a little late ... but last week's letter & pics! tons of pics!

Hei!!!!



So this week we gave ourselves 2 hours to email because last week was just too short! But oh my goodness. I have such a list to write to you all!!!
This week was THE hardest week of my mission. And I know why. haha Its because i thought of myselft the entire week. I am the biggest most annoying problem of overthinking, and it just went on steroids. I started thinking, ah my family would think down on me if they knew i thought this, or im such a bad person, or oh no is something wrong with me!? And it was honestly just EATING at me! Satan was just KILLING me this week. I dont think i have ever cried more in a week. I fasted twice, and pretty much never stopped praying...well this was part of last week too. Anyways, Satan just knows exactly where to push my buttons! But last night we watched the missionary broadcast - speaking of, they're going to start having missionaries use facebook now and get ipads in some places..cool huh?! - but after the broadcast I was talking to one of our zone leaders named elder burt. He had been having a hard week\couple days too. So we were just talking and he said the exact thing that i needed to hear, adding on to the exact thing that i needed to hear in the conference. In the broadcast one of the apostles said that the greatest most powerful teacher is the mother. Which relates back to my Patriarchal Blessing, how reading the scriptures will help me be a good mother, and so much more about being a mom. And then Elder Burt said something like this, "When we're going through trials we need to step back and look at why were on our missions. And then step back even farther and look at why we are on earth." It hit me right then. I am here on earth so that I can have my own family, and live with them forever. My children are on the other side of the veil cheering me on and crying when im sad and being my guardian angels. Satan tries to blur our purpose. He tries to make us focus on one silly little thing that doesnt matter. But when we step out of the corner of the picture and see the whole thing, Satan has no power. He cant tell us that our purpose is different. Anyways, still trying to get over this overthinking problem. But that is something that really touched me.


I also came to know the Atonement better this week. It is so insane how the Lord works, I had been praying for charity, humility, patience, a deeper love for the scriptures, and more sincere prayer. And guess what I got? Those exact things from this past week! I have never jumped into the scriptures so much, or begged Heavenly Father so much. I have never had so much patience with a trial. I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord gives us the things that we are asking for. He will do it in a way that will break us til we are almost at rock bottom, and then will build us back up as better people. It is also so interesting how the Lord puts other people in our lives to answer our prayers. Actually, Elder Burt told me that I said something that he needed to hear too. And we were just talking...not trying to really help eachother, but just discussing. This week I have recieved answers to my prayers through my companions and others and I love that. Also, I came to realize that I wasnt even using the Atonement properly. I was asking for Heavenly Father to take away this problem. Then I realized, I need to ask him to give me the strentgth to overcome this. In Mosiah 25 (?) it talks om the burdens were lighter on the shoulders, and then on the morrow it was taken away. We need to pray for the strength to overcome things. We cant just be acted upon, we need to act.


Last week was cool!!! We had the Midnight Sun thing where we got to stay out til midnight! Well we couldnt the actual night of it because it was sunday but we got to the night before, saturday. We went to a members house, the steffonsons - who i love SO MUCH! And we got permission to watch tangled. So we did and ate candy and played games!!! Ahhh it was so fun!! Then the next day, we went to a ward bbq thing at a beach to celebrate it. we didnt stay the whole time but it was fun :)


We also hiked Preikestolen last week!!!!


AHHHHH!


You will all LOVE that hike when you all come here! it was hard, but the coolest thing ever! Im going to send lots of pictures, cant wait for you to see them! :)


Oh, also last last week I fell of my bunk bed. hahahahaa


I was getting down one morning, half asleep and i tripped off my ladder, tried catching myself with my other foot on the couch, slipped, tried catching myself with my hand, and then hit my head HARD on the hard part of the couch. Anyways, my hand was wrapped for a couple days and my head kinda hurt like a headache in that area at times. But i was ok! haha my hand was bruised, but I know that there were angels there that helped me not get as hurt! My comp Sister Clark describes it as in tangled when flynn rider falls out of the cabnet right on his face..hahaha yeah that was me! I was honestly so out of it, because it was like....630ish and i just laid there, stradling the arm with my head on the couch saying, "sister mourik i hit my head, i hit my head sister mourik, ahhh i hit my head." hahahahhaa anyways, im good now! (:



We also went to the HIlls, an american couple, for dinner last week! SHe dated zach buchanon ahahhahaa anyways, they made our choice of something were missing and guess what we had!? CHICKEN POT PIE! haha and salad and fruit! super deilig! heres a hilarious joke for you all that we told there:
I was like, "why did the monkey fall out of the tree?"
"because its dead!"
and brother hill was like "why did the squirrel fall out of the tree?"
"because it was stapled to the monkey!" HAHAHAHAHA! sorry if you dont think thats funny. I almost died it was so hilarious though! hahahahaha
Another thing that was super funny. I was sitting int he back of the bus by someone i didnt know and my comps found seats together so were sitting togethre. we were about to get off the bus when this old guy started talking to them saying, "Praise the Lord" and stuff like that. He was talking really loud and was drunk kanske??? maybe? haha and so i was just sitting there almost bursting out in laughter because he had his arms around the chair around sister mourik! hahahahaha so then they get off and he sees me coming. He looks at my badge and says, "Jesu Kristi?!" and starts saying the same kind of stuff to me! really loud on the bus!!! hahaha so then he continues to talk to me and asked where im from so i get off the bus with him and hes talking to me and my comps. then he screams "praise the lord! praise Jesus Christ!" again and then STARTS BOWING TO US!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA! I almost died laughing!!!! We left like right after that and had to sit on a bench and laugh for a minute or two. ahhh man it was SO funny! The day that we went to the hills for dinner, earlier in the day sister clark had us all contact alone. So i went up to this older guy and ended up getting his number and an appointment with him! I couldnt understand lots of what he said, but anyways got the app with him! so later before we go into the hills, sister clark is talking to him on the phone and i guess he started going off on how impressed he was with me, that he knew i couldnt understand him very well, but that he was so impressed that i was on the street speaking norwegian doing this! hahah and he said that he would meet with us but if he didnt like the gospel he would take me out for lunch! hahahaha sister clark was just on the phone saying, "yeah, shes a good example." it was funny haha
Oh! also last week a recent convert, su from berma, made us sushi! so we sat on the harbor and at it...ahh it was yummy :) anyways, now that ive written a novel haha OH! wait! last last week we met with a less active named juni. the day berfore we met with her or something, our plans were messed up or something so we went through our area book calling people. We foudn a girl named mai, her sister was a memnb3er but she wasnt so we called. WE got ahold of her, but she said oh yeah, heres my sister! so we made an app with juni. when we were meeting with her she told us a story, that sister clark hd to tell us later cuz we didnt exaclty understand during it hahaha, but she had been talking with her sister about how she wanted to start to go to churhc again...baptist, muslim, or mormon. or something like that. and after she said that, the phone ringed. and guess who it was? US! Everyhting is so inspired by the Lord. Not sure if it was exactly when they were talking, but soon after we called her. Ah, we love Juni.


I am loving it more and more every day here in stavanger. IT is just BREATHTAKING here! Everyday i feel like I thikn about how much brookie would love to live here. our family would fit in perfectly! In a little mustard house with flowers by the windows, just walking to sentrum and buying our delicous food from the grocery store, and eating a chocolate bar on the way home. hahaha i miss you all so much! Just so you know mom, this week I read your letters SO much! ugh this week was hard. anyways, I love you all so much! Life is amazing!


Oh one more thing, sister pace, one of the sister training leaders who travels to see us and go on splits came and that was a great experience! anywhooo, i pray for you all daily, actually like...everytime a pray which is a lot! haha
OH! wait! also, i got sick last last week too. My stomach was just all gross so I had to lay down and sleep for a little :\ my companions made me! haha anyways, im good now. I love you all so much!


Jeg vet at Gud er her for hver av oss. Han elsker oss. Jeg vet at vi kan bo med hver andre igjen, for evig! Og jeg er skjempe takknemlig for det. Vi er her på jorden slik at vi kan komme nærmer til Kristus og bli som Ham. Og jeg er veldig takknemlig at jeg er en misjoner i Norge. jeg er glad i menneskene her!
Jeg elsker doker!
Love, Søster Chapman



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