P.'s Dåp! (P.'s Baptism!)

 Polar Bear snow sculptures in town!

 A seal at the Polaria museum we went to today! Mmm. Whiskers.

Starfish at the museum!!

Kjære alle dåkker!

Uff da. This was one crazy week - let me tell you! To put it briefly, we've had a lot of things going on in our area that I haven't really mentioned until now - so here's the update :)

Late last transfer with Elder Strange we received a call from our member Sister Bennett. "There's a man who has just moved back to Norway and he wants to be baptized. So I gave him your number so he could contact you." Ahh just great. How promising is that? After Elder Strange left, and Elder Badger arrived, we began working hard in the area in order to keep the area going. It was difficult, at first, but with much prayer and work we started to see some fruits of our labors. The most surprising of which was a week later when we received a call from P.: "Hey, I've been investigating the church now for 14 years, and now I'm ready to be baptized." Say what?? Norwegian missionaries have learned to be skeptical when such a surprising event arises. Though, after a long conversation, and a run through Preach My Gospel, P. was golder than gold. A man with a rock solid testimony, waiting for the leaves to change the right color and enter into the waters of baptism.

Then we started figuring out how to baptize this man! He lives on a teeny island north of Kirkenes, so a call to President was necessary. To make a long story short, and days worth of phone-tag played, President said "Alright. Let's get him some plane tickets." Pretty soon, we were scrambling to get plane tickets, sleeping arrangements, swimming pools rented out, members and investigators invited, member dinners arranged and records updated and approved for the baptism. We were sure that our plans would go perfectly, and it would turn into a wonderfully huge event for the Tromsø branch!

The baptismal font :)

"Enter ye in at the strait gate" :)

Early on the morning of the baptism, however, we got a call from one of our two priesthood holders: "I got the flu last night. I've been throwing up the whole night, and have an extremely high fever. I can't make it to thebaptism, or the church service today. I'm so sorry!" Well, that was one of our two priesthood holders down. At least we had one more, our Branch President, in order to witness the baptism. . . . and then we received a call from him, "I woke up with a herniated disc this morning. I am in so much pain I can hardly move." What! There's got to be something we can do in order to see this baptism performed. After much prayer and effort, our Branch President just decided to take some medicine and tough it out. And tough it out he did - he painfully drove the whole icy/rainy road out to the swimming pool where we had the baptism. The weather was so bad, that no other members or investigators showed up. So the baptismal meeting ended up being the four of us - the branch President, Elder Badger, P. and myself. And what a neat, heart-felt experience that was, helping P. enter into a covenant with God so that God's Spirit could be with him, always.

The whole baptismal meeting!

What a witness to us that we certainly have an adversary attempting to foil and disrupt God's work here in Northern Norway. Not on God's watch! Through faith and humility, all weaknesses can become strong. (Ether 12:27)

A quote from President Monson struck me this week: "If you feel that you do not yet have the depth of testimony you would wish, I admonish you to work to achieve such a testimony. If it is strong and deep, labor to keep it that way." I love how President Monson uses the word "labor" when referring to maintaining a strong testimony. President Johansen, about a year ago, shared with us some insights regarding keeping a testimony strong. "Faith in Jesus Christ has a short shelf-life. It spoils quickly, and must be replenished frequently and consistently." And it is through consistent, diligent obedience that we are able to preserve a polished, warm testimony!

I love you all!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

P.S. Thank you Sister Hazen for the wonderful package! It arrived safely and intact :) The oil vial is AMAZING. Thank you so very much!!

In the Ice Ocean Cathedral!

Can you see Him?

The acoustics on that organ have got to be amazing.

 - The exquisite, perfectly assembled Norwegian Missionary favorite: hot dog complete with potato salad, brown cheese, fried onions and a potato wrap. No need to fear, it comes with loads of vegetables and fruits on the side. :P