Overlevelsen av Påske (Survival of Easter)

Heiya!

Let it be known to the world that Elders Farnsworth and Johnson survived Påske. We saw more than our fair share of Norwegian tumbleweeds on the streets of Mo i Rana this past week.

 I've acquired the terrible habit of walking in the middle of the road when nobody's around!

It's rather surprising: over Christmas there are two days where everything is closed, and no mail running. Over Easter though, we have a whole week where everything is closed and no mail running. Easter > Christmas, apparently!

 :]

This week rocked for a few reasons. The first of which is that the sun is up a LOT. Little did I know from my Californian youngster knowledge, that the further north you go, the quicker the transition between light and dark. Svalbard (Norway's

Ladder to the top of our roof - awesome!

northernmost island) for example goes immediately from winter to summer or summer to winter, no transition seasons of spring or fall. Mo i Rana has a touch of that feeling - light is noticeable until 9 pmalready.

Since no body was around, Farnsworth and I decided to get some sunglasses to sport around during the week! BD

Buses were shut down the whole week as well. We got our walking, pinecone-kicking legs back in shape to say the least.

 General Conference!!!

We were invited over to watch General Conference this week too! I encourage everyone to go on a mission just so they can experience General Conference from the missionary perspective. The Spirit is always so strong. I've also picked up the very same tactic Elder Matthew Putnam uses for General Conference. After watching the talk, I write one action I will implement into my life because of that talk.

The greatest thing I got out of General Conference was also a product of the past Zone Conference which has been prodding me to make an organized study journal. Instead of just writing down promptings, ideas and questions as I read arbitrarily chosen topics I study a specific subject with an index to refer to in future date. Therefore, if any one comes to me with the same issue I've faced before, I just look up what answers I received before! Now I can have an organized, referenceable book of revelation all to little ol' me! This is especially exciting because I can place Conference talks, ideas and questions and personal experiences all under these topics. I'll have a library of possible church talks to give. The mission just keeps on giving, doesn't it?!

We busted out the bikes this morning . . . 
gotta love those helmets :P

One thing that has pleased me more beyond all else is hearing from my friends on their missions :). The joy in this gospel is true, it is real, and it is good because it is discernable! It is also lasting - more lasting than any other joy on this earth. 

Ælsk livet! (Love the life! - in Northern Norsk :])

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

P.S. Gurt ol' pal, plenty of letters have made it to Norway with only one First Class stamp on it. I'll pray for it to come if not :P

 Ramen w/ veggies

Påske! (Easter!)

Jo hallo!

Well I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference! We, to our uttermost disfortune, have not yet had the capability to see General Conference. Due to lack of technological accessibility, we are starving from revelations and direction necessary for our lives! Ahh, but maybe something will work out this week so we can watch them. I sort of feel like the members back in Peter and Paul's time who did not have the necessary technology to sufficiently uphold the church's doctrines, and consequently became "so soon removed" from the Gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-8). And look, signs of apostasy in our own Bible! *gasp*! But to be honest, we're doing actually great!

Better than great, actually. This week has been one filled with miracles. Our new finding techniques, along with looking for the "little miracles" when our appointments end up falling through, and already having planned and prepared what we will do, has provided a rich quantity of people ready to receive the message of the restored Gospel! As Elder Crookshank up in Ukraine so perfectly stated: "If you want Heavenly Father to laugh, tell Him YOUR plans." This is all too true; seeking the will of the Lord is the only way we can perform this work right!

In the middle of the week we went around bonking on doors, and we just needed one more lesson and one more Book of Mormon given away to reach our goal for the day. When we bonked on one door, a man with a frazzled black beard said "Nope, I'm not interested. I'm a heathen. But she might be 

interested!" gesturing to this woman who snuck up behind him. As we invited her to learn, she beamed as she walked into her room and brought out a little, beige book "I have treasured this book for the past 11 years - I have read it over and over again!" Elder Farnsworth and I were rather doubtful that the book was of credible source. Turns out it was "Who are the Mormons?" by President Gordon B. Hinckley! Yup - credible indeed! Absolutely stunned that this woman had never come into contact with the missionaries, we gave her a wonderful lesson and commitment to read and pray - what a wonderful, divinely hand-crafted blessing!

A little bit later, we were bonking late into the night, when we came up with no ideas of what to do. We had recently tried a certain street, with completely empty houses and no luck, and we attributed that to the Easter vacation. Reluctant to try it again, I mentioned it to Elder Farnsworth and suddenly felt overcome by that warm Spirit! (the ultimate "warm-fuzzy," no doubt :]). The very first door we tried, immediately opened, and this woman was simply prepared to hear the message of the restored Gospel! Wow! I just wish it happened that way more often!

The October 2011 General Conference talked a lot about "Be thou an example of the believers . . ." (1 Timothy 4:12). As we met a middle-eastern family this week, I have seen the power of that scripture! They are absolutely blown away by our example - that we are so young, yet we still have wholesome standards! They have expressed to us: "I want my son to be just like you two!" "Please, come and sit with us - just be with us!" This invitation is extremely tempting as missionaries to take a few hours to relax - but we are sharing our message with all, to the very best of our abilities and opportunities, effectively. I am now even MORE intrigued by the middle-eastern culture, just by meeting this family. I'm really hoping that when I serve my senior couples' mission when I am old, it will be safe enough in those countries to serve there!

I remember clearly the first words I learned in Norwegian, back in February 2011, from a Norwegian couple in my New Testament class: "God Påske!" which means "Happy Easter!" I was a little surprised that this, of all phrases, was the first thing they would teach me. Now I know why. The Easter holiday in Norway is HUGE! A whole week off of school, and most jobs, while everyone travels to their hytte (cabin up in the mountains) to go and enjoy the sun, kvikk lunsj's (Norwegian kit-kats) and solo drinks (orange soda). This is all fine and great for all Norwegians, but unnerving for us missionaries - no body is home! Our Mission President has challenged us to work through this week like nothing else - "we don't need a lot of people, just the prepared ones!" So we'll see what turns out!

Have a wonderful Easter season, celebrating the resurrection, the brilliant defeat of sin and death, by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God Påske!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

p.s. it snowed two and a half feet yesterday!

A cloud-break while on the Selfors bridge.

Power Finding and Flight Adventures!

Sweet ice formations on the street!

Hiya!

Our week began with a lot of finding - but thanks to our Oslo trip last week, we were able to implement a few new finding techniques. Pick an area to bonk the night before. Pray about it. Pray the next day. Pray when you arrive, and bonk with confidence! It's really neat - the people we've met, the copies of the Book of Mormon given away, and the really neat conversations that have come up! I specifically remember one where the man was really nice, but not very interested. Before he shut the door, I blurted out "I've got one more question: what do you think happens after you die?" "Well, I don't know, I've never thought about it before. What do you guys believe?" And it turned into a 45 minute conversation on this man's doorstep. Ahh. That made my week. It felt amazing. That man rocks.

On Wednesday we had our usual activity at the church. A lot of the older members showed up, and we played Uno. It has been a long time since I have laughed THAT hard. Hahaha. One member wasn't able to breathe, the other was just crying with laughter. That is what we can do with this Gospel! We're not bound down under worry and concern for our personal problems, and we can just have a good time! This message makes everything better. Even Uno!

We took a trip down to Trondheim for Zone Conference. 4 am is always too early. Ughhh. My eyes always ache by about 2-3 pm in the afternoon - but it is always a spiritually uplifting experience. Especially this Zone Conference, because we held a testimony meeting. It has been almost 9 months since I've heard a testimony meeting that I can actually completely understand - the Spirit is so strong during the bearing of testimonies! We learned many good things. However, on our return trip through Bodø, our flight to Mo i Rana was canceled. Here we were, stuck in Bodø until at least the next day, absolutely starving (12 hours for us missionaries is a long time!). Then over the intercom they announced they ordered a bus for all of us to drive down to Mo i Rana. It is now 11:30 at night, and it's a 3 and half hour drive down to Mo i Rana. Good thing: it was free! Bad thing: that bus was 0

Midnight Pizza in Bodø

degrees!! Oh it was so cold. I was completely conked out in my seat, sleeping, when Elder Farnsworth prodded me awake with a beaming smile: "we have pizza! we have pizza!" "I must be dreaming, huh??" It turns out that the bus stopped and bought us all free boxes of pizza. Elder Farnsworth was ecstatic. I was way happy - especially because this pizza was good! (most Norwegian pizza isn't exactly your chicago deep-dish). After that cool bus trip - we made it home at 3:30 am!

The next day we went out hard-core finding! While out on the street, we were beaming at everyone around us trying to find those the Lord had prepared for us (that we had prayed for a good number of times by now). While we were out I saw this man with a big green umbrella and I thought "hmm, maybe I should contact him." At an awkward turn of a street corner though, I brushed it off, yet still looked over at the man. "What are you looking at?" Farnsworth asked. "That man, I feel like we should talk with him." "Me too." By this point he had walked far past us - so we book it around the library to catch him on the other side! He wasn't there - we were gripped by our consciences that we missed someone we both felt we should have talked to! And then Farnsworth's inspiration cut in: "I think he might be in the library." We go in, and we found him. We casually sat at the computers to "check out" lds.org while discussing what to do. I finally got the guts to go up to the man: "Excuse me, I feel like I need to give you this book." "Oh - thanks!!" he responded very graciously. Who knows what that will mean for him, but I knew he needed that book! The Spirit led and guided us to that man - and we are so happy to know that we were inspired to be our Father in Heaven's servants to that man!

One more thing: at church there's these little kids that always asks me to play piano. Haha - they are so sweet! "Remember, before you leave, you need to play piano for me!" I love 'em. It makes me miss all of my neices and nephews - I can't wait to see them again!

Knowing that my mission is the longest I will ever be away from my family is an extremely comforting thought. Because of Jesus Christ, this Gospel and the wonderful gift of the Temple, we can always be with our families - even after death! I stand all amazed at the mercy and love God shows forth to each and every one of us.

Heavenly Father loves you!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

Note from Mom: I want to know who is the Food artist. It must be Elder Fransworth unless Elder Johnson has developed a new talent.

Delicious meals once again :)

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

Rain drops keep flyin' up my face!

Hei alle!

The past couple days we have had extremely strange weather. From two days of beautiful sun, to extremely windy snow/hail/rain for the past 3 or 4 days. Oi, we really need goggles around here!

I'll be brief and honest in saying that this past week we have simply been finding! On those days where ice cuts your face, we stay inside and read some Jesus the Christ - which has been extremely uplifting. Thank you Mom for reading Jesus the Christ with me over the course of 5 years back in home school. Little did you know, I have many great memories reading it!

One very uplifting experience this past week was when the senior missionary couple from Trondheim drove up to visit with us and the members. Our senior missionary couple gave us just the boost we needed to keep going this week - they are a great strength to us younger missionaries! I now understand why our leaders have asked for more senior couples to serve missions.

However, despite trials and difficulty, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It is the way in which we purify and cleanse ourselves from sin in order to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ - the only perfect being to walk this earth. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Christ's true church has been re-established through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know that book is true - I asked God this morning.

He is always willing to answer our questions.

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

Mo i Rana

Vinter Ferie (Winter Vacation)

Hiya!

Well! This week was winter vacation for a lot of the families up here in Mo i Rana.This posed problems such as bonking on 20 doors in a row with no answer, but also bonking on one door filled with people who were willing to hear our message!

Frozen, then refrozen paths!

I'd say the biggest thing I learned this week is that the Lord opens the windows of heaven for those who are exactly obedient. Yes, exact obedience is possible. No, it is not easy whatsoever. But, we do know from President Harold B. Lee that the "most important commandment to keep is the one you have most difficulty following!" (paraphrased). So this week Farnsworth and I booked it out of the door by 5:59 pm on P-Day in order to claim the title of "exactly obedient." And you know what happened?? That door filled with people willing to hear our message all accepted copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets, and a return appointment the next day for another lesson. And then MORE people came to the second lesson! Our third lesson was the most powerful, especially regarding the topic of baptism. Baptism has its own power when you discuss it. The Spirit witnesses of baptism performed by the right authority, in the correct way, especially when the individual knows he is entering into a covenant with God. We were exceedingly blessed this week.

The sun now comes up at 10 am, and goes down at 5 pm! That is a wonderful blessing. The sun also 

has a wonderful affect on everyone's mood, which has given us many more opportunities to share the gospel. If only they knew what we were truly offering to them! (Heck, if only WE knew what we were truly offering them!).

The sun on the Rana Fjord!

One wonderful question we received yesterday from a Pinse (pentecostal) woman was: "have you been saved??" And I can proudly say that I have! We have all been saved from physical death because of our loving Savior Jesus Christ! However, spiritual death and sin we are doing our very best to overcome every single day. Remember to repent everyday! I am a witness that it brings increased blessings and happiness - never lasting sorrow.

Also, the February Ensign is amazing. Read it. It has specific questions and articles from General Conference to help you study the last General Conference. I have found brand new insights as to what it means to be a covenant people, as well as why bad things happen to good people (we are asked that question frequently).

Continue to be awesome! I love you all!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson