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Yo,

Before this week my entire mission has been in one area so it has definitely been really different, but it's been good. There aren't any wards in the north of Norway, only branches. So the work is naturally a lot slower here, especially as I came from one of the busier areas in the mission. With that being said I don't feel like a lot happened this week haha.

According to my mission president, the image of the church has not been super positive here in Tromsø in the past, so a lot of the work they've been doing here recently has been just trying to get out into the community and show that we are normal respectable people. The last 2 transfers here the Elders have been going to eat lunch at the university here every day and going to different activities around the community. Respectfully, I don't feel like that's what I'm here to do as a missionary, so me and my companion have been trying to brainstorm what we can do to get the work going here. After the last 2 transfers he is also wanting to start getting stuff going here as well. But, we still are doing some stuff to be in the community, also just as a good way to meet people. On Thursday we went to a Bible study group at the university, which was good. My companion said when they started going to that a few weeks ago they were very strict about taking tags off and stuff, but now they were super nice and respectful and I enjoyed it. 

My companion is a really good tennis player, so that is another cool thing that they've been doing up here. Basically he got in contact with someone who runs a tennis place here, and somehow managed to start teaching a walk in clinic once a week. Apparently after the first week all 5 people that came signed up for a second class, which is rare for this place, so the director was really happy with it and wants him to keep teaching it. My companion himself said he thinks it's been good to serve the community in that way, but he said that because it has not been an effective way to find people he thinks we'll probably stop doing it in a few weeks. But regardless it is cool that he's been able to do it. 

Because my companion in my previous area was getting a brand new missionary for his new companion, and those missionaries don't come in until a few days into the transfer, on Friday I was able to have an online call with Franklin (who is on baptismal date and who I talked about last email a lot) because he had not gotten his new companion yet. Well, he actually ended up being with some other Elders in another area and was in a lesson, so it ended up being just me on the call, which was good. Me and Franklin talked for a really long time and had a great discussion. Everything I taught him he repeated back to me to make sure that he was understanding it right. Every conversation I have with him I am just so shocked how ready for and committed to the gospel he is. Unfortunately since that call, no one has had any contact with him, which really really sucks. Like I just said, the conversations we have had have been way too good, so I'm trying to assume the best, but it definitely has been super disappointing for me. I would appreciate it if you could all pray for Franklin!

On Friday I had a lesson, also an online call, with one of the basically 2 people we are teaching here. Though we aren't teaching a lot of people here, he himself is super receptive of everything and is very ready for the gospel. We talked about the Book of Mormon a lot, and even about baptism a little bit, so it was a really good lesson. He unfortunately lives an hour away which makes things difficult, but I look forward to working with him. 

At church on Sunday we had 9 people there (not including missionaries), and 5 of them were a family that lives 3 hours away and is normally not there. So that gives you a pretty good idea of what we're working with up here. We do have a good amount of people that watch online though which is good. Right after I sat down in sacrament meeting, one of the 2 consistent ladies that come to church tapped on my shoulder and just said, "You're too tall, sit behind me please"😂😂. Definitely an interesting lady but I gladly moved a few rows back lol. 

One thing that has been on my mind a lot this week has been personal revelation. And frankly, has been something that has felt really urgent. If me and my companion can't receive answers to prayers on how to find people in this area, there's not going to be any progress. I feel like the term "personal revelation" is something that is used so frequently in the church but is something that is very rarely expounded upon. Growing up I always heard church leaders, seminary teachers, and even family members talk about their experiences receiving personal revelation, and it honestly never seemed like something replicable or something that I myself could do. We are always told to pray and read the scriptures to receive answers, but how is that actually done? Well, on my mission I've been able to at least scratch the surface of what that looks like for me. I think teaching these things to people who don't have any experience with it has also helped me to dumb down what it really means. I think the main thing that I've learned is that it is unique for each person, and that it is something that actually requires work. Just like anything else in life, you can't just expect to be good at something you have never tried or done before. It has to be a priority. I read 2 Nephi 9 this week and there were a few verses in it that stood out to me:
"28 ... When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.
42 And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them."
There are a bunch of variations of what verse forty two says, essentially just that if you ask, you're going to receive an answer. I like how this verse points out the need for humility though. If we aren't humble to God's will, and ready for any possible answer, why would God give it to us? Verse thirty nine reminds us of the implications of making decisions that aren't in line with God, and I think that is a key part in receiving revelation as well. If we're not making decisions that show we care about God, or "spiritually-minded", we aren't capable of receiving answers. Those are a lot of jumbled thoughts, but I think the main takeaway I have realized on my mission, and especially this week in my new area, is that personal revelation is something that is essential in our lives and something that we need to constantly work at. I like this reminder from President Nelson: "I renew my plea for you to do whatever it takes to increase your spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation."

Lyric-"Glory to God, answered my mama in prayers"
-Vince Staples

Week 31

Friday, March 29, 2024

Hei, hope everyone is hanging in. Pretty crazy week for me.

So firstly, I got news this week that I am leaving Stavanger and am heading to a city in the north of Norway called Tromsø. I basically already knew that I was leaving Stavanger as I was there for almost 6 months, but it definitely was still disappointing. I can't really describe how much I love Stavanger and how grateful I am for the time and the relationships I built there. With that being said, I am excited as well. My new companion is an Elder I was in the MTC with, and we got along really well. This entire last 6 weeks I joked and said that I was going up to Tromsø with Elder Woolley, and then it actually happened so I'm pretty excited. I'll include a picture of the map, but I am moving from one of the most southern areas to the second most north area in the mission, so it's going to be a pretty drastic change. Should be good though. 

This week was mostly filled with appointments to say bye to people. It is probably the most lessons I've had in a week on my mission for that reason so it was a really busy but good week. After Sven's baptism I was expecting the work in Stavanger to slow down drastically, but it somehow just continue to pick up. Which makes it even harder to leave but I'm still really happy for all that is going on there right now.

Some of the  more random appointments that stood out from the week: 
-On Wednesday we delievered a Book of Mormon to someone who requested one online. We met him at a University, and he showed up in a giant Coke truck. We didn't have any time, so we were planning on just giving it to him and then leaving, but he asked if we had 5 minutes. So we walked inside and then he opened up and the vending machines and handed us sodas and a bunch of candy bars. Disappointed I won't get to meet with him again haha.
-Had a lunch with Idar (who we taught for a long time but are no longer teaching anymore). It was honestly just good to just talk with him without trying so hard to help him understand what we're teaching as we did in the past. I was reminded of some of those frustrations when we started talking about religion for a bit. But overall it was really nice to get lunch with him and I'm super grateful for the relationship I was able to build with him while I was here.
-Friday afternoon we had a lesson with this really interesting dude we are currently teaching (the one who brought shrooms to one of our activities if anyone remembers that lol). He is actually very receptive to everything we teach. But this week he told me that soda companies, as well as saft (basically water flavoring) companies are of the devil, and told me I need to stop drinking it hahaha.

Since Franklin agreed to get baptized, it seems his schedule has gotten even more busy than it was before, of course. After struggling to have much of any contact with him all week, he finally called us back like past 10pm on Friday night, and we were able to get him to agree to come an hour early to our soccer activity the next morning. We thought it would be a good idea to teach him about the commandments we follow (Word of Wisdom, Tithing, Chastity, etc) considering he is getting baptized and hasn't learned about them yet. He amazes me everytime we meet with him. When we were telling him about these things, he kept saying that they sounded hard but we need to sacrifice good things to get better things, and that he is willing to sacrifice anything to God at this point because of what he has felt being involved with the church. 

Well, fast forward to Tuesday, we had another lesson with him, even though it was Pday, mostly just so that I could say bye to him before I left. We sat down, and he instantly just told us that he actually does smoke, and wondered if he needed to stop that before his baptism. This sounds like it would be a really disappointing thing for us to hear, but based on how the rest of the conversation went, we ended up just being super impressed with him. Because he said he mostly uses smoking when he gets super stressed, he has already scheduled counseling sessions twice a week as an attempt at a solution. During our conversation he told us that his mom raised him that if he was going to do something, to do it 100% and to do it the right way, so that's why he wanted to tell us an work through it. Literally so crazy. In addition to that, he told us that he already was having a conversation with some random people in the library that were asking him what he was doing this weekend about the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ's church...before he's even baptized!! And on top of all of that, he is already in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon (pg 427) and he literally started reading a week ago. Insane. I should (hopefully) be able to come back for the baptism which I'm very grateful for if I can.

The other main highlight of the week was on Saturday, when we took Rafael (who was baptized in January) to lunch for a combo of his birthday and my departure. Over my time in Stavanger, I probably grew closest to Rafael more than anyone else. It was a great lunch and great to talk to him. We also finished the post-baptismal lessons that day as well, which was a nice ending to my time with him as I was one of the 2 missionaries that first met him. I don't have any doubt that I'll be in contact with him still, but it's still going to be really sad to not be able to see him so often. 

With how powerfully Franklin was talking about sacrifice this week, I was thinking a lot about what that really means. Sacrifice was also our mission focus for the last 6 weeks as well so it was something the whole mission had already been discussing and thinking about a lot. I like the short definition in the general handbook of the law of sacrifice, "Obey the law of sacrifice, which means sacrificing to support the Lord's work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit". I think if you combine the two elements in that definition, sacrifice essentially comes down to humbling yourself before God and submitting to His will. It's the least we can do after Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice for us, right? "10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice". Christ's sacrifice truly is "infinite and eternal", and for that reason we should sacrifice all we can to "support the Lord's work" as the general handbook put it. Franklin mentioned that as he has read the Book of Mormon he has seen countless examples of sacrifice, which has given him motivation himself. We talk about it so often in the church, but Lehi literally left, and sacrificed, everything he had to follow the command of the Lord. I honestly doubt there are many of us that would do the same. But I also don't think that is something that the Lord would ask many, if any, of us to do today either. With that being said, I think it's important to think of anything we can possibly sacrifice to the Lord. I think it's so easy to think we have already sacrificed so much to be members of Christ's church--because we have! All who are members have already sacrificed the things Franklin is sacrificing right now. But one thing that's been clear to me as I've studied is that sacrifice is not a one time event, and it's really not even measured by the magnitude or amount of things we have sacrificed. As Elder Uchtdorf put it, "Jesus taught that our offering may be large or it may be small, but either way, it must be our heartfelt all." I really like Elder Uchtdorf's simple definition of sacrifice as well, "To sacrifice means to give something up in favor of something more valuable." Whether it be smoking like Franklin, or 10 minutes in our day to sit down and pray or study the scriptures, each of us has something we can sacrifice. President Kimball told us that as we do so, we can come to know the Lord, "Through sacrifice and service one comes to know the Lord". When Franklin told us that he wants to sacrifice anything he can for God and His church, I was reminded that we really all do have more we can sacrifice, and great reason to do so. 

Lyric: 
"God Son died for us all
 So for mine, I'm running through a wall"
-JID

Pics: Franklin is the one in the beanie, Rafael the short one 🙂


Week 30-Tromsøøø

Thursday, March 21, 2024

What's up,

Hope everyone's alright.

Last Wednesday morning we had probably my most unenjoyable meeting with someone since I've been out. We met up with a guy that invited us to a concert a few weeks ago at a small lake nearby. He told us that he invited one of his friends as well, so when we got there we waited for a little while for his friend to get there. Once the friend got there, he basically just rambled to us for the next hour and half, telling us about all these insane spiritual experiences he has had, including Jesus appearing to him in a dream. We were thinking it was going pretty well. My companion tried to bring up the Book of Mormon, and the whole vibe kind of just shifted. They weren't openly against it, but you could tell they were just kinda resistant to it. Well, to end the meeting, they asked if they could say a prayer with us. They wanted to huddle in a circle and repeat what they said. During the prayer, the dude saying it literally was like, "Guys, I just got it, the Holy Spirit just told me these guys are believing in lies". We already looked like idiots huddling in the middle of a path so that was just the last straw haha. Took a lot of restraint to not say anything disrespectful lol, but didn't really have words after that appointment. 

Even though I tried to not let it, that appointment kinda just changed my mood for the whole rest of the day unfortunately. But that night we had a meeting with a dude that is probably one of the most normal people that I've met with on my entire mission. I'm not saying it's bad, because anyone who is interested in the gospel I'm excited to talk to, but I feel like it's mostly really interesting individuals who are interested. So it was really refreshing to walk in and it just be a really normal, young guy. He apparently lived with a family in Oregon a few years ago that were members, and that is what made him interested. Not sure how interested he is, but enjoyed meeting with him nonetheless. 

Saturday I had 2 more appointments that were good for the same reason. They are probably two of my favorite lessons that I've had my whole mission honestly. They are both guys that I was able to find on Facebook. One is named Stephen from Nigeria, and one is Henry from Ghana. When I talked with them on facebook, I didn't really have much of a spiritual conversation with either of them outside of saying I was a missionary for my church. But both of them were super open to talking about the gospel, even asking questions. They both already attend churches here, so not super sure if we'll end up teaching them a lot more, but I'm super grateful that I just got to spend time with them and meet them.

The main thing that happened last week was Sven's baptism :). In typical Sven fashion, he was basically an hour early haha. He was happy the morning of, but didn't seem overly nervous, he seemed excited but in a composed way which was cool to see. The baptismal meeting itself was good. I don't feel like I played much of a role in helping Sven choose to be baptized, but I was super lucky to be able to do the baptism. I told him before where to grab on my arm, how to bend his knees, etc. When we got in the baptismal tank he definitely did not remember any of that as he did not bend his knees at all, I just had to keep on lowering his head farther and farther down haha. When we were changing back into our regular clothes, after laughing a bit, I just asked him how he felt. After pausing for a second, he just replied "lettere", which means lighter or easier in Norwegian. He described how before he just felt so much pressure and weight, and that now everything just went away. I thought that was really simple but super cool. 

After that really frustrating meet-up on Wednesday, as I said, I was pretty frustrated. We had a long bus ride to our next destination, so I had a lot of time to just sit there and think about what had happened, and try and defuse my anger 😃. I couldn't help to have some frustrations on how it is possible for the gospel in it's fullness be so blatantly rejected. My first companion said that his biggest question in the church has always been: If the church is true, and the only true church, why are there not more members? Why is it not growing faster and easier? I was having some of those same thoughts. It made me think of all the other people that are just like these dudes we met with, and think why so many opposers of the church exist. I've been reading in Mormon this week, and there were a few verses that I really liked in relation to this. 
9:26-And now, behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish
8:22- For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled
I think it's pretty obvious how these verses are comforting to me as a missionary, but I think they can give each of us comfort in our individual faith journeys. Living in a world that opposes everything we believe in so strongly, it's super easy to doubt our trust in the Lord, and in the meaning of the actions we take to follow Him. I think these verses powerfully remind us that no matter what those around us say, Jesus Christ's glory still stands, and is something we are expected to exercise faith in. And as we excercise that faith--oftentimes despite or among doubts-- "all his promises shall be fulfilled". 

Lyric-
"Don't be discouraged, just go with the plan
Gotta have faith in God's grace over the land"



Week 28- Sven Baptism🤑

Saturday, March 9, 2024