the majority of the day!  It was a couple more presentations and a few more break out sessions about asking questions, using the scriptures, extending commitments and how to begin teaching. Super good!  Then we flew home that evening!

Thursday

Today we were out of the apartment by 6:45 because we were going to a school to talk about the US in an English Class that a ward member taught.  So we talked about the things that are different here in Norway and in the US and they were asking us a few questions.  Then they had us speak Norwegian after we had spoken English the whole time and all their mouths just dropped when we could speak Norwegian too haha!  It was pretty funny! Then we had District Meeting and we talked about how to build the relationship with the ward and then we had 2 appointments.  One with a guy who has the baptismal date.  We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and he literally just takes it all in!  He had a few questions but he is so open to hear what we have to say and it's awesome!  Then we taught another guy and we taught him the Restoration. He had a few questions too but the ending of the lesson was so powerful!  We were testifying of the Book of Mormon and after that he was telling us that he would read every single day.  It was incredible!  

Friday

Today we went on splits with just the sisters in our apartment so I was with Sister Wheeler all day and we were cracking ourselves up all day!!! We were able to teach an investigator who I taught earlier with Sister Bennett and so that was super fun to be able to teach her again!  She is golden!  Then we were going to teach our atheist friend but he cancelled...so then we went and taught another investigator that I taught before... and that was quite an adventure in the lesson!  The elders came with us on the teach and it was just funny!  It was a good lesson but it didn't go as planned! Then we went and played sport! 

Saturday

Today we taught språk and then the rest of the weekend was Conference!  I LOVE GENERAL CONFERENCE AS A MISSIONARY!!! I wish I could watch General Conference as a missionary for the rest of my entire life!  It was INCREDIBLE!  I loved every single talk (I haven't seen the last session yet) and there was something that really touched me in every single one!  I don't even think I can pick a favorite!  I LOVED the one from Hallstrom about miracles and then I LOVED the one from Renlund about God's plan and agency. I LOVED Eyring's talk and I loved Women's conference and I just loved it all!  My heart was so full!  That is what eternal and everlasting happiness is!  The GOSPEL!  I can't even put into words how I felt as I was watching conference!  I can't put into words how much I love this gospel or how deeply I know it to be true.  I had gone into General Conference with questions that I wanted answered and I love being able to see God's direct guidance from his chosen apostles.  There were so many talks that really got me thinking...especially Eyring's talk.  I just want to be that person that will drop anything and everything to serve.  I want to serve like Christ would if He were here.  I want to exemplify Him in how I help and serve those that are around me.  It made me think of the quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley, " I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know that I was really here and that I really lived."  I want to be that person and I'm so incredibly grateful for the gospel, for the prophet and apostles, and the love of the Lord that has given us a way to become who we want to become and more importantly, become who God wants us to be.  I love this gospel with my whole heart.  It is the most precious thing in the world to me and I'm so glad that I get to share it with the people who I have come to love here in Norway.

Love you lots and miss you tons!

Thanks to Sis. Hill's blog...I have some pictures to share:)) These are from the zone conf. in Stavanger