Yo,
Pretty average week last week for me, but not bad. A lot of the stuff we did this week was not very interesting or exciting, so here is a quick summary of the main things we did this week:
-We had a lesson with our friend Øivind. He is a Norwegian guy that is from a different city in Norway, but also lived in the USA (Ohio and California) for many years some years ago. And he definitely seems a lot more like an American than a Norwegian haha. He is a professor at the University up here in Tromsø, so he is super intellectual guy. So our discussions are normally pretty drawn out, and often cover a wide variety of topics. He really loves the church though, and even resonates with a lot of the theology. This time he brought his daughter along as she was too sick to go to kindergarten I guess? Idk but it made it difficult to teach anything because she was crying and randomly walking around the whole time lol. He is definitely a very interesting guy and probably someone I would never choose to interact with if I wasn't on a mission, but he's a really nice guy and I'm already slowly gaining love for him.
-We've got a really goofy/funny member in our branch up here that lives like 2-3 hours from the city. He randomly called us the Sunday before and just asked us if we could call for a chat sometime during the week. He has a crazy memory, and remembers the exact date and time of day that he met the missionaries, was baptized, etc. So basically he just wanted to call (I'm guessing just to talk to someone) and tell my new companion his conversion story. He also talks really slow so it takes a long time lol. But I had already heard this story, so it was basically for companion. Of course my companion then is sleeping through the entire thing. I then yawn one time and the member says, "Elder Winegar, are you tired? Did you sleep okay last night?", After my companion was literally head down sleeping 😭😭. He's a funny guy though and it was definitely a bright spot in the week.
-Our friend Daniel that got baptized last month has been back in the US for a few weeks (he'll be back to norway next month sometime). Since he left, he's been pretty difficult to get in contact and communicate with, which is definitely a little bit worrisome. Well I was finally able to have a conversation with him on the phone this week, so that was good. I started to try and ask him how it's been back home and stuff, and after about 2 questions he stopped me and said something like, "Alright, let's get to business"😂😂.
-Helped out at the member's farm again last week. This time we were literally just moving stuff from one garage that was very beat up and had a bunch of holes in it to another smaller shed that had even more holes in it and was even more beat up. Not really ever sure why we are doing what we are when we are there, but once again, I'm grateful for the help we're able to give her.
The main highlight of the week was without a doubt some interactions we had with some new friends who are from Ukraine. Basically, around 2 and half weeks ago, we had 1 Ukranian lady come to our board game night. She was the only one who came that night, and to be honest it was super awkward the whole time and I really doubted that she would come back. Well, fast forward a week later, she came again, and this time with 2 friends as well. Those three, as well as some of their other friends mixed in, ended up then coming to our langauge cafe, volleyball activity, as well as church on Sunday! And then this week they came as a group of 8 people to our game night. They are all super high energy and just super fun to be around. None of them can speak much english or norwegian, so it makes it a bit tough, but they are all always smiling and laughing. And them coming to church basically doubled our numbers so that was awesome. The ones that came to church are also interested in meeting and learning more so I'm really looking forward to that.
This week in church I gave my first talk (that's over a few minutes) on my mission so far. Not sure how I made it 10 months without giving an actual talk but I'm not complaining😂. I was kind of mad because every talk that Cole has given on his mission so far he has got free reign to talk about whatever he wanted, and I was given a topic. But once again it was my first talk so I can't complain. But I was asked to talk about why I decided to come on a mission, and why I decide to stay on a mission. I'm far from being done, but it was cool to reflect on my main takeaways from my mission thus far. When I was reflecting on it, the thing that by far stood out more than anything else is the knowledge, love, and testimony I've gained of the Book of Mormon. That ended up being what I focused much of my talk on. Because it's hard to fully express my feelings about the Book of Mormon, I shared this scripture that I think sums it up pretty well, 2 Nephi 4:15-16:
...For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children. 16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard
It honestly sounds so corny as I try to put it into words, but the spirit and feeling that come from reading the Book of Mormon is something that doesn't come from anything else. I think Elder Holland's description of it is also fitting when he said, "Brothers and Sisters, God always provides safety for the soul, and with the Book of Mormon, He has again done that in our time." On my mission I have definitely found the Book of Mormon to be a place of solice from the numerous distractions in the word. If not anything else, the testimony I have of the Book of Mormon is what keeps me on a mission and is the thing that I genuinely want to share with other people.
Lyric:
"Here's some truth for your soul
Don't deny
...
And did it ever really happen you decide"
-JTM
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