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| Stavanger, of course! |
Ok I have 15 minutes. Ready go!
It's
fall break here in Norway! Everyone gets a week off - and the weather
has been gorgeously brisk. Bright blue skies, and a nippy wind. The
colors make it all worth it.
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| Red, yellow, green oh my! |
Winter is definitely coming on - and we're
pretty excited. We've already busted out the Christmas music in our
apartment (Halloween isn't generally celebrated here in Norway . . . .)
On Wednesday, President Evans came down and gave us a
big push for going from good to great! We
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| Our weekly planning session battle plans!! |
were all spiritually uplifted
and enriched from the experience. A big presentation was given on
contacting on the street as yourself, not as a robot. We, as children of
our Heavenly Father, have been given certain personality traits, and
have experienced certain things in our lives that make us more effective
in the areas in which we serve. Therefore - use those gifts God has
given you in your missionary work! I know there are few missions that
actually go out on the street for most hours in the day (Norway is one
of them), but use your God-given talents in any possible way you can!!
Also at the conference, the sisters in our group gave their burnimonies
(or in other words, their final testimonies at a zone conference before
returning home.) Our MTC district's sisters are going home already?! I
was super surprised. But just seeing the growth that we have all made -
in amazingly positive ways - is a testimony to me of missions. The
Spirit was warm and comforting through the testimony meeting. The Lord's
work is on the earth!
Our investigator D., who had the neat General
Conference experience has been doing awesomely this week. We had him
over at a member's home for dinner, and they all happened to speak the
same
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| Norwegian language studies (I'll have to explain later) |
language! Norway has to be one of the few countries where you have
so many language barriers. Here you have people from all over the world
trying to find a better way of life by moving to Norway - and it's full
of Philippinos, Africans, Spaniards, Brazilians, Americans, Iranians,
Chinese and the list goes on. Especially here in Stavanger. So when we
have a member who speaks the same language as your investigator, it
helps a LOT. D. has been progressing very well - and despite the
language barrier, he's got some deep, well thought out, sincere
questions. Those types of questions are candy for missionaries :)
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| Our pepperkaker bins beginning to pile up :D |
Pepperkaker are ginger snaps in Norway. They come
out every Christmas time. And they are amazing. And our apartment has
busted through 9 bins so far. After 3 days since we began. We're trying
to see how many we can go through before the season's over. Hahaha -
they're so good!!
The Drammen Stake had its first stake conference
this past weekend! A historical event indeed. The Lord has established
Zion in western Norway :). It was a wonderful experience - they even
received a patriarch! What a great strength to all of the members and
new converts here in western Norway. As well, our Bishop here in
Stavanger spoke in
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| Personal study journals (topic, chronological, and meetings) |
Stake Conference and gave us missionaries a shout
out. It was hilarious, because he made one of our inside jokes 10x
funnier. Our inside joke is that everyone knows one of our investigators
as "the doctor" and hardly remembers his real name at all. As if his
title as "doctor" gives him credibility to investigate the church or
something. Haha. Anyway, in the bishop's talk he mentioned how we all
prepared for general conference and how the doctor was scrambling with
his notes because of the answers he was receiving to his questions.
Haha!
This gospel, as well as this church, is true! It is a
bright shining ray of hope in this ever darkening world (taken
literally here in Norway!). My testimony of missionary work grows every
day because I continually realize how much it has changed me, and
continues to change me, on my eternal progression, eventually leading
back to my Heavenly Father. Pray for God's love - and He will fill you
to the brim :D
-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson
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| A deadly duo for confounding false doctrine :) - used extremely frequently |
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