Gratulerer med farsdagen! (Happy Father's Day!)

Hei!

It was Father's Day on Sunday, right? The thought just occurred to me that I may be completely off. Haha. Regardless, happy Father's Day all you awesome fathers out there! Including my own, as well as my awesome brothers :). You are all great examples to me of fathers who provide, protect, preside and play with your families. Those are the 4 P's of fatherhood - don't any of you forget 'em!

Last week after emails we took a little hike up to a lake near Sognsvann.

The lake

And we found a BAT! It was lying on the ground. It made me really sad. So I took a picture of it.

The bat!

It reminded me of Carissa and Tommy's cool stories hiking in the mountain ranges of Northern Utah studying bats. Quickly after reminiscing a few moments, it flew right off over the lake. And I was sad no longer. After which we made it to a nice rock, and set up camp with our one-time grills, hot dogs and Fantas. Mmm. We even had Doncho join us - our fellow Bulgarian friend who happens to know Tim Hope from the Meadowview ward back home! Cool stuff! We had a wonderful time.

Our awesome Oslo District - and Doncho :)

Once we arrived back at the center, Vere (the other Elders' investigator) told us he was leaving back home for Ecuador. I really hope Elder Putnam can find him there in Ecuador! He is a man with a strong testimony of the eternal truths he has found!

Godfrey, Vere and I!

Elder Heimdal and I!

The next day was splits with Skien! Elder Heimdal from Iceland joined me for a day! We had a simply wonderful time tearin' up the streets of Oslo. We were even referred to an Icelandic woman to go and share the gospel with! What a cool experience sharing the gospel in Icelandic! I could even understand two or three words!

A., our new convert joined us for a rockin' dinner at a member's home. They are vegans.  I never thought cauliflower, avocado and water soup could taste so good! Dessert consisted of rhubarb, agave, apples and pears. The dinner reminded me very much of my Mom's vegetable nights - where we ate nothing except 7 different kinds of vegetables. Elder Godfrey's bowels suffered, but mine have been well-seasoned over many years of exposure :D. 

Knekkebrød and my favorite tie! (Not Vegan)

Speaking of A. and B., they both brought friends to church - weeks after they had been baptized! That is how missionary work is done, my friends! Please follow the example of these awesome people, and bring friends to church! 

On Friday, we had our final Zone Conference with President Johansen. He shared with us his final, departure interview advice for missionaries headed home. That was a very powerful talk - I'll send it to my parents. Everyone else survived through our presentations - and our provided lunch. Zone Conference turned out pretty well by the end!

On Saturday we had a baptism for R.. Elder Vanderhooft (my old District Leader from Bodø!) flew down to baptize her. She didn't want it to be a big meeting, so we had a small get together for her baptism. That was one of the most powerful baptismal meetings I've attended.

The small baptismal meeting for R.!

As she explained it (and I paraphrase): "I was super nervous, and then I went under the water and it seriously hurt! I felt like I was under there forever! But then I felt this stream of electricity rush through the center of my body and I felt lighter than I ever have in my life. I was so shocked that I walked out of the baptismal font and just cried because I felt so good. Light, airy and soft are only a few of the words I can use to describe my feelings. I didn't expect the baptism to actually affect me physically!" She has a sound understanding of this gospel, and it was a delight to see her make that first step on the way back to our Father in Heaven and exaltation.

And then it was church, we planned and slept and now here I am writing my email to you all. Haha, I feel so strange writing these emails. I can't describe the feelings that exist while on a mission - it's just a rush of ups and downs, highs and lows, and every little color and texture in between. These two years are surely the best two years for the rest of my life - my life is forever changed and held in perspective because of the experiences I have had here! 

The true gospel of Jesus Christ is restored. Our Heavenly Father has called the Prophet Thomas S. Monson to lead and guide this living church under His (God's) own hand, just as He (God) has done throughout the history of the world. And I get to tell the country of Norway all about it. I love you, Norway!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

Drammen og Mirakler (Drammen and Miracles)

E. Godfrey and I!

Hallo alle sammen!

This week has been extremely busy and extremely amazing! I can't keep my head on straight because of everything that has happened - has it really been only a week??

In less important news, this past week in Oslo we've had Metallica, Justin Bieber and Hillary Clinton.

A.'s baptism!

In more important news, A. was baptized this week! I don't think I've ever felt the Spirit stronger in any baptismal service than that one with A.. I feel like it was his attitude towards baptism, his surrendering of his will to the Lord's that truly brought the Spirit in a great degree. He is a stunning example to me. When we taught him the commandments, he would testify to US of the truthfulness of the principles we taught him. He is awesome! I am in awe seeing our investigators exercise so much faith in their Savior Jesus Christ. I just hope I can have that same faith someday :). And you know what he did this past Sunday? Invited his friend to church. What a stud!

Sandvika, Norway

Earlier this week,  we had a little meeting in Sandvika with President Johansen to address the needs of the mission. The Spirit was strong, and led our meeting. It was also very inspiring hearing from President Johansen as to how we can become better as individuals. If you all didn't know, President Johansen will be leaving the mission on June 30th, and then our new mission president will arrive. President Johansen really emphasized the importance of gaining knowledge in order to better evaluate, assess, understand and enjoy the world around you. He used to go to sleep at 12 or 1 am, and wake up at 5 am every day with work, family, and service in the church just so he could study his scriptures! "And that's why I look the way I do." he says. Hahah. He's a remarkable example to all of us missionaries. We are excited for the transition we'll make this next month. Always for the better :) always!

 

Drammen, Norway

After our little conference, E. Godfrey and I took splits down to Drammen - I was honored enough to make the trip. Sadly enough, I didn't take any pictures! But Drammen is a beautiful little city. E. Anderson is doing a wonderful job down there. On one of our little breaks, we bought some cheap strawberries and bananas and sat out by the river. 4 hours of straight sun burned me a bit, but it was well worth it :). We really are in the best mission in the world! :P

One of the biggest miracles we had this week was a referral we received from Kristiansand. This girl wanted to know more about what we believed. When we called she asked "is it alright if I bring my friends?" That is one of the best things you can say to a missionary. They will beam from ear to ear. Once we got the address of where to meet them, we realized that she lived about an hour way on an island. Whoa! Borrowing the senior couple's car, we took a road trip to this school way out in the middle of nowhere! Rolling green hills, cows, sun, raspberry bush orchards, I am in heaven here! Pictures can't nearly do it justice, but I try anyway.

Stunningly gorgeous home on the way to our appointment!

Moo!

My dream home with raspberry bush orchards lining the front yard :)

Once we arrived, we walked into a room of 12 people eager and waiting to hear our message. We taught one of our best lessons of all time in that little room. The Lord surely prepared us for that moment - the questions asked, the Norwegian spoken and the spiritual capacity. At the end, we learned that they are all Seventh-day Adventists. I am really surprised how close our doctrines are with what they believe. One of them prayed at the end of our discussion saying "please help us to know the truth when it is presented to us . . ." and he stopped for a few seconds. E. Godfrey and I swear that kid got a confirmation by the Holy Ghost right then and there! They all took copies of the Book of Mormon, along with a few pamphlets. That was an amazing experience. These kids were all students of a religious school - and I am amazed at their faith in God - and in the standards they uphold. E. Godfrey and I have rarely felt so wonderful just being with people who believe strongly in God! I hope and pray these wonderful students read and pray to God that the Book of Mormon is true. Because it is - I've asked Him! And thereby, we have knowledge that God is restored His true church, wholly and completely anew upon the earth.

An idea that has been with me this past week is the constant abiding of the Holy Ghost. If we are quiet enough, and sensitive enough, and we ask for God to be with us, He will send His Spirit to be with us. That Spirit is one of the best feelings that exist. A feeling of comfort and security beyond description. I've been trying to hold myself sensitive enough this whole week so I can always think to myself "Yup, I feel the Spirit is with me." And because of that, I feel led when I find people, talk with them, and build others up. Every member of the church is entitled to that feeling and direction.

The Lord is much more willing to help us and strengthen us than we usually let ourselves believe :)

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

The Oslo Domkirke (big state church in the center of the city). Gorgeous insides. But not even close to the Salt Lake Temple. By a long shot.

The Oslo Opera House. Talk about modern style!

The military fortress!

Me and the guard - can you see the other guys in the windows? Man, those Norwegians surprise me more every day!

A military fortress in Oslo

Kristne konserter (Christian Concerts)

Tønsberg

Hallo hallo!

Hey everybody! Did you all feel that heat-wave last week? Whew, now it's finally back into the 60's - perfect for power-contacting out on the street.

Well, for exciting things that happened this week I would say that I got a few letters - thank you parents and Hillary! Great to hear from you all. I am exceedingly blessed to still get letters once in a while :).

Tønsberg - out for a lunch trip!

                                  


On Saturday we took a train to Tønsberg to go and strengthen the district down there.What an awesome time to be with missionaries! There is truly something special about missionaries gathering, discussing the doctrine of Jesus Christ. We discussed how we can improve ourselves and better help those around us learn about Christ's gospel. -

                                                                                                       

The train ride over was also gorgeous - Norway is paradise during the summer. Rolling green hills, puffy white clouds, beautiful little red houses - I really am in Norway :)

I wish I could have captured the true beauty of Norway, but train windows don't work very well to take a picture through

The APs called us up on Friday night saying they had an appointment in Oslo, and they couldn't make it. So instead, they called and asked us to see if we could make the appointment instead. "Sure thing!" we responded. Turns out the appointment was at another church, for their worship services. We met Erik - their contact - and walked on in. Fog, lights, rockin' music, people painting on canvas', and sing-a-long lyrics about Jesus Christ as our Savior and how through Him we can become cleansed and transformed into better beings! Hey - that was neat! Lots of people came up to us to talk with us. Christians are just so good at fellowshipping and being friends with you! We truly can communicate on common ground of faith in our Savior Jesus Christ! 

The neat experience, though, was after the concert when we met a kid who was just at the concert. We ended up talking with him for one and a half hours about faith in Jesus Christ and the necessity of the Book of Mormon. Here's a few questions he posed to us:

1. You guys believe in a different Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Umm . . . do we? I was pretty sure Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End was quite clearly stated in 3 Nephi 27:13-21. Is that not the Gospel of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Bible? It truly is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

2. You guys believe that you can become like God.

This truth is clearly stated within the Bible: Psalms 82:6, John 10:33-35, Acts 17:29, Romans 8:17, Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 4:13, 1 John 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:10-12. Did Jesus Christ not command us to become like God when He said: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)? 

3. God and Jesus Christ are one.

Yes, they are one in purpose, just as Christ commanded His disciples to be one in John 17:19-23. Otherwise, who does Christ pray to? Himself?

After speaking with him, he invited us to his worship services on Sunday. So Sunday came along and we attended yet another rockin' worship service. I was really surprised to even hear some dubstep in the middle of the prayer. Wow. The group then all studied Acts 22 - which is a wonderful chapter covering Saul's conversion. It reminds me of Alma's conversion story in the Book of Mormon - see Mosiah 27:8-33. We met with a few people and they just flooded us with questions regarding the Book of Mormon. The white handbook says we're not allowed to proselyte around other churches, but it doesn't include them asking us questions! Hehe. All I can say is that we have been exceedingly blessed with random, neat opportunities to share the gospel :).

First and foremost it is an exceedingly great blessing that God continues to speak to us today through a living prophet! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's true, restored church through a prophet - just as God has done in Biblical times! (Amos 3:7!)

May God's blessings be with you all! And as our new awesome Christian friends would say: "Takk Jesus!"

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

\

a YM/YW activity at a member's home!

p.s. My Mom has pointed out to me that my grammar has recently plummeted. I agree. It's the Norwegian, as well as the haste in which I must write these emails - sorry everybody!

Note added later in the day:I would like you to add to my big email:

I would like to excuse myself in saying that since I wrote my email this morning, I have learned a great deal. My weaknesses are great. And at times I am led to boasting and pride, rather than truly seeking the will of God. With regards to that kid we met on the street: sure I can throw scriptures down his throat all I want, but that will bring no true progress. We must always remember that it is only the Spirit that can preach the gospel. It is not the philosophy of man, or our understandings of the scriptures, that will bring us closer to Christ. It is the Spirit of revelation that brings us closer to Christ. As missionaries, we must be tools in order to initiate the spirit of revelation in our lessons, not just teach rote lessons. Anyone can read a book aloud. But it takes the Spirit in order to drive the message into the heart, and change that heart. I am not nearly perfect. I pray I can excuse and overcome my prideful moments. Are we not all learning and growing together? :) Thanks for being there during one of my growing moments :)

Tjener jeg i Hawaii!? (Am I serving in Hawaii??)

This week starts with Bryce showing off his apartment. (and housekeeping skills)

Our apartment - as clean as it could get . . . .

we just don't even have time to clean around here . . . .

 

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 :).

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

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.

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!

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.

The 18 girls in bunads :)

Another Russ Bus

More girls in bunads

syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth) or Nasjonaldagen (The National Day).

Jeg elsker Oslo!!@! (I love Oslo!!)

Kjære alle sammen!

There's a whole lot to say since last Thursday!

Syttende Mai ROCKED. Oslo was bustling with people. Us missionaries were honored to receive some tickets to see the parade, and even see the King (from really far away, but we still saw him!).

Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day)

The Royal Guard Norwegian Constitution Day parade.

After which, us missionaries had a competition to see how many girls in bunads we could get in one picture with us! I am pleased to announce that Elder Chapman (a good chap from jolly ol' England) and I won with 18 girls in bunads!

Bunads! You can only count 15 here - I'll get the better picture from another person soon.

Bunads, by the way, are the traditional celebratory clothing for the country of Norway. Every one of them is handmade, with real precious metals and gems on them.

Bunads!

They commonly cost ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 American dollars. And let me tell you - they are GORGEOUS. And yes, both the people AND the bunads.

Bunads!

Me and the naked park . . . .

After which, us missionaries took a trip to Frogner Park (or commonly called "naked park" by all the missionaries) for a little barbecue.

Frogner Park

With our "one-time grills" we made some delicious hot-dogs. Not exactly J-Dawgs, but still delicious! Then we toured around Frogner Park with some extremely interesting artwork. I'll post the appropriate statues only.

When I think of making a statue, I have never thought of a pile of babies.

When I think of making a statue, I have never thought of a pile of babies.

Oslo is aMAZING. One of my biggest fears is talking with people while on the T-bane (Oslo subway), Trikk (Oslo monorail throughout town), and on the buses. But Elder Godfrey, my new companion, and I are determined to overcome it. And it's been awesome!! Just on one trip, you can get a few lessons just talking with people. People are much more talkative here than in Mo i Rana. 

Now, to answer my Mom's questions: My new companion is Elder Godfrey. He's from Kayesville, Utah. He's been out for 2 months longer than I (12 months). He has previously served in Kristiansand (southern Norway) and Skien (eastern Norway). I love this guy. I've just been extremely blessed with excellent companions!

The ward here in Oslo is awesome!! I felt extremely welcome and loved my first Sunday there. We

An old church in Oslo - and me!

only cover the Oslo ward, but a few companionships are covering multiple branches (Romerike and Hamar; and Kristiansand and Evja for example). Yes we are certainly living in the most expensive city in the world to live in - probably in the most expensive apartment out of all missionaries in the world (note the probably).

The members rock here! They are willing to help, itching for an investigator to greet and get to know, and absolutely pumped for missionary work. The creation of the second stake has really motivated all of the members here to keep up the member missionary work (it's really the only way to increase the rate of new members here!). 

Elder Godfrey and I were white-washed here in Oslo; however, we were in fact FILLED with investigators to work with. The previous missionaries were doing a fabulous job. We had about 12 hours to learn about all of them and begin teaching them (one reason why I was so extremely overwhelmed last week).

It is possible to bonk here - but so far I don't see us doing that. You can contact on the street 24/7 here!! 

Our Zone work takes up all of our free time in meals, studies and even sometimes late into the night (gotta love late numbers on Sunday night . . . .). But I can't express how much I love serving the whole Zone :). I can actually get lost in the work here - no time to think about anything but those we need to help! I love it!!

Here in Oslo we have 3 companionships. A sister companionship, a district leader companionship and a zone leader companionship. I am actually around people again - I love love love it!!

Oslo Chapel, Picture taken 1970

Here in Oslo we have a church building, as well as an Institute Center for Young Adults right in the middle of town.

OK that's all the questions. Now it's miracle time!! Last night we were 1 lesson away from our goal. The moment we were about to take a Trikk to an area in town, we received a call from Søster Grass that our new convert and his best friend were over at our Institute Center. We booked it to the Institute center and began talking with both of them. His best friend was so impressed by the story of Joseph Smith and the First Vision (the Holy Ghost confirmed to him the truthfulness of that experience!), we have a baptismal date set for June! What a miracle! Thank you thank you thank you Søster Grass for being sensitive to the influence of the Holy Ghost!

We're also holding a Brazilian/Hispanic baptism this next Saturday for V. and B.! We are extremely blessed here! What I am really hoping is for the F. family to be baptized this June up in Mo i Rana so I can go and visit them :D.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Baptism is the gateway for the atonement to take a fuller, sweeter effect upon our individual and collective lives. Jesus Christ lives. This work will never end.

And I couldn't be happier!

-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson

P.S. Happy Birthday Elder Putnam, Duncan and Dad!! I hope your birthdays were awesome :D

This picture is taken in Oslo during Syttende Mai. Refer to May 5th, 2012 post for details about Russ and the Russ Bus.

Russ Bus (they're so wasted!)