Kjære brødre og søstre!
I've been taking way too long to email recently - so I'll try to write really quickly!
It
has been ROASTING here in Oslo! I think it's been up in the 30's
(Celsius, of course)(86+ degrees) this past week. It's making us missionaries feel
loopy and tired. Drink that water! It's quite humid here as well - so
that doesn't help. I feel like I'm serving in Hawaii. One day we even
took studies outside on the deck because it was such a nice morning :).
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| Studyin' outside in gorgeous weather! |
The DeLinde family invited us over for dinner this
week. On the way over there by train, I sat next to this man who just
frustrated me so much! I would ask him good, personable questions, and
began explaining our message briefly and simply. I know I felt the
Spirit strongly as I testified to him the truthfulness of what I had
said. Then I asked, "What would it mean to you that God has called a new
prophet, just like He has in the history of the world?" "Nothing." "Do
you believe it is possible that God could call a new prophet?" "Nope!"
He didn't even think about it - even though I knew he was feeling the
Spirit. The Spirit does testify to our hearts the truth - and it is
really up to us to act on the truth we receive. I am nevertheless
grateful to have testified to that man the truthfulness of God's love
through revealed, modern-day scripture and a living-day prophet! What a
blessing!
While we were at the DeLinde's we heard about how
the State Church is no longer a part of the State. The King of Norway
used to be the head of the church, but has delegated it to someone else.
It seemed fascinating, but I haven't been able to find more information
about that. Big changes in the greatest Christian community of Norway
indeed.
We've been teaching a boy by the name of A. This
week he has asked absolutely the perfect questions to truly understand
for himself the truthfulness of Christ's Restored Gospel. As a result,
he stopped smoking, drinking and is doing everything he can to be free
from addiction - just as Christ would have us! It is a great
testimony-builder seeing lives change before your very eyes.
Here in Oslo we have the opportunity to teach
Norwegian, for free, every Tuesday and Thursday for one hour. I had the
opportunity to teach once this week - I loved it! Man, it's absolutely
astonishing seeing how a language capability can be grown through faith,
hard work, and a lot of practice. Sharing my joy of speaking Norwegian
with others is a wonderful experience.
Norwegian alphabet (norsk alfabet)
| A a |
B b |
C c |
D d |
E e |
F f |
G g |
H h |
I i |
J j |
| a |
be |
se |
de |
e |
eff |
ge |
hå |
i |
je/jådd |
| K k |
L l |
M m |
N n |
O o |
P p |
Q q |
R r |
S s |
T t |
| kå |
ell |
em |
enn |
o |
pe |
ku |
ærr |
ess |
te |
| U u |
V v |
W w |
X x |
Y y |
Z z |
Æ æ |
Ø ø |
Å å |
|
| u |
ve |
dåbbelt
-ve |
eks |
y |
sett |
æ |
ø |
å |
|
A recording of the Norwegian alphabet
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| Our awesome member who visited us! |
Our awesome member from Mo i Rana came down to Oslo
this week for a business trip - and decided to take a detour with the
missionaries for a little while! The weather here seemed to explode with
heat when she was here - quite a difference from Mo i Rana that's
for sure. It was wonderful to see her there :D.
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| C. and me! MMM. |
There's also a really nice member here from Taiwan -
who invited us over for dinner. I love chinese food. Garrett, I am
extremely jealous you're in Hong Kong. But then C., our member, talked
about how missionaries are treated in Taiwan compared to those in Hong
Kong. Missionaries in Taiwan are spoiled, and treated very well . . . to
the point where they are stunted in their abilities as missionaries.
However, in Hong Kong, it's an all-round rough city, but the
missionaries that come out of there are always extremely humble,
grateful, teachable and with characters like gems. That's my best buddy in
Hong Kong!! Add more oil, buddy!
And . . . I didn't mean for this to be a side-note,
but we also received a baptism this week!
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| B. at her baptism :D |
B. has the faith I would like
to have. She is strong, faithful, and filled with Christ-like love. The
Spirit always floods the room when a baptism is performed. After she
was confirmed, despite the fact she didn't understand a word of
Norwegian, tears were streaming down her face. The Holy Ghost surrounded
us, and testified that that ordinance was performed with correct
authority - the the Gift of the Holy Ghost has been successfully
delivered to B. We are incredibly blessed.
I testify that Christ suffered and died for us so
that we may return to heaven. He has paid the price - it has already been
performed. However, our task is to learn how to be comfortable in God's
presence here and now. It's a long, shaping and trying process, but it
will be worth every effort.
Because life with our Father in Heaven is just that infinitely wonderful.
-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson
~
The pictures below are more just received to go on last week's blog. They will be added to that blog soon.
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| The 18 girls in bunads :) |
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| Another Russ Bus |
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| More girls in bunads |
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| syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth) or Nasjonaldagen (The National Day). |
