Hallo ja! (Mmm. Oslo dialect.)
Oslo is such a crazy
place! Last week we had kind of a downer week - and now this place is
absolutely bursting at the seams. Tomorrow we have appointments from 11
am until 8 pm the whole entire day. Can you believe that? And that's in
NORWAY. The Lord is doing His part in this work :D. I suppose that's
just a part of being in Oslo - missionary work can drastically fluctuate
relatively easily!
Last P-Day we took a lunch at TGI Friday's and got a
good American burger. Mmm. I remember my
brother Christiaan correcting
my childish, unvaried choice of food when we ate out: "Look, if you're
at an Italian restaurant, you get Italian food. If you're at a Mexican
restaurant, get Mexican food." Well, sorry bro, but I'm in Norway and
I'm eating an American burger. Haha. But that brings me to the point
that traditional Norwegian food is really dying out. The only people
that make you traditional food would be the older generation. Typically
for member dinners we have burritos or lasagne (the all-infamous
missionary lasagne dinners :P). And traditional Norwegian food really
isn't varied in and of itself: kjøttkaker/kjøttboller, potatoes,
tyttebær, and maybe some cauliflower. Then for Christmas you typically
have lutefisk, ribber, pinnekjøtt, and a few other meats. There's really
not much variation!
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| TGI's! |
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Bad advertising.
|
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One thing I've noticed about Norwegian advertising -
is that it is rather deceiving. I've seen more than a few
advertisements for loans or credit cards basically saying: "Hey! You
want to enjoy life? Get a loan and party it up!" or "You really want to
buy something? Get a credit card today!" Which is extremely dangerous.
We've met many people whose lives have been ruined because they did get a
loan or a credit card and now they can't pay it back. Not even to
mention the interest!
The Lord has counseled us very much regarding
avoiding debt and becoming financial
self-reliant. http://www.lds.
Wow, that was very strange saying please. "Please" does not exist in the Norwegian language.
On Tuesday, our Bulgarian buddy Doncho invited us over for a proper Bulgarian meal! Very salty and very meaty.
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| Bulgarian salted meats and strong cheeses! |
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| Bulgarian salad with delicious feta! |
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| The Bulgarian sheep bagpipe |
But the
greatest part of our whole visit, was his friend A. decided to join us
for the lunch, and we were able to hold a spiritual thought - AND
receive a new investigator :D. Double win for the Lord!
I was talking with Elder Poulson in our district
about molecular biology stuff (he'll be back home studying that in a few
short months). Man, I can hardly remember a thing. I got all excited
explaining it all, but my memory is failing me. I love it in any case,
but investing in the Lord here and now is most worth it :). I wouldn't
trade where I am right now for the world!
Let it be known to the ends of the earth that we,
here in Oslo, received referrals from Church Headquarters. A family in
Idaho had an exchange student attend church with them for 10 months -
and we were just the follow up crew once he returned home to continue
inviting him :). It turns out his mother is the leader in their local
congregation, so we didn't get super far. But that doesn't matter quite
as much as just plain inviting to take part of the Restored Gospel :).
And boy did we invite to our last parting moment . . . . Another
referral we received was to this 23 year old who had been searching for
the truth on the internet, and ordered a free Book of Mormon and
missionary visit. This man is golden! We are so pumped. The internet is
an extremely powerful gospel-sharing tool. Please do your part in making
it a force for good :D.
Yesterday was quite a special experience. Our recent
convert, A., passed the sacrament for his first time! That was so cool!
And the other priests busted out their iPads to show him the routes in
the chapel of where to go. Haha, back in MY day we used paper and
pencil!
Our rockin' Bishop also invited us over for dinner.
Preach My Gospel is completely right when it says that the bishop is
your #1 ally. He can give you names of people to go and visit, help and
exactly what you can do. He's also very good at suggesting places to
find, as well as ways to help warm up others to hear about the gospel.
Use your bishop and your members! That's really what I'll be focusing on
this next half of my mission.
Moves call came around (6:45 am conference call to
all of the missionaries in Norway), and I am being sent to Stavanger
this Wednesday! Stavanger is the 3rd largest town in Norway (Oslo,
Bergen then Stavanger), and it is really booming with the oil industry.
It is quite a ways south of Bergen - but on the West coast nonetheless.
It will be wonderful to return to the westland and actually be able to
understand them :D. And Stavanger has a gnarly dialect. Elder Torjesen
will be replacing me here in Oslo (I love that man!) so he'll be able to
take care of the sudden burst of awesomeness we've received here. The
Lord is in this work!
Smedgate 7
4013 Stavanger
Norway
The
things I'll miss most about Oslo will be a few families and converts
I've become close with, the contacting paradise, as well as the amount
of teaching you can do here.
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| Our final Oslo District Meeting |
One of the best revelations I received this past
week was regarding goals. M. Russell Ballard states in Preach My Gospel
(paraphrased) 
that if we do not master the principle of setting, working
toward and achieving goals, 
we can end up at the end of our lives
disappointed and unsatisfied at the small amount of your potential you
have actually reached. Through goals, you are able to take control of
your life and be a force of anti-entropy :D (thank you, chemistry!). So I
started brainstorming ideas of different aspects of my life I want to
have lifelong, to decade, to yearly, to monthly, to weekly to daily goals. These aspects include, but are not limited to: Spiritual,
Relationships, Family, Educational/Professional, Financial, Service,
Talents/Gifts, Missionary Work, Physical condition, Free time and stress relief (the Lord knows I need that :P). By regularly setting goals and
evaluating them - and applying them to my hour to hour life - I'll be
able to achieve some awesome things! The trick is to stick to it. The
Lord wants us to succeed - so He'll help us :)
that if we do not master the principle of setting, working
toward and achieving goals, 
we can end up at the end of our lives
disappointed and unsatisfied at the small amount of your potential you
have actually reached. Through goals, you are able to take control of
your life and be a force of anti-entropy :D (thank you, chemistry!). So I
started brainstorming ideas of different aspects of my life I want to
have lifelong, to decade, to yearly, to monthly, to weekly to daily goals. These aspects include, but are not limited to: Spiritual,
Relationships, Family, Educational/Professional, Financial, Service,
Talents/Gifts, Missionary Work, Physical condition, Free time and stress relief (the Lord knows I need that :P). By regularly setting goals and
evaluating them - and applying them to my hour to hour life - I'll be
able to achieve some awesome things! The trick is to stick to it. The
Lord wants us to succeed - so He'll help us :)
Well! Elder Godfrey and I are going to go get a good
kebab - because everyone knows good kebab does not exist outside of
Eastern Norway. *sigh* sad but true.
Med mye kjærlighet og vennlig hilsen!
-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson
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| The sketchy marketplace in Grønland on Saturday mornings. |
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| The new, gorgeous part of Oslo (just for you, E.!) |
