First Real Lesson

Hei hei familie!
This week has been pretty good! Actually, pretty stressful haha, but good too! Oh, funny story! So I was eating corn with these fish cake things we get at the store, theyre actually really good haha, and i was finished and going to get more or something. I lifted it over sister mouriks head...and realzed that some of the fish\corn oil spilt. And i just stopped and looked at sister clark with a panicked face and sister mourik said, `Sister Chapman. Did you just drip fish oil on my head?` hahahahahaha! it was so funny. And then i was eating them a little later and I was talking and a chunk of fish flew out of my mouth, INTO her purse! I was just dying because i thought it was so funny!!!
Another weird story.


On Saturdays we have this thing called sport, where we meet with investigators and youth and just play sports. This week we played soccer. And two men that the elders invited came. I was just standing there, minding my own business, when i looked over and one of those grown mean were changing right there! It looked like he had no pants on and he was talking to us or something!!! So I just walked away...super awkward and i looked over and he was just standing there in his underwear!!!!!! This grown man!!!!! On the field! EW! hahahaha az would have died. hahahaha and then while we were playing i was on there team at one point. One of them kept yelling CHAAAAPMAAAAAN! Like how kostya (definitely dont know how to spell his name haha) would have said it. Now sister mourik makes fun of it and says it haha


We had our first real lesson this week! We met with some muslims the first or second week we were here, but that was at centrum...i guess it was a real lesson. But this past week we met with people at the church! 3 muslims haha, but they have potential! Well see! I could feel the gift of tongues while i would say something! And i really felt the Spirit! It was way cool :)
The day after I emailed you last week was Zone Conference. They really focused on becoming a successful missionary and a concecrated missionary. That is a hard thing to do. Putting EVERYTHING on the alter for the Lord. But im really going to strive to do that! Being here in stavanger is like being a missionary for the world! People from all over are here! Also, Stavanger is one of the most expensives cities in the world! Oslo is ranked as number 1 most expensive city in the world! President Evans said that the money that we pay every month doesnt even come close to how much money we need on our missions. Really, each we get about 300 dollars on our cards, for food\transportation and missionary related things! That doesn't include for housing. so crazy! So pretty much, the money going towards brys mission is really going towards me! crazy huh!?


For zone conference sister mourik and i sang Come Thou Fount with me playing the guitar and i think it sounded really good. The YSA room in the church ahs two guitars in it which is cool! and we have one in our apartment.
I started crying\laughing today when i heard a song from our cd player. Some sisters left cds and so we were listening to an efyish one and the song about...oh great. Im forgetting it. haha but the song about how shes on an airplane and they guy says hes athiest...remember? Idk, but mom you would play it on the computre like every Sunday and it made me miss you!
(p.s. theres a older guy sitting next to me in here in the library that keeps looking at me and my screen...weird!) anyways haha


i have to hurry so i can send pictures, but lately i have been studying about angels. I really know that grandma is my guardian angel. The Lord is watching out for us, as missionaries me and bry, but also all of you, so much! There are always angels surrounding us. If you try to feel the angels around you, just like you listen for the Spirit, you can feel them. I know that there are always angels around me helping me. Helping me not be scared, and have courage. Russel M. Nelsons wife said that we can pray for any angel, by name, character, trait, etc. I love that. Also, as missionaries, it is so important to have the Holy Ghost as our Senior Companion. The Holy Ghost knows these people on the street better than anyone!


It is just so sad when we start talking to someone on the street and they say, ` Nei takk! ` I just want to say, NO! YOu NEED THIS! You just dont understand! people think that they are fine, when really they could be so much happier! Anyways, I want to send pictures! so ive gotta go, but i love you all so much og jeg be for dere hver dag! Jeg er veldig takknemlig for dere og at bry er en misjionær og. Han er en eksempel til meg. Gud elsker oss og vi kan bo hos ham igjen, sammen, hvis vi følger Ham.
Ha en bra uke! :)


Love, Søster Chapman





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Hallo Familie!
This week was great!!! I definitely grew this week.


One of the cool things we did this week was one of the girls in our ward asked us to be in a documentary she is doing for school. Its her last project before i think she graduates with a photography major? Anyways, we did it in english, sister mourik and i could express ourselves better in english at this point, and she just asked us different questions about our lives relating to the gospel and about the gospel. I went first and I got asked about my family and other things! They said I did really well, and i totally iknow that i got my tiny bit of talent in that from you mom!! haha, it was way fun! They asked my companions way for doctrinal things like the law of chasity and stuff. It was way cool though and she is going to give us a copy so i'll see if i can get it to you all! We did not have good success with numbers this week, but i do think we brought a lot of people closer to Christ, and that's what really really matters.


This morning during my personal study...holy cow - BEST study i have like...ever had! all of you should read D&C 6! It was exactly what I mean. These past couple days I have been beating myself about things I overthink. And in that section...i think verses 21 and 22 its when the Lord is talking to Oliver Cowdery i think and he says you have already felt that peaceful feeling, isn't a witness of the Lord enough? And that was exactly what I needed!!!!!! It was like the Lord said that to Olvier Cowdery so that I could read it years later. Way way cool! Then towards the end it talks about how if there are 2 or THREE people who go out and preach the gospel, to remember that He is there with us helping. It was so cool :) Cuz there are 3 of us and it just worked so well.


It says if people refuse you, you are blessed and just remember that you can't be hurt more than the Lord...or something like that. And ifyou are, you will life with Him forever! It also says not to doubt or have fear, but to think of Him ALWAYS! You all just need to read it...cuz i'm wording it not so well.
Hmmm let me think. So I just went grocery shopping a little ago and i got salmon and chocolate :) OH my goodess you would all LOVE it here! Brookie - we ride public transporation all the time and we pass really cool things. And I totally think of you so much when we pass different houses. They are mustard, white, brown, coral, etc. Such classy colors. Mom - You would LOVE it here too! Within an hour you can pass rolling green hills with sheep, to the ocean with boats galore, to little shops with cobblestone roads. AHHH! I love it!


You can just ride the bus to get groceries, then ride it home, and on our way home we have a catholic or something church really close to us. When we were leaving today to come to the church the bells...oh wait i think that was yesterday..? anyways, the bells from the churhc were just going non stop. :) It is also WAY nice today outside! It is blue sky! And we can see the ocean from our house!
I feel like my Norweigan is getting way better too! It is so hard to understand though. Sometimes...well like. everytime that we street contact i have to act like I udnerstand what the people are syaing to me hahaha then I let sister clark talk (: I have also done So much better at bus contacting. I think I told you all about teh scripture I read on the bus that motivated me to never let someone go by sitting by my without talking to them. I usually start out with a language question and then it just goes into why im here etc....or i bring it up :) This morning during personal study i got SO pumped up! Sister mourik acutlaly read d&C 6 also...crazy!...and when she was talking i just started ot histericaly laugh and cry because I was SOOOO happy! I was just punched in the face with the Spirit!!!! Haha! It was GREAT!
Caci and Az would LOVE road of shops here...Kiss - the band was actually here 2 days ago, and we were eating a kabob (our trainer buys them for us our first time...yummmy!) where all the shops were and people had there faces painted like kiss! haha (: But its kinda like a little italy! cobblestone roads and different shaped shops all smooshed together :) Anyways...hmmmm...let me think if there is anything else. Oh, EVERYONe think i look like miley cyrus here. Haha, we were eating at a members house yesterday and the girl, annett said that the first day i met the young women, everyone was saying how i looked like miley cyrus hahaa (: And yesterday was actually stake conference! It was a broadcast from sweden for all of scanidnavia. President Monson was supposed to be there -but his wife and all :( - so he just had a little recording. But M. Russel Ballard Spoke and it was Amazing! they are really pusshing for members to be missionaries. :)
Anyways, hmmm idk what else to talk about! It is hard being in a new city - bc all of us sisters are new here. We have to figure everything out kinda...which of the progressors are really really going to progress with us, etc. But we are also trying to find to. We have sport every saturday with the youth - where we just play sports with them and they are invited to invite there friends. A gorgrous norweigna girl named mina invited her friend veronica last time and when we were sitting down I started talking to her! And guess what? We have an appointment with her tomorrow on tuesday! :) And we thought she was coming to church yesterday -but she didn't :/ It's way cool here, becuase its really like were teaching the whole world. People from all over the world are in Norway! We meet people from Africa, Germany, and ESPECIALLY the Philippines!!!!!!!! I can always talk to them to, cuz I can say Bry is there RIGHT NOW! haha :) They are SO nice and open too! (the norwegians are not always as open). Life is so good though :) Ahhhh I love it here. :) So my comp sister mourik, we call her a hipster because of all this stuff about her. and it made me way happy cuz one of the elders said that I would be categorized as antique! woot woot! haha :)
Another thing, it is SO hilly here. My calves are huge. I think i'm gaining weight in muscle in my legs! .lol, also, I never use heat on my hair- cuz i havent' tried to use my converter yet. Sister mourik tried hersa nd it charged her ipod in like 2 minutes completely and it was hot! She thought it was going to blow up! hahaha anyways, transfers are in a couple weeks, but i am 98 percent positive i am staying here (: they have a 12 week program for us greenies. (: Next week on pday i htink we are hiking Prektastulen (totally not how to spell it) the rock that is in like...all the norway picturwes! (; but that'll be WAY fun! And another week we are going to go on a boat on a fjord :) OH! Another reason why you would all love it here is because of the freshness of the food. Everything tastes amazing. The honey is SO good...veggies, way good (i bought spinach last week...and our fridge was freezing things...so it ruined it and i didn't buy more this week..haha) you would all LOVE it so much here! It kinda reminds me of sitka - but european style (: Anyways, I'll send pics now! I love you all SO much!
Jeg elser dere!
Være trygg!
Og gleme ikke at jeg be for dere!
Love, Søster Chapman


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Hey Everyone! So I'm so sorry If I don't have time to email all of you separately. There are only a few computers in the church and we have to share with the elders in our area too...annnddd I'm in a three-some! (hahaha don't know if thats what its called) Anyways, where am I???


I am in Stavanger!! Its a city on the coast, pretty south. Its south of Bergen and west of Oslo. Sister Mourik and I (from my district with curly hair) are companions with Sister Clark who has been on her mission for 8 months!


I love it here! The weather is SO bipolar! haha today is PERFECT weather. Its blue skies, sunny, a tad windy, and probably in the high 60s low 70s?


But the one thing about Stavanger is that the dialect is INSANE! Instead of rolling their tongues they have a french way of saying their "r"s haha But it's okay! I don't exactly understand people, but Sister Clark does for the most part and so we rely on her a lot. My apartment is not ikea-y but i still love it! It is made for 2 missionaries, so we had to move the couch into our room. haha I have the top bunk and sister m has the bottom. Sister Clark likes the couch!


Lets see...I love my companions and i know it was inspired by God. Also, where I was sent too! She was actulaly just sent from Trondheim and she had been there her whole mission! she did not want to leave because she loved it so much! So we're all trying to figure out everything here. There are 2 other sets of missionarys (elders) and one set of senior missionaries and us here! Elder Whetton, Burt, Holden, and Nash. I love them! They're so fun. So yesterday at church we were planning on bearing our testimonies, but instead they asked us to say the prayers! There are like 150 people at chruch on a good day. haha But i did it and when i sat down, my heart was just pounding like crazy. I felt like I just did something that required so much strenghth! But people are SO nice here and said how surprised they were at us. Sister Mourik gave the closing prayer and that was good! Before sacrament meeting a little girl was talking to us and I said to her something like "vi har vart her for fem dager, sa vi kan ikke snakke norsk vellig bra. Med, vi prover!" (we have been her for 5 days, so we can not speak norwegian very well) and she said, "Dere er skjempe flink!" and that means you are very talented/smart! haha it was so cute. We had dinner with an american family yesterday and that was fun!
We don't have cars or bikes here - we ride public transportation...so - buses! Its different than america i think though. We have bus cards and you hold it up to a thing that doesn't charge it but lets you on the bus? not really idk how to explain it. haha you can get on the bus but you just do that every time. And then we can do bus contacting. Which I am TERRIFIED OF. We did street contacting around a lake/pond in the middle of town. I like that! A lot of people speak english and not norwegian. But when we were talking to someone that I stopped, I had a feeling that even though we may teach lots in english - i willl get the language. (:
I AM SOOOO jetlagged! At first, i would get hungry like...30 minutes after we ate and then every morining too i am just dead. It'll get better though i think.


The chocolate here is AMAZING. the food here is actually amazing. haha I don't understand kroner and celcius and all that stuff really yet...but i'll get it eventually. haha
hmmm, Oh! Just today when I was on the bus to the church I didnt talk to anyone cuz i was in a single seater ( i guess i could have leaned over to talk but...oh well) and so i opened up my scriptures randomly and i opened to alma 5 and the second verse i read said something about how they were called to preach the word to people young and old, etc. And i was thinking before how there was a younger kid next to me and i always think how bus contacting is terrifying and then i got my answer. So...I decided that every time that i'm on a bus and can talk to someone - i will. Bahhhhh so scary.But Christ got rejected so much more than I will. And I'm His representative. Anyways - at the mtc i got a blessing a couple weeks ago and it was said that i was going to be rejected a lot. I know that its true - but i also know that I will also be accepted a lot. Just a thought.
Hmmm...what else. You would all LOVE it here! it actually kinda looks like sitka! Very green and the ocean is near, SOOOO HILLY!
Oh! And my english is going down the drain. Grammar especially. I forgot my first word that I knew in norwegian and not in english...but firgure it out soon after. Ledsager means companion and that was the word. Very exciting (: haha Hmmm...one of the investigators that the other sisters left is named Sylwia (sylvia) and she's from poland. I'm excited about her - we wont be able to teach her until she is finished with her thesis but once we do it will be great. She is from poland so we teach her in english. She wants to know the truth so she is looking into other churches too. But I really hope she'll be baptized. Also, One of the people i stopped on the street is a muslim man named Arafat. We met with him and his friend the next day at the lake...which is actually against their religion to meet with us! But we think he sorta wanted us to hear about his religion too. He's going to give us a karan (?) and we're going to give him a Book Of Mormon. Anywho we'll see how that goes. I don't have much time! BAHHH!
Let me think if theres anything else...Look up stavanger accent and then listen to oslo accent (bokmal) and then you will be able to hear a little bit of my troubles. haha (: Anyways Idk what else to talk about but I love you all sooo much! I'll write more next monday and i'll try to send pictures today! but idk if it will work.
Jeg elsker dere og dere er fantastisk!
love, soster chapman




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Location:Finally in NORWAY !!!!