Ancient Churches!

Hiya!

This week was rather neat and eventful!

On Tuesday we took our P-Day and we took an adventurous trip down to the Petter Dass Museum in the middle of nowhere (Sandessjøen & Tjøtta area). It took 5 hours, 4 buses and one ferry to manage the trip down there, with one hour to spend at the museum, and 5 hours, 4 buses and one ferry back! Haha, but to see the one of 2-3 exciting things here in Mo i Rana, it was way worth it :P. Enjoy the pictures! Petter Dass was a poet-priest back in the 1600s who had great influence upon all of Northern Norway. The church near the museum was way cool - extremely old (from the 1200s I believe), and still up and running with services every Sunday at 11 am! Hehe.

Ancient Norwegian Church (yes, they always have awesome cemeteries!)

Risgrøt

On Thursday, one of our members invited us over to give her daughter a blessing. The priesthood is such a great blessing in our lives! Not only does it help us males reach out and actually serve one another, but it also brings comfort, peace and healing to whatever malady plagues the afflicted soul! And besides, we ate delicious risgrøt afterwards! To their uttermost surprise, I hadn't tried it before :P.

On Friday we had a meeting down in Oslo, which really helped us be more goal-driven in our finding. Instead of saying "alright! We have from 11 am this morning until 9 pm tonight to find people! Let's get on the street!" And finding no one, and becoming extremely discouraged, we say "Okay, this next hour we will obtain two lessons and three copies of the Book of Mormon given away. Pray. And seek." The scripture in Jeremiah about missionaries being like fishers and hunters is extremely applicable. In Norway I'd say it's more like hunting. Timing has to be perfect, your tone of voice, dialect, and bobbing and weaving within a crucial 15-second contact. Whew, gotta love Norway!

Sjokolade Boller

Also regarding ancient churches, the Restored Church of Jesus Christ met yesterday with a stunning 10 members present!! Yeeah! Elder Farnsworth and I were beaming during, and after the lessons. The quality and Spirit of church meetings multiply by how many people are there :). We even baked some

boller (my favorite Norwegian snack) to share with everyone! A church meeting like that can get you through a snowy, cold day anyday!

We all have our humbling, discouraging days, but looking back so far on my mission I can hardly remember them. However, I DO remember many of the awesome days. It reminds me of a quote I heard once that said something to the effect of: "When we're in the next life, we'll realize that it is just an extension of our mortal life. Those who were happy on earth, will continue to be happy after this life. Those who were miserable, will continue to be miserable." Except of course for the fact people in the next life do also have the opportunity to accept the gospel :). What a merciful and loving plan our Father has for each of us!

Let us live for today and find that peace and joy God awaits to impart unto us!

Gravestone of Petter Dass

 Petter Dass' gravestone. If everyone had a gravestone this big, the world would have its brand new stone age.

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson