LAST LETTER

FROM MOM: AS THRILLED AS WE ARE (ME ESPECIALLY) TO HAVE SIERRA COMING HOME THIS WEEK, WE HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED BY HER SERVICE, HER JOYFUL ATTITUDE, HER HONESTY IN HER LETTERS ... SO WITH SOME SADNESS FOR HER HAVING TO LEAVE HER BELOVED NORWAY AND A TITCH OF SADNESS FOR US NOT GETTING THOSE AMAZING WEEKLY LETTERS, AND WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT, GRATITUDE AND JOY - HERE'S SIERRA'S LAST LETTER:



Kjære familie,
ohhh myyy goodness. This might seem pointless to write an email...but I wanted to write about my week anyways. It was a good one! I am so excited to see you all and cannot believe how fast time has gone. Today we went on a hike in Sandvika, and it was GORGEOUS. We looked out on Oslo fjord and the city and it was so beautiful. My heart is in Norway.
BUT, I am really excited to see you all!!! The clock is ticking. Tomorrow is my last missionary day. Then on Wednesday we will have a day in Oslo with all of the sisters leaving. There are 11 in my group that are leaving. But 6 or so of them have their parents coming to pick them up! And then Ill wake up bright and early on Thursday morning to fly to London (7 hour layover) and then right directly to Vegas alone! ahh.
Anywho. This week was good!
On Monday we had pday and I did some more shopping with Sister Harrison. I finished up with the shopping I needed to do and then that night we went and stopped in at Twinkles house. We shared a thought with her and then she asked if we could share something with her daughter, who was sitting at the table doing homework. Nina, about 20 yrs old, isnt religious, but believes in a higher power. It was great to be able to share what we love with her...and she was open to it! I hope we can teach her again!
On Tuesday we had Zone Leader Training, and then all eat kebabs for lunch. We then visited an old lady member named Inger :)
Wednesday was also good. Sister Buhler had a meeting for being a trainer, and I went on splits with Sister McArthur! We taught Martin, our investigator. He is very Christian, but is kind of controlled by his mom. If he doesnt go with her to church than there is lots of problems. But I felt strongly to promise him, that if he went to this church this past week with a question, he would get it answered. And that wasnt me, but as a representative of Jesus Christ I did that. And it was so cool to give him that promise. He didnt end up coming though to church. But I know that it would have happened if he would have come. He needed that faith too... A little later we did language study with Cecilia (from Alta) And that was fun! Sister Buhler has been pretty sick so that hasnt been fun. And Ive gotten a little sick from her too :( But its alright! We went banking a little later, then came back to the church for an Open House that night! It was by the youth, and was great. :) During the meeting they asked if someone could play the piano and no one raised their hand except me, so i played. And of course they picked two hard songs! haha, I dont like that feeling of your heart pounding like crazy when you have to play the piano. But I prayed and I was able to do it okay! The Lord really does help with the smallest of things!!!


Then it was thursday! I got permission to go and visit Debby! I had contact with her on FB, so we had an appointment. We travelled there that day. And I went on splits with one of the Drammen Sisters, Sister Larsen, and DEBBY WASNT HOME! My heart was so sad! She didnt answer her phone, or facebook, or text. It made me so sad. I put a note on her door and sticky notes around her whole house. I hope she knows that i really do love her. The other sisters were at Dennis' house!!! So I got to go and see him!!! What a tender mercy! It was so great to see him!!! Then later Sister Buhler and I drove to the Fromgrens house. She was going to come and bring dinner to us and we were going to all eat with Debby, but since that didnt happen, we ate with her and her family! I LOVE THEM! I really really love that family!!! Then we drove home and taught Ivan that night. It is so interesting to me to see how people believe so differently. The Godhead is so essential in the gospel and he doesnt understand it. The scriptures can be so confusing, but that is why we have prayer and a living prophet! Anyways, sad, but good day!
On Friday we had to get things ready for the street stand we were going to have on saturday! So we made a big poster that said, "meet the mormons" (by the way, that is the first movie i want to see when i get home! i heard its awesome!!!) and then we did some weekly planning! We came to institute, walking with an investigator, but then while we were walking, he told us he had to just look and leave. WHAT!? haha we had travelled to oslo for him! Anyways, he will come next week. It was a tender mercy, because then i got to say goodbye to Mariana from Drammen! :)
Saturday was our street stand!!! all of us missionaries came to the center and carried 4 tables, posters, cards, books, etc. to the area were going to do it. IT WAS SO HEAVY. The elders found a huge Christ poster that said, Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige on it! It was awesome! The stand was so cool! Members came and we talked with people, brought them to the stand and got more than 30 people that were interseted to learn in 3 hours. It was AWESOME! And at the beginning there was a man playing his flute. It was great! I met some interesting people. One vietnamese man speaking norsk was talking to me and a member and was squeezing my arm saying something about God having a body. Haha, and then we met another man from northern norway that said he belonged to a religion that they eat mean people. That instead of little elves they have elves that eat mean children and santa clause eats mean parents. HORRIBLE, HUH!? hahaha anyways, it was great! And the day before and the day after was completely rainy, but it was sunny and beautiful that day. :) We taught Ermando, an albanian investigator with a member from the philippines named siahanie, and then we shared something with her. :) It was great!
Sunday was fast and testimony meeting. Ivan came! And I bore my testimony. I couldnt hold it together! It is nice ot have Sister Harrison here too, becuase we feel the sadness together. We taught Ivan afterwords with our MMK and his wife. And then ate dinner, and banked. IN A HUGE HOUSE AREA! It was mansions!!! When we were walking over to the bus, I went over and talked to an old lady waiting for a trikk that was not going to come. angrily, she told me that what i said (about us being missionaries) wasnt going to help her. But she had been standing there for forever and cant stand that long. She was waiting for a taxi that was taking forever to come. Long story short, we couldnt find somewhere for her to sit and i was on the phone with the DL going to get the taxi companies number, when the taxi came! She was so sweet. I gave her a card with our nubmer and a website on it and told her if she wanted to learn sometime or ever needs help, to call. She said, she hasnt needed help in a long time. Or this is the first time in a while that shes needed help. It wasnt coincidence that we were there! Then we visited the Birkelands! So great! He let me play his guitar and I played Baby Toes for them before we left. Well a part of it. :) They are so great! At the bus stop on the way home, I talked to a man and sister buhler talked to another and we both got appointments with them! It was miracles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know that miracles are real. Heavenly Father is aware of us and knows us so well. I am so thankful that I have served a mission. It has been the best decision I have ever made and I hope that every single youth prays about serving. I have never felt so much love, and I have never felt so close to my Heavenly Father. I cant express how I feel, becuase no one else understands, but Jesus Christ. I know he lives. I know he knows me. And I know that this message is true! I know it!!!
Jeg ønsker for hele verden å vite at dette budskapet er sant. At Jesus Kristus har oppstått og på grunn av det, kan vi gjøre det samme! Han er min Frelser og Forløser. Joseph Smith er en sann profet. Familier kan vare evig. Hvor spesielt er det? Jeg VET at det er sant! Jeg er så glad i disse menneskene i Norge. Mitt hjerte er her og det skal alltid være sånn.


Love you all!
See you in 3 days!
xoxo
Søster Chapman


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IT'S FALL!!!

Dear lovely family,
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! sjfpeaifnpekajfphjfkja;kjkla;sjdfineifiaj jkdpjwan jfkdpwaje!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just needed to get that out. WHERE HAS MY TIME GONE!?


Anyways, this week was good. Although it was fall break here, and lots of people were busy or gone, we were able to get a lot done! We had a total of 10 referrals this week! I have such a strong testimony of if we ask, The Lord will give it to us...if its in the way we think, or if its in His way. That makes me understand even more how personal and individual Heavenly Father is.
p.s. my english has gone way down this past week, so sorry for the weird problems with my speech. haha
Ihvertfall, General Conference was AMAZING! It literally is like Christmas for me now! And it goes by so fast. I remember when I was little, sitting in the chapel on the ground with bry and az in Sitka, doing the bingo game with candy corn. And it seemed like HOURS on HOURS. But this literally felt like 20 minutes! Its insane!


But we'll start with last monday. For pday, Sister Harrison and I went on splits and went shopping for...guess who? YOU ALL! haha, i found things for everyone but one of you...so today is my last day of shopping. :) It was fun to do that and find things for you all. Then we travelled home to Nordstrand (Sister Buhler and I) and went to an appointment...but we got kebabed. :( But when we were at the bus station to meet with the man that didnt come, ANOTHER potential who had cancelled an appointment walked up to us and asked us what it was we wanted to talk about. and that we could talk right then! She also had a friendwith her! So we taught a little bit of the first lesson right there! It was a miracle!!! Then after trying a potential and her saying she actually didnt want us to come, we found another man and taught him right there. It was a miraculous night. The Lord was watching out for us.
On Tuesday we went and visited a member named Inger. She had expectd others to come and eat with her, but they never came, so she fed us! A typical Norwegian meal. Bread with toppings on it. It was delicous! I had bread with goat cheese, smoked salmon and boiled eggs. yum. Our appointments that night fell through also. So we watched the General Womens meeting! It was great! And I really needed it. I MISS THE TEMPLE!!!!


But that night, Sister Buhler and I started the tradition (for the week) to hurry and get ready for bed after planning, and watching the District to fall asleep. :)
Wednesday was a tough day. All of our appointments fell through. We banked lots and then came to Oslo. We met with a member from the Phillippines. And it was so interesting. She told us that she almost cancelled on us. Becuase she was tired. She said, "I knew the sisters would have understood, because theyre nice." But she didnt cancel, and came! I know that that was Satan trying to tell her not to come. Because Satan convinced all of the other appointments we had during the day to not come. And that proved to me the annoyingness of Satan. haha, but Sahanie came! And she gave us a referral of one of her friends she had met this past week. :) Our last appointment of the day also fell through. He postponed it and then ended up cancelling after we waited for him with a member. But The Lord is merciful and proved His power on Wednesday.
What a miraculous day! It was like sunshine after a rainstorm. We went to the bus station, and met with Tony. He brought one friend and as we were talking, another one of his friends walked up. And then another came over! We got 3 referrals and 3 new investigators!!!! What a miracle! And then we went to Randas house, the potential we miraculously taught at the bus station a couple days earlier, and taught her about the first lesson. It was great to be in someones house and teach. She was drinking...mette...the drink trev drinks haha Anywho, then we did some weekly planning. Later in the day we travelled out to a members house. President Evans councelor, President Herland and his wife. We ate with them and it was such a tender mercy. He told me he wouldnt have guessed that I was about to come ohme! That made me feel good. I love them!!! I love meeting members and then gaining a stronger love for the area. it makes me love Nordstrand even more! Afterwards we went to the Birkelands, a less active couple, and talked with them. I believe, well I know, that the best way to strengthen your testimony, or to get through a hard time is by helpeing others by bearing your testimony of it. I got to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ. And I know that He lives. I just know it!
Friday was also good. We had District Meeting, and Elder Nillson, our DL asked if I would bear my testimony about being a concecrated missionary. I cried, of course. I learned myself, that to be a concecrated missionary, it is so personal. We all make mistakes, we all are disobedient at times, but as long as we walk with The Lord and LEARN, we are BECOMING, and being concecrated missionaries. I feel like we can all be more concecrated children of God. Mom or Dad gave me a quote a while back about how each time we go through a trial of some sort, it is helping us be more worthy to be called the children of God. I know its true. And I know that is what has happened on my mission. Ive gone through things no one else will understand. Only Christ and Heavenly Father. Only them. And so although I am going home. I am leaving Norway here, and the people are staying here, my relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father will always be with me. We later visited a less active lady. She had made us a feast of little foods. Like sandwiches and desserts, and fruit tea. Norwegians love to give you some food when you visit them. :) We talked with her about missoinary work. And she believed she hadnt been doing any! But she had been. We invited her to start using church words in her speach. Like "relief society" and then at some point, they will ask what she is talking about. Later we met with Ivan, with our MMKs wife, Marie. We were planning on teaching the 1st lesson. But got stuck on the 1st part...Heavenly Father. He doesnt believe in the trinity, and doesnt belive in the Godhead. It got really confusing. He believes they are all the same person with different bodies. But they exact same mind. It was so confusing! It proves to me that we NEED prophets to help us to understand the doctrine. I am so thankful for a living prophet to guide us today.


On Saturday we started off the day banking! We contacted our way to an area and banked there also. We were able to teach 2 lessons! And then after travelling to Oslo for General Conference, before it started, we taught one of Tonys friends (one of the 3 referrals) in the center! It went so well. :) He prayed, and although he hadnt done it before, thinking back, I get the same feeling each time someone prays for the first time. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Isnt it crazy to imagine someones first time praying to Heavenly Father? I am not sure if it was his first time, but at least the first time praying the way God has asked us to! Then we watched Getneral Conference. Lots of missionaries and members were here! It was so fun! We had dessert afterwards and then travelled home. :)
Then on Sunday morning we travelled to the center in Oslo, had MMK, then watched the Womens Meeting again with other women as the men watched the Priesthood session, and then we watched the saturday night session. Had dinner, and then watched the sunday morning session live! (6pm our time) We were singing the middle song the same time as you all! How cool! :) We slept at the sisters appartment last night so that this morning we could watch the last session. HOW COOL WAS ELDER BEDNARS TALK!? That is similar to what he said to the Norwegians here a couple weeks ago. He is so cool! I love that he talked to people not of this church. Ahhh conference was SO great!
This week Sister Buhler and I were at the bus stop, and I talked with this lady. She started asking questions about where it talked about the MB in the Bible and,not bible bashing, I tried telling her. She wouldnt listen. She walked over the the trikk and I walked went ot her, not wanting her to get away with false doctrine in her head about what she thinks. We sat with her on the trikk and she was not open. She would not listen to us and would not accept. It makes me sad when people will not let me speak, say that they are willing to learn and listen, but in reality, they arent. And all they are going to do is tell you that you are wrong. Anyways, I tried my best to keep the Spirit there and told her, "You know...our only purpose is to bring people closer to Christ." And she told met hat we dont bring anyone closer to Christ. She believes in the Trinity so went off on telling us that we arent Christian. Oh boy.... Sister Buhler wasnt talking very much and I found out later that she was so mad inside that she couldnt speak or else she would have exploded hahaha Anyways, It proves to me that THIS IS THE TRUTH! Why else would this be so opposed!? No other reason, than that this is the truth.


I have never felt so torn in my life. I am so sad to leave. But so happy to see you all. I am scared to be in that world again. haha Last week Sister Buhler and I started singing a song from Les Mis and she kept going and sang a line I didnt know. And I was shocked with how horrible the line was! (not that sister buhler sang somethingh bad....itwas just the song) and I started crying b ecause I realized how bad of a world I ws coming back to!!! ahhh im so scared. Itll be okay! Ill be okay. haha ahhhhhh
Anyways, Ilove you all so much. I hope you all, my family, member friends, non member friends, know that I KNOW that Christ is the Savior of MY world. And of the entire world. He is my best friend. He has gone through everything with me. He is the only one that knows how I feel. He is there. I read a quote this week in a Liahona. Fromt he 4 minutes talk from last conference. And it said something like. "You prepared for this for a millennia. The Savior of the World is on YOUR SIDE. You cannot fall or fail with Him." Something like that. I know its true! I love you all!


LOVE, Sister Chapman
xoxoxoxo




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Joys and Pains

MOM'S NOTE: Sierra is very open in her letters, even knowing they are posted on a blog. Because of reactions from others who have been helped tremendously by her honesty in these letters, she continues to share her heartfelt feelings and I continue to post them for her. PS: can I hear a big WOW for her artistic pictures this week?!



Kjære alle sammen,
Im just going to be completely honest and tell you that this was a hard week for me. It was one of my hardest weeks on my mission. Partially the work, our investigors were disappointing us a little, but satan has been getting at me so bad this week. Its so hard. I dont know who of you all have seen the new Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton - I know Bry knows what Im talking about - but you know that last battle she has. She has become something so great! With so much armor and she has to kill the jaberwakee? I feel like I am at my last battle with Satan! That he has seen that I have become more than he wanted me to, so he is going to try and kill me. Now Im not trying to make a joke out of this, because thats literally how I feel right now! I feel like Satan is an idiot.
Anyways, prayers would be appreciated (I know you all pray for me anyways, but extra ones wouldnt hurt) :)


On my mission ive learned what reality is. Reality is that we are here to learn and to grow. Reality is that we are going to go through hard times. Reality is that we can either get stronger and come closer to Christ, or get weaker and go away from Him. I know what ive been trying to do and even though we are told in our heads that weve failed, or were fat, or were ugly, or shes better than me, or hes got a better job than me, we can use that trial or that annoying whisper from Satan to make us stronger! Each time Satan tries rubbing something on our faces, we can turn to the Lord. And each time we turn to the Lord, our relationship grows stronger with Him. Sister Buhler and I were talking about this last night. Satan, without knowing, is doing us a favor! Because Satan is such a jerk and a bully and a doofus, we HAVE to rely on the Savior...and because we rely on the Savior we get stronger. So, if you think about it, Satan helps us get closer to the Savior! Nice move, Satan! Oh he bugs me so bad though...


Anyways, that was me rambling, Ill tell you about my week now.
Last Monday was a good pday. We went to Oslo to a big thrift store called UFF...and I found some things to bring home to some of you! Today I will be doing more shopping...well see how that goes! We went to try some potentials and a referral that night. And although we didnt get to talk to the potentials, we got a hold of the referral and got an appointment with her! And we also got a referral from a danish man that called Sister Buhlers phone :)
On Tuesday we had a meeting with our district and MMK for a finding activity we are going to have - a street stand in the city. We later taught Ivan, with our MMK Brother Kerr (from Scotland) and that went really well. :) Then we went to a dinner that night with a family from England and the elders! Delicious dinner and a cute family. But….we ended up missing a meeting we had with all the missionaries, the mmk, and the bishop. I felt horrible and I knew that it was our lack of planning and responisbility. This is when my stress got to me and the hard week began.


On Wednesday I woke up with a stomach ache. Satan is trying to kill me, guys!...haha. anyways, we had district meeting in Oslo, and then we did some weekly planning. The happiest part of my day was teaching our investigator, Tobias. We taught him again, in the graveyard by our house...haha, and we talked about the Plan of Salvation! It went so well! He had read the chapter we gave him, said we could write more chapters for him to read because he has vacation this week and will bring the MB with him! Keep in mind this is a 17 year old Norwegian kid. He also said he would come to some our our church activities this weekend! HE IS AWESOME AND WE LOVE HIM!!! I got a blessing from some of the elders a little later, and I am really thankful for the Priesthood. On Wednesday we went to a train/bus station to teach our investigator tony. He brought a friend, but his friend wasnt so nice. Tony left way quick...so we only taught a tiny little sliver of what we planned. We went to an appointment a little later, and that fell through, then we taught our investigator, Marcel, in Oslo with a member named Hakim. Another appointment fell through and we then celebrated Sister Aasens birthday! A good fun end to the day!


Friday was splits with the Sister Training Leaders, Sister Aasen and Sister Harrison. We studied a the center, and then Sister Harrison and I taught Martin, an investigator, with Snorre, a ward missionary! It went way well. Sister Harrison said that when teaching together she felt so peaceful, so that was good. :) We were bold with him and I know that the Spirit led it! Then we went to the trainstation to get to an appointment. With my scatterbrained mind I tried getting us to the right train but we ran 3 or so times back and forth to check the board, and then to another spor haahaha ah man. So our appointment fell through. We tried knocking on a potenitals door, no answer, but on the way down the hill, I saw this HUGE RED CENTAPEDE, so i gasped and Sister Harrison yelled this horrible, NOOOO!!!! And grabbed my arm and we stepped back. HAHA it is probably a "you had to be there" moment...but it was hilarious! Ill send pictures of it later. :)


But we banked and taught 2 lessons to 2 youth. Sister Harrison and I talked about it and the youth in Norway are like the Lamanites. The foolish traditions of their parents are what the problem is! It breaks my heart that these sweet youth that are yearning for the truth are stopped becasue of their parents. Right now I am trying to finish the MB with the focus on Jesus Christ. And I have never loved the Book Of Mormon more in my life than I do now. It is amazing! Sister Harrison and I contined to work together, then we all did some service for this less active norwegian lady, who is also a bit blind. then I went with Sister Aasen. The appointment fell through, we were going to do some lanugage study that we didnt get to do earlier, and it was the night of institute so lots of ysa were there! I got so see people from Drammen and it was so great! :) A little later we ate dinner with the sisters and talked about our day. Then when we were leavning, a huge miracle happened! We walked and right when we were going to walk to the sidewalk, two phillippinos walked past, we looked at each other and I went speechless! IT WAS 2 POTENTIALS FROM TROMSØ! I literally could not speak! haha, HOW IN THE WORLD could I be a thte exact place at that exact time to see 2 of the people sister rupp and I found months ago MILES away!? It was insane! I will try to meet with them when theyre here! :) It was a reminder to me that the Lord is with me, aware of me, and loves me.


On Saturday there was a baptism! Elin, a norwegian girl the elders were teaching, got baptized! It was so great and there were lots of people there. :) None of our investigators we were expecting to come, came. We did some banking, and met a sweet couple. One from Kristiansand and the other from Bergen! (another tender mercy). And then we slept over at the sisters that night. :) So fun to be with them!


Sunday was a good day. Probably one of my best days this past week. We had church...which was so amazing. After this sunday I can tell you with a stronger testimony why the Sacrament is important and how important it is to go to church. Although none of our investigators came, I know the Lord was watching out for me. The sisters had lots of investigators in chruch! It was great! So they were having me go with them to the sunday schools they needed me in. I started in norsk, then got pulled into spanish, then finally ended up in english. haha then we had sacrament meeting. I love the sacrament, i love listening to the talks, and I know that the Lord loves me. I had special experiences this sunday. And decided to get another blessing after church from Elder Rasmussen, the senior couple. It was the sweetest blessing, and I am really, REALLY thankful for the Priesthood. Our appointment later that day fell through and so we banked. We saw the most beautiful sunset, pink clouds dancing around in the sky - another tender mercy.


Im sorry this email was full of me expressing my hard week. But I know that throught the hardest times, come the best of times. I know that this week was hard for me so that I can see the beauty and happiness these next couple weeks will bring me...that is probably why I even had a hard week...because Heavenly Father loves me so much! The hardness is still here...but is wearing off, and i know that it wont last much longer. :)


I love you all and hope you have a great week!
XOXO
STOR KLEM,
Søster Chapman :)


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Dear Family,


I had a great week! And it sounds like you have all had a great week too! Today there are blue skies, beautiful orange trees, and crisp SUPER WINDY air! Its fall and I love it! I hope it cools down in Henderson before I go home. I dont think I will be able to handle the heat! haha
Yesterday I was talking to the other sisters investigator about fall in Henderson...and I completely forgot how it is! Leaves dont change colors there...right? They just fall off... I dont know! Anyways, not important. haha
Monday was a good pday! After doing some emailing, we went and looked around the mall, in the same building! I am looking for things to bring home for each of you! And last monday, I found something for Caci! None of these things are really big, but they remind me of you all and they are Norwegian, so Im excited for you all to see. :) We had a teach in the middle of the day, so went and taught that with Cecilia (member from Alta) and then finished somethings up and came back to Nordstrand. We had an appointment with someone other sisters had found, so we went and no one answered the door. So we made a note, stuck it in the door, and decided to just check the side of the house, where there was another door. And there the lady was, laying on a couch with her husband sitting on the other end! haha, it was a little weird, but we went and sat with them, and taught them the 1st lesson! She is from India, and he is from Norway. Twinkle and Harald. :) It was so funny, because he was a referral from that, and I think older Norwegian men dont really want to admit that they are interested, but they really are! And Harald was like that. Really interested in what we had to say, but trying to play it cool. :) Then we went to the train stop and taught Tony! The Albanian I met the previous Sunday. We taught him and then were stranded at the bus/train station until the bus came. It was dark, cold, and kind of creepy. But we survived and got home safe and sound. We also saw a potential, after getting off a bus and them getting on....or something like that, and her friend that she had referred to us! So we got a contacted referral! It was a miracle!


On Tuesday we had a meeting with our district to discuss some things, and guess who called? DAVID! From Kristiansand! (well, living in Oslo now) We met up with him and were able to talk with him about how things are going. He know that this is true. He really does. He just has some problems with difference cultures, etc. But he promised me he would come to church...either here or wherever he was! He didnt come here on Sunday, so he better have gone in Kristiansand! We went banking a little later, right before an appointment with Inger, a less active. We were banking on doors, and got 2 referrals! One of which was really special. We knocked on a door and a lady probably about 60 answered. She was SO nice and talked a lot with us. She was just taking care of her grandaughter this week or something like that. She told us we could come back to talk with her daughter the next week. But we asked if we could pray with her before we left, and she invited us in to pray for her grandaughter. I dont know what it is, but her grandaughter has some mental health problem. She cant control her body, cant speak, etc. It is hearbreaking, but she had the sweetest spirit. We sat there on the ground and prayed. Her name was Eva Nathalie. It was a precious experience. Inger didnt answer the door (found out later she wasnt home) but dropped off some cookies and a note. That night we met with Marcel and had a member, Joseph, help us with the teach! Good day!


On Wednesday we had Zone Leader Training! This was a hard day for me. Our one appointment, that I was way excited for fell through, and my emotions went crazy. (its happening now, since time is going by so fast). We banked! Anyways, that night we had a meeting with the bishop about the area.
Thursday was a good day. We did some weekly planning, and then went to Oslo to teach a man named Jan Ole, with Cecilia! He is way cool...searching for the truth, and feeling like its in the buddhist religion. But he is open, and great! Then we studied language with Cecilia! She is from Alta, so it was way fun with her dialect! There is so much to learn!!!!! haha We ate dinner with her afterwards and it turned out to be a good day. :)


Friday was also good! We had interviews that morning with President and Sister Evans. And boy do I love them. I feel so blessed to have such a great Mission President. And mission mom. I of course cried, but they are both so sweet. I love talking with them! I got permission from President Evans to visit Debby in Drammen! If I can get an appointment with her. I tried contacting her on facebook, (so if you see ive been on, thats why :) ) And hopefully shes written back! Sister Evans showed me a really pretty song, called "Take time to be holy" And she said I should print out those words. You should listen to it, its beautiful! Also in the center after interviews they were going to have a big meeting for all the district leaders! So we were there with a bunch of elders. Went and got some kebabs for lunch and ate there. We went out to got teach someone, and instead taught a finnish man sitting in the park! He said he wasnt ready to believe in God. But when he is, one of the first things he will go to is The Book Of Mormon. :) He was here for the Marathon in Oslo! Cool, huh?! We taught our investigator, Ivan, afterwards, with the bishops daughter, Caroline! She got her mission call to Norway! So will be starting in December :) A little later we visited a less active lady named Gullveig. She told us how she hasnt been reading her scriptures lately, for no reason, and its hard to come to church. Afterwards, not trying to judge unrighteously or anything, I thought about women in my life that make sacrafices. Like Grandmother Call. She goes to church and even teaches a class even when she is tired and exhausted! That is conversion. And I wish that some of these older, less-active, norwegian women could see that example. We then took a train to Oslo and met Aida at the train station! She is so adorable! She gave me a bag (really...a big purse) full of food and chocolate. We were walking from the outside inside and a man she had met when she was here for the Elder Bednar conference came up to her! We sat down with him, and got an appointment! Then we ate Burger King with them, and headed back home.


Saturday was also good! We had 2 of our appointments fall through that morning, but it was all worth it because of the third that went so well. We met a boy named Tobias on the street last week? And met with him Saturday at 1. She is a 19 year old Norwegian boy. We went into the cemetary right by his house, and actually close to ours too, and taught him. He doesnt believe in God, but is reading the Bible to get information. It was SO great. Got a return appointment with him too :) Ahh it was so great! And such a miracle! We asked, if he could know that Christ had felt all that he has, would he want to know? And he thought about it and said something like, "yeah, I would want to know if I could." I really really really like him. It was such a miracle! We then facebooked Debby at this library and did our Progress Report! Then we went and had dinner with Aida and a bunch of Phillippinos! Haha! I dont know how Bry and Steve did it! I would gain so much weight if I ate that food everyday! Aida met this lady, Virginia, when she came for the Elder Bednar conference, got her number, found out her birthday had happened or was happening, and said it needed to be celbrated. So she came to put on a party. Of course her famly did lots too, but Aida made lots of food, invited us, and we came! We talked with the daughters boyfriend (or some man that was there) (norsk) about the church, him asking the questions etc. And right before we left, he asked Sister Buhler if she knew where a cafe was. Anyways, she got his number and we are going to meet with him! It was great!!! Aida came out with us afterwards and we went to go and knock on an investigators door, someone we hadnt met yet but the other sisters that were here taught. We knocked on the door and this man answered. I told him who we were and asked for Astrid, a 60 year old lady. He was so rude! He looked at me like I was stupid, said some weird thing while doing some hand motion, and as I kept asking for Astrid he said, "well..im not astrid." My natural man side came out of me and I wanted to say, "well thank you mr. obvious! Now let us talk with your mom!" but it didnt. Instead, I dont know what I was thinking, but I asked for referrals! haha! He told met to go to the church down the block, almost yelling at me. Anyways, that was pretty much the end of that night! We brought Aida back to the party after we finished banking, and then got home to do some planning.


Sunday was also good. We had MMK, then church! Jan Ole came! Let us know he was coming that morning! So that was a surprise. Our other 2 we were expecting were sick. And another just didnt come. Aida brought Virginia! 4 non member boys showed up, researching the church for an assignment! After church we went and ate dinner with a member. She is from England and her husband (on a business trip) is from here. He was her Zone Leader in Scotland! Anyways, her daughter and son in law (from Los Angeles) were there, along with the sisters investigator, Sigrid (who I knew in Drammen!) We had tacos, and then banana splits. It was nice being with a member family. It made me feel at home. :) Pauline, the mom, had been collecting doll house things since she was about 19, and in a cabnet, there were minuture things on each level! It was so cute! We were also lent some nice wool socks to wear. It was chilly outside and the floor was too. (very europian to do that!) Then we went and taught Ali, the man Aida met at the trainstation, and Virginia at the trainstation with Aida! Then travelled to a potentials house with Aida to teach. They were a muslim family. The teach actually went really well. But towards the end I broke. He saw that my backpack was sitting on my feet and that I was trying to grab a MB out of the bottom, under other things in my backpack. He was very abrupt and blunt about how he didnt like what I was doing. That holy books she never touch the ground. That they should always be above it. He stood up and showed me his books and started in a way...i dont know...mocking me?, and I took it as him pretty much telling me that I didnt respect the Book Of Mormon. I started crying! And I bore my testimony about the Book Of Mormon. Now, I know that it might just be my rollercoaster emotions...but it really did hurt my feelings! I dont disrespect the MB - I told him that I respect it by reading it, thanking Heavenly Father from it, etc. Anyways, we will probably meet with them again to watch the Restoration. Im sure they felt the Spirit that Heavenly Father blessed us with. We brought Aida to Virginias home, and then came home.


It was an overall good week! I am so thankful for the Book Of Mormon. We are reading it in 3 months, while underlining Christs name, His words, and His attributes. I only have about a week left, and so I have to read a lot each day. And I LOVE that! I love that I can understand the story better. And as I read the Book Of Mormon I really do feel the witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I wish and hope that everyone that I know would read the Book Of Momon. Why not? If it comes from God, how PRECIOUS is it? It is so precious and I KNOW that it is another testament of Jesus Christ. We are Christians, no matter what people say to us, because we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. I know its true. And I will never, ever be able to deny it.


I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!!!
Love, Søster Chapman :)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Another Great Week!

Kjære alle sammen,


This week was FULL of miracles! I feel like this is going to be a long email, so bear with me. :)
I think all of the missionaries and members in Norway were on a spiritual high this week from Elder Bednar. How special is that? To have a disciple of the Lord visit Norway. So amazing!
Last Monday we went to the "palace park" and ate dinner with the other sisters in Oslo. :) Then that nigth we went and banked on doors in Nordstrand. I. LOVE. NORDSTRAND. I have never loved an area so much so fast as I love it here! I dont know what it is...but I love it! It is like the Beverly Hills of Oslo. ;) President Evans had this area opened this year (?) specifically to find families, banking (knocking on doors). So we went banking! And went to a man that Sister Johnson had found while serving here. He couldnt have us come in right then, but hopefully we will be meeting with him and his family this week! Miracles that happened on monday: Sanna (from Drammen) sent me an email (i dont think i told you this last week..sorry if i did!) about how after the Elder Bednar conference a random lady walked up to her and asked her why there were so many people dressed up. She told her why, got her number, told her where the church was and send her number to me! The lady she met wants to find a church! Another miracle is that DAVID (the first man that I helped teach and baptize in Kristiansand) MOVED TO OSLO!!! He has gone less-active, and now I get to work with him again! Isnt that a miracle!? I am so amazed how the Lord gets into the details of our lives!


On Tuesday we had district meeting and then met with an investigator named Elizabeth afterwards. She is from Norway and is so sweet. All had been going great with her in her life, but all of a sudden, everything got worse. Her relationship, health, etc. Since then, we have talked with her more and she is doing better. She just needed that one day to be sad, and now she is a lot better. She is a great example to me of using time well...not focusing to much on something. But looking towards the future. Later in the day we met with a lady named Zahra from the middle east. We gave her the Book Of Mormon and I expressed to her how the Book Of Mormon is one of the most precious things I have in my life. It was a really cool reaction she had to that. It seemed as though she felt honored to be able to have the Book Of Mormon herself. We also taught Marcel. He is from Nigeria. :) Then we had a Relief Society European Broadcast (maybe carli saw it...but I think it was just western europe or scandinavia?) Anyways, Elder Bednar, Elder Ballard, and someone from the 70s were there in Germany and it was broadcasted to us! It was so great to here MORE from men called of God. There were us sister missionaries and 2 members that came to the center. We had pizza, fruit, and dessert during it. :) (it is the best having senior couples! The Rasmussens here in Oslo are so great) :)
Wednesday we met with Elizabeth again! She had this week for vacation, so we got to meet with her twice. :) She was doing a lot better! And we taught about prophets. I could really see during that teach how the Lord blessed us to ask the right questions to get to concerns. Although we could answer questions, in the end, its most important to find out yourself, through prayer and study. We took a train a little bit later and went and ate at a members house! They are a norwegian family, the Karlsens. :) But Brother Karlsen is half Austrian. Him and his wife met eachother at school, in the same city Sound Of Music is in! Cool, huh!? We had fiskeboller. Brookie and Azzie would not like that. haha I really wanted to try it, because I hadnt get and it is really norwegian! But pretty much what it is, is fish rolled into balls, in sauce. It wasnt my absolute favorite norwegian dish, but it was still good. We had it in some cracker like shells, and on the side of course, there was potatoes, carrots, and salad. :) Then had ice cream and brownies for dessert. (Before you all see me so soon and see how I look...in my defence...members almost ALWAYS give us desserts, and the chocolate in Norway is just tooooo good!) ;) That night we had a little party for Sister Harrisons birthday! They had MLC this day and told us that President almost has the entire next tranfer ready. Its like were already gone! :(


On Thurdsday we of course did some weekly planning. Then we had ANOTHER dinner! (im not used to all these dinners!) We ate with a part member family, and had the typical Norwegians "missionary" meal, lasagna. I really believe we eat lasagna more than the missionaries in Italy ;) haha no, but it was delicious! And then for dessert we had homemade chocolate pudding and citron pudding. It was delicous. :) We ended up coming back to Oslo late for our appointment, but he didnt show up. :/ Cecilia was there to help though. I LOVE HER! We taught Marcel again that night! It was so funny. We tried committing him to pray about what we had talked about, and after discussing with him, he said something like, "I have already had dreams with this church in it! I dont need to ask in prayer!" hahaha, so we committed him to baptism! He is oging to get baptized the 30th of October! So exciteing!
On Friday we finished up weekly planning, did some other things that needed to be done on a computer (theres a library pretty close to us, so instead of going to Oslo, we can just stay here!), and then we went out banking. :) We set our numbers pretty high for this week. I think that is one of the best things about going into an area you arent so familiar with...you dont know the "normal" numbers they usually get. So we set them high! And we had faith, and while banking, we got 2 contacted referrals! 1 of which we are going to visit this week!!! It was amazing! We came back for dinner, and then went out again. We found a really cool girl we are going to teach later this week, and it was because Heavenly Father led us to the right spot at the right time! On our way back, we saw a man that we have actually seen quite a few times in the cemetary by our house. I didnt feel comfortable talking to him as he stood there by the grave, to his wife, we think. So we walked out and stood there, seeing what he was going to do. He left and I felt myself wanted to run up to him and give him a Plan of Salvation pamphlet..but I didnt do it. I felt so bad. Because I felt a really strong connection to him...as though I had known him before this life. And that he really needed to know this plan. We walked home and immediately (we had language study) i began writing him a note/letter. So that the next day we could set that and the Book Of Mormon and the pamphlet next to the grave. I opened my heart to that man in that letter.
On Saturday morning we woke up and after studies set it next to the grave. That night, we checked to see if it was still there, and he had taken it. I really hope he calls. Saturday was a day of miracles! We went out to find less actives. The first wasnt there, but the next one we tried, the son was home! So we shared something with him on the porch, he gave us to clementines (are you eating them at home yet? They are so popular here in norway in the fall and winter) and we went on our way to try to find his sister, that he gave as an "in-active referral"! We asked 6 people total to help us find her street, and then to the busstop, because we didnt have lots of time. And because we talked to each of those 6 people, we were led to Vivi-Ann. We were almost to the bus stop and there she was with her daughter. We talked about families, and were so happy that her, being a norwegian, was so interested and kept listening. (Not that norwegains dont listen..just that she was so positve compared to others!) We asked if we could visit her and her family. She told us she lived alone and we asked to visit her. She said yes. We got her number, address, and an appointment. And she wanted something to read before we met. We gave her The Plan of Salvation pamphlet and she said she would read it. She looked like she needed comfort, and I KNOW that we were meant to find her. Oh my goodness I already love her and am so excited to meet with her this week! We then met with a less active named Inger. We sat down to talk with her and we asked how her week had been. She told us she had gone to her husbands funeral. We were shocked! She said that the sadness hadnt really hit her yet, but it probably will. It was so cool, because Sister Buhler had the suggestion that we share about Gods love with her. We did, and that is excatly what she needed. She said she sometimes knows that God loves her. We committed her to pray to feel His love stronger than normal this week. We said we would do it too. She gave us some cake and pop, her son (i think he is inactive or not a member) came also a little later and we talked a little bit with him. We are going to come back tomorrow to her and bring her cookies. :) Afterwards both of our appointments fell through and we got to eat dinner then travel home!


Sunday was the day of HUGE MIRACLES! We had MMK (it took us longer than it could have to get there because the t-bane we took went a different way than expected becasue of construction...so we had to switch a couple times) :), and then church. To welcome me to the ward, I played the piano in the combined RS and Priesthood haha and then I had to go out to get our investigator. There were so many people in the chapel for that hour that I couldnt get Sister Buhler out, and the Stake President was teaching, so I got a member, Sandra, a twin that was baptized last year, to come outside and help me find the investigator. Instead of going to the church, he traveled to the center. So he was a little late. But it went well. :) Then Marcel brought Christian, one of our investigators to church! They were late, but Marcel stayed the rest of the time and Chrstians left after the sacrament. Sacrament meeting was so good too. It is interesting to have been in the two biggest wards in Norway (Oslo and Drammen). There is a big difference between them. After church, sister buhler and I went on splits. I taught Ivan with Emma (the other twin from Sweden) and Sister Buhler taught Marcel, with Cecilia, a YSA from Alta :) (We love these girls!!!) It went well! After they taught Marcel, I asked him how he liked church, he said it was wonderful! That made me happy that he loved it so much. Sister Buhler said that he told them that he could really feel the Spirit during church (he could udnerstand becasue of the translation, so that helped) or something like that :) I love when they love church!!! The Primary also sang in Sacrament Meeting, so that is always a plus :) Later that day we ate dinner at home and went out. We needed 4 new investigators (that was our goal for the week...and the one we had, cancelled her appointment...so we still needed 4 more!) We knew it was possible. We had fasted and prayed for it. So we decided we would have to teach on the busses on our way to a less active. Sister Buhler is awesome and was so bold! We got to a bus stop after sister buhler talked to someone on the bus, and at the busstop, we had a few minutes til the bus came. So we split up and she went to one man standing, and I went to a man on the bench, about 10 feet away from each other. The man I talked to, Tony, didnt speak english, he was from Albania. YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE THIS! That morning, I decided to bring a Book Of Mormon in another language. I grabbed one and it was Albanian! HE SPOKE ALBANIAN!!! I pretty much said that exact thing to him and told him how we have MB in hundreds of languages and I randomly took this one today! (I have met...maybe 2 people that speak albanian on my mission that I can remember) I taught him, said a prayer, commited him to start reading and got a return appointment! MIRACLE! Huh? Sister Buhler had brought a book in Arabic with her, and guess what the man she talked to spoke? ARABIC! He wouldnt take the book, but she got a return appointment with him and his friend (who became a referral!! I was going to talk with him, but instead he crossed the street, talked to the man sister buhler was talking to, and then became a referral from the first man she talked to!) And she taught, prayed and got a return apointment. We still needed one new investigator though. So we kept talking to people. I taught someone, but didnt get a return appointment. Sister Buhler taught someone, got a return appointment, but no prayer. So we went to the less actives, a couple that is so sweet, both served missions, but pretty hard lives, and then we went back out to come home and kept talking to people! I talked to this man at the bus stop and on the bus. Got his number, and he gave us his mom as a referral! And THEN! Well, we still needed a new investigator. It was probably a little after 8 at this point. So we went up to this indian lady, and talked, got on the bus. I gave her the MB, we prayed and I taught her. And having maybe 2 minutes til I needed to get off, I got her number and an appointment. WE REACHED OUR GOAL! Before we went out that night...we had some doubts. But we prayed that the Lord would "help our unbelief" and he did. Yesterday in total, we got 2 member teaches, 4 other teaches, 1 recieved referral, one contacted referral, 4 new investigators, and 1 less active. I know that numbers arent everything, I for sure know that. BUT THE LORD LOVES US SO MUCH! And he LOVES THESE PEOPLE! And we were able to find so many people yesterday because we worked hard, relied on the Lord, had high expectations, and had faith! What a day...what a day... :)
This week I also managed to burn my finger on a burning glass bottle. (its alright though) :) And earlier in the week I had given a spanish Book Of Mormon to a man we found on our way to get someone to teach. And whats so cool about that is that I had put it in my backpack, maybe 4 days before. And then we found him! MIRACLES ARE WAITING TO HAPPEN! It doesnt matter where in Norway you are, or where in the world! There are more people prepared for the gospel than we know!


I dont think I have ever worked harder my whole mission than now. I love being a missionary more than anything in the world. And I LOVE being a missionary in Norway! I love Nordstrand! I just love life!
I hope you all have a great week!
Husk at jeg elsker dere!
Love, Søster Chapman
:)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:MIRACLES

ALL MISSION CONFERENCE WITH ELDER BEDNAR

Kjære familie,
COOLEST. WEEK. EVER! Okay...I guess I should just start from the beginning of the week. But I cant hold it all in...so Im just going to say it...ELDER BEDNAR WAS HERE AND WE HAD 2 MEETINGS WITH HIM! I will write more about that later. :)


Last Monday was great! We went to IKEA with Majken and then did some more shopping. I havent been so stuffed of food compared to this week in a long time! That night we went to Hems moms house and his sister made us Nepalese food! It was rice, with some soup they put over it, and then chicken and some pickled things...i dont exactly know what it was. But it was good! Until I felt like I was going to throw up from how full I was. And then of course, she gave me more. Ohh i was stuffed. But we LOVE them!
On Tuesday we had a meeting as a district and then Sister Oldham and I were picked up by a member to drive out to an area called Selbu. Sister Oldham has a great great grandpa that served his mission in Norway 100 years ago that served a little bit of time in Selbu! So we went out there to Sister Jørgensens house (farm/museum) and got interviewed by a man in Selbu for the newspaper! It was great! On the way there, she bought us lunch and then we took some pictures, and then we got there and had more food, and then we went and contacted after the interview! There farm is also a museum because it is so old! So we got a brochure of it! It was way cool. Miracles happened as we contacted. We found a girl that gave us her number and seemed way intersted. The Lord really does lead us to the people prepared. Then we went back to her house for dinner! We had spaghetti and it was delicous! I can usually eat seconds when I am at dinner, but this time I had to tell her know because I was GOING TO POP! We had eaten literally all day! Later that night we went to visit a man that we had contacted on Monday night. We got in and it was an appartment FULL of family and friends. They got us chips and cinnamon tea (MORE FOOD.) and then we talked. The man we contacted couldnt speak good Norsk (they used to be Muslims from the middle east) so he had someone translate. ANyways, it was a sweet sweet family. A tender mercy happened while we were there. I smiled at the youngest girl (probalby about 15) and she smiled back. A couple minutes later she said to me, "Ive seen you before." And I thought for a minute and it came to me. I had seen her on the street a week or 2 ago and smiled at her, and she smiled back..and that was the only contact I have had with her. She recognized that I was the same person because I smiled at her! Like it says in PMG, "NO EFFORT IS WASTED." It really melted my heart and made me feel so good.
On Wednesday we went to the fjord and tried having hotdogs, but because my one match I had from the handout we did last week didnt work and then the other matches that we got didnt get it warm enoiugh, we had to go to her house and then eat the hot dogs. Okay, I know brookie doesnt like hotdogs, and our family isnt so keen with them...but NORWEGIAN HOTDOGS ARE DELICIOUS! You put them in these things called lumper (like thin tortillas) and then you put potato salad on them with crunchy onions and this delicious mustard....so good! We then went and did service for Majkens sister in law, Ane. Who was WAY pregnant! We cleaned her house, and then left after and got in the car to make our way to Mariel and Berts house! (melissas parents) It was a GORGEOUS drive! I felt like I was in a fairy tale and that dr. seuss helped to make some of the mountains and scenes. :) It was breathtaking! We got there and it was a little bit awkward. But it really went so well. They are still open to the gospel and said that they will always remember us as the ones that opened this gate for them. We watched a conference talk that came to Sister Oldhams head the night before. And then talked more with them. (and she made us delicious apple cake.) (MORE FOOD!) I cant even express how great it was to meet with them...and how positive it went. :) Then we drove back and were waiting for melissa at the church! It was perfect, because we were a little late, but because of that she got to see the YSA after they were done with institute! They had cake for one of their birthdays and she got to mingle. :) It went so well with her too!!! I am so happy with how it was :) She will meet once a week to read in the scriptures with us! She said that she has to read so much for school and she doesnt want the MB to go in one ear and out the other. She also wants to come to church but she cant promise every week. IT IS SO GREAT!!! I felt like the real Melissa was really coming back!
On Thursday we did Weekly Planning and then later that day we had dinner with Majken and Aaron, and had our investigator Håvard come too! We had (more foooooood) curry, mushroom soup and some other mushroom thing (remember, håvard and his family and friends had gone "mushroom hunting") and cake! It was great having our investigators involved with members. ANd I just love Majken and Aaron so it was great! Håvards wife and son came too :) Then we had MMK!


Friday was my last day in Trondheim :( But Majken wanted to have lunch with us again so she made it and brought it into the church for us to have all together. I love Majken with alll my heart! I hope you all get to meet her someday. A member that just moved into our ward got an appointment for us with a friend he has in school! SO afterwards we went and taught her, Sofia. and AHHH i love her! Her mom used to be a member and she has just heard the bad things about the church. She said, while we taught her, that it felt right. Ole (the member) had already taught her lots, but it was great being able to answer questions and teach her. :) I WISH I COULD STILL TEACH HER! Later that night, we went to our MMKs house and had dinner. His wife (Ane) had her baby earlier that morngin!!! and he still had us over!!! THAT is a good mission leader. haha, and we had more food...hot dogs! It was great though and the elders both brought an investigator. We had to go after the food so that we could all get to our buses and trains to get to the airport in time. Sister Oldham and I took a flybus to get to the airport and then caught our plane to Oslo! It was great moving with 3 other sisters! Because all my bags got checked without having to pay! And, I was .7 or so kilo from being exactly on how much it could weigh. I was so blessed! We took a flytog to the stop closes to the mission home and President Evans picked us up at about 11 pm. Then we hit the sack in their home! (which is probably one of my favorite places on earth.) And of course before we went to sleep, Sister Evans had made us cookies. And had milk and oranges out for us. We talked to the sisters a little bit and THEN went to sleep. :)


Saturday was the Sisters Conference!!! EVERY sister in the mission was in the mission home! Thats 30 sisters! We had workshops by the STLs. And we were assigned Confidence. They went so well! Sister Evans also talked to us, we had stations where some of us painted nails, some of us made shirt cards from cute paper, and others made the lunches for the next day for all the missionaries! We had a delicious lunch and dinner made by sister evans and got to chat with all the sisters. :) It was SO fun! My shoulder had been bugging me...like when your muscle feels so bad that it hurts like a bruise...I think it was from carrying so much and using a bag. Anyways, Sister Evans let me use their bath! I went into the bathroom to her cleaning it out, had me pick out a bubble bath, and then let me use a fluffy towel. Oh! And she dropped lavender oil in it also. She came back in as the water was filling up and she lit 2 candles. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. Afterwards I felt like I was drugged up because I was so relaxed. I havent felt so relaxed since the time I got the massages! It was so nice. I layed on a big king (?) sized bed afterwards and got myselft to finally get up. Anyways...i love President and Sister Evans with all of my heart. If I could live in the Mission Home the rest of my life I would. :) We slept in the same room that I stayed in my first night in Norway! It included scaring sister oldham to death when she came in the pitch black room and I was laying in the bottom of her bed. She said to us "dont think about scaring me" and then she touched my back and I said, "hello." and she just screamed and dropped to the ground! hahaha! Ahh I love these people so much.


Sunday was a HUGE DAY! We woke up, got ready, and left! We got on a bus to get to the big NORWAY (both stakes) conference where Elder Bednar and his wife would be speaking! Aida was there, Atle, the Fromgrens, Annett, the Weggersens, osv. were there! I saw people from every one of my areas!!! ahhh I love people! By the way, Fredrik is engaged!!! Crazy how news gets around so fast! haha Anyways, it was so good to see so many people. :) Elder Bednars talk was amazing. He spoke directly to the people that were not members and then to the members. He said that one day, there will be more than 2 stakes in Norway and the Sacrament meetings will be full of confirmations. It was absolutely amazing! And then we all rushed to get to the church building so that we could have our missionary meeting with him! It was absolutely unbelievable. Seriously...our whole mission is still in shock! We had been given 3 talks to read of his, Ask by Faith, Seek Learning by Faith, and Converted unto the Lord. And then he asked us what we learned. A microphone was passed around to those that wanted to speak. I stood up and told him that what I had learned was simple, but that prayer really is when we communicate with Heavenly Father. Our conversations with him. It really has hit me that prayer is when we TALK with our Father in Heaven. And then he commented with me on how prayer isnt casual but it is a powerful and faithful conversation. It was really special. With some people he asked more questions. And then he opened it up for us to ask. He wanted everyone to get a chance to speak if they wanted to, so although I had a question, I didnt get to ask. But I think I got my answer from actually speaking earlier in the meeting. Which was special. He is probably the best teacher Ive heard. He told us before hand that he isnt there to ask us a question and then wait for us to give him the one hes waiting for (like guessing game) but that there is no wrong answers. He told us that we dont believe him, but after a while, we will know that he isnt doing that! That none of us are under pressure. It was so comfortable and he way funny! I could write all my notes to you all now, because I have too many thoughts and feelings about it....but instaed Ill just tell you what I know. I know that he was called of God. And that he is one of 15 other men that hold the keys that Christ has. I will never ever be able to express the feelings I felt there. Because the Spirit was permanently there in that room. Stuck to it. I know he was called of God and that everyone can know that he is by asking in faith, and being agents. He told us that whenever they go anywhere to speak, whenever Christ did anything, it was to find the ONE. At the main conference, his wife talked about their daughter in law, that has a father from Norway (or something like that). And the lady that gave the closing prayer came up to them afterwards and told them that their daugher in laws father is the one that baptized her father. And that he is still active and there. Her father met Elder Bednar and Sister Bednar. It was proof that we really are there to influence the ONE.
After the conference, Elder and SIster Bednar had to catch a plane, but we took a mission picture and other pictures, then we went and ate at the mission home, I got my stuff and we went to Nordstrand! It was so sad saying goodbye, knowing that this is probably the last time Ill see some of these missionaires in NOrway. ANyways, we missed our train becasue we were on the wrong spor, so we waited longer. And got home a little after 9:30. Nordstrand is ADORABLE! Its right outside of Oslo, but we live in the bottom floor of a house. After taking a train, trikk, and bus, we got home and got wet from the rain. :) Sister Buhler is my companion! She got her the same time as Sister Robbins and Sister Johnson trained her! She is from Oregon and Washington and YES, her dad is the inspiration for Ferris Buhlers day off! haha crazy, huh? She is also half japanese! So she makes japanese food and can speak some japanese :) She is great!
I love you all so much and hope you have a great day and week!!!!
LOVE, Søster Chapman


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LAST WEEK'S LETTER (sorry I got behind posting!)

Kjære familie,


Well, it's September! The leaves are changing colors and falling! Everything is changing! Including where I am serving! I have been released at Sister Training Leader (President is having there only be 2 STL companionships) and I am moving to Nordstrand - a suburb of Oslo! Its exciting, but also sad and unexpected. Its crazy that I will be spending my last 6 weeks in another area! I am going to be with Sister Buhler, one of the sisters I went on STL splits with her in Trondheim. She is adorable and her dad is the inspiration for Ferris Buhlers day off! haha! Anyways, Ill talk more about this throughout the email. :)
Last Monday was a good pday! We went to a thrift store and Fretex (another thrift store) and bought awesome things! I am starting to get you all presents, so if you want something specific, just say so...but i have pretty good ideas for some of you. :) Then that night we went to an adorable restaurant (really expensive...like 100 bucks a plate) with Elder Christiansen from the 70, his family, and a NTNU leader. He bought all of our meals. We all started with Seafood soup, then our main dish. I got reindeer! It was good...not as good as sushi though. :) We had salad with it and then blueberry cheesecake :) It was SO GOOD! The restaurant was in this old smal building, and then you go out into a little courtyard and you go into another building to get into the room to fit all of us! It was so cute! (I think that mom got a picture from Elder Christiansens daughter).
Tuesday was a great day! We had a STL conference call to prepare for the Sisters Conference happening this coming weekend before the Elder Bednar Conference. And then we had a teach with Håvard! I love teaching him! He is so open to try things and is seeing results from that. That is what we ask and promise people! I know that if people will ACT IN FAITH, results will come! We went out to an area where we were going to teach a man and contact a referral and neither were home. That night we went out to a members home, the Smiths, and were able to share a thought about miracles with them. Which is actually something we shared with the missionaries at a Zone Conference we had this weekend. Ill talk morea bout that later though.


On Wednesday we went to go and buy all the food for the Zone Conference! We dont have a senior couple yet, so the money was put on my card and we went and got the food! We headed back and then ate with Majken, one of my favorite members here in Trondheim!!! Then we taught an investigator named Hunk on Skype. He is living in China right now and told us he had been reading! I love faithful people that are really searching!!! We taught Hem that night, about keeping the Sabbath Day. Money is so important, so work is too. But I know so much that by keeping the SDH and by paying tithing, etc. EVERYTHING will be okay! And not even okay, but GREAT and better than it would have been! Afterwards we went out again to that area we went to the day before. Tore, the man we wanted to teach, wasnt home. But we contacted the referral (grandparents of someone in the ward) and they werent interested. But I knwo that it was a seed! And later in life more will come. :)


Thursday was also good! We did weekly planning and then went and visited Rupa, Hems mom. She only speaks Nepali...and no english or norsk. So...we showed her a part of a youtube video of a lady in the church speaking Nepali about the church. It was good. We sang to her and I know that she loved that. :) She is so sweet! That night we went and visited an investigator named Jostein! I told you a little about him before. But this time we washed his windows with Majken! And then got to pick apples for us to eat off his apple tree and rips berries! It was so sweet! he loved that we were so willing to help. And we are going to help again this week. :) He also played his norwegian violins for us! So cool! I love serving in Norway!


Friday was our Zone Workshop! President and SIster Evans came, along with the Assistants. It was a great workshop. It was from 10 to 4 and all the zone came. It was about planning and member work. We did practicalling and listened to the APs, ZLs, and President and Sister Evans talk. And Sister Oldham and I were asked to prepare something about Member work. We had made up an acronym about what to do at a members house, or in better words what to share. it is MATCH.
Miracle
Ask for help
Their experience
Commit
Help by following up
IGNITE MEMBER'S FIRE
We taped a match to it to, so it was like a little Relief Society handout :) haha, but it went way well! Thats what we did with the Smiths earlier in the week and it worked so well! I love getting all together with the zone! And I learned so much about how I can do better with planning.


At the end of lunch President asked to talk with me and told me that I was going to get released, move, and who my comp would be! I am sad...I am sad that Im leaving and that I am not STL anmore. But this is just the next step of this journey! I told President that I will have experienced all of Norway now! After the meeting we had dinner and went to go and find an investigator the sisters had before we got here. We went and found a lady named Wenche. We taught her and got an appointmetn with her, for tonight actually. I have learned in this past transfer that we can be teaching ALL THE TIME! Not just when we have an appointment scheduled, but wherever we are!


On Saturday, Sister Oldham and I went and visited Bestemor and her husband, then traveled back and Sister Robbins and I got to skype SERGE!!!! It was SO good! And he is doing better than I thought. He knows this is true and still reads in the MB. :) He went to church a couple of times in Switzerland (lives in Italy now), but he doesnt feel very comfortable. That makes me sad.. but I know that the Lord is watching out for him. And he promised to go to church once in September! (it is an hour away!) He is SO GREAT!!!! I LOVE HIM! Then....AKWARD! We were late for an apointment we had with a member family named the Andersens. We showed up...and guess who was there!? THE ELDERS! It was so awkward walking in, seeing them, then we had to leave to catch a bus to get to our appointment. We rode the bus with his wife though, and got to know her. :) Then we taught Jing! The chinese family we found knocking! It is hard teaching someone with NO Christian background. She asked a lot of "WHY" questions. And that caused me to think. She said, "well if you love your families so much, why arent you spending all the time you can with them now?" It was hard to answer those questions. but all went okay and we got a return apointment to come back the next day. :) That night, the sisters bought ice cream, candles, cookies, and soda and we sat on the rug in our living room and ate it right before goig to bed, listening to Sister Oldhams ipod. Then we pulled out 2 matresses and had 2 couches and slept out there together. I love these sisters!


Sunday, we first, decorated Myhrens door (a member) in the church to his office (for his birthday!) and then we had moves call. I am the only one leaving, and Sister Hunt, from my MTC group, is coming her with Sister Oldham! Church was great, Hem, his wife, children, mom and sister came to church! Some left early though. But it was SO great they came! After church we brought cake to Myhren and sang to him and ate it with him. :) It was so great. But when we were making the brownies, I had put WAY to much water in (changing deceleters to cups is sometimes confusing...) and so sister oldham fixed it by adding lots of cocoa and stuff haha, it was great though!!! And then we went and taught Jing again! It was a better teach than the day before and we brought a movie we were going to watch, but didnt have the time or something, but the little boy remembered (his name is waynie) and asked for it. So we gave him finding faith in Christ and he got ready to watch it! She committed to pray! It was great! she just doesnt understand the need to rely on someone else, when you should rely on yourself. Every person and family needs this HAPPY message! After Jing, we went to the Mckenzie familys house for dinner! We ended up missing the bus, and then missing the train to get there (with Sister Mckenzie) so the elders drove us. What a good family! They actually lived in Henderson until 2008! And they know the Udalls and the Spencers and others. So fun, huh? It was so nice being with them and having dinner with them too. :)


I love Trondheim and am sad that Im leaving...but it will be an adventure! My emotions are up and down. I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!! But randomly my heart will be jabbed and it just breaks to pieces. Like a second ago, we were on the mission website and looking at plans for baggages and leaving. And what the APs said for me was....

Chapman Take your baggage with you to the mission home. After all the conferences, you will travel back to the mission home to retrieve your baggage and take it with you to Nordstrand.
#MATCH #reliefsocietyhandouts #makemiracleshappenonelasttime

My heart is so sad. I love being a missionary and woudn't trade it for anything in the world. And I would NEVER EVER trade where I have been on my mission. I think I have always meant to be a Norwegian. :)


I love you all so much and hope you have a great week!!! This is going to be a crazy week! But I will write next week!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!

STOR KLEM,
Søster Chapman :)



P.S. My new address is...

Breiens Vei 1H
1165 Oslo
Norway



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ROLLERCOASTER WEEK

Kjære alle sammen,


This was a rollercoaster week. So many amazingly good things and heartbreaking sad things happened. But we can just start with the good :)
Last Monday we went and taught the Subba family about prayer. It is so hard to teach people that cannot speak english or norwegian that well. They are from Nepal and speak...okay norsk. The mom can barely understand anything. But they are so open and willing. Everyone needs the gospel! We are going to try to use a new convert in Oslo to Skype with us all to translate for them. Afterwards we travelled to Melissas house and taught her and her best friend Tonje. She also made us fårikål! A typical Norwegian dish in the fall. It suited the weather - cold, rainy, and dark. It was such a good time and I just really, really love Melissa!
Tuesday was great also! We had a teach with a man named Håvard in the morning. Im not sure how much I have told you all about him, but I found him my first day at a busstop here in Trondheim. He doesnt look like the religous type. Always wears a hat and sunglasses, dread locks, etc. but he is so great! He had an accident a couple years ago where a steel door fell on his head...he has HORRIBLE headaches everyday. But it depends on the day if he can go out or not. So sad, huh? He is trying to find out where the truth is. His wife is from Thailand and is buddhist, and he has a little son that means the world to him. Odin (norsk name) pågårn (thai name) - is the childs name. Anyways, we taught him the first lesson and showed the Restoration film to him. It went well and he asked to keep the movie! It was awesome!!! then we had District Meeting and later visited a less active. She is an old Norwegian lady named Aud. She is less active because she can barely move around - so sad. She made us smørbrød and herbal tea (it is really norwegian for them to give us a little thing to eat.) this smørbrød had butter, meat, and cheese on it...oh and smørbrød is an open sandwich. Later we skyped with an investigator that is currently living in China, and then we skyped with Mariel! (Melissas mom). This is where my heart just broke. On Sunday she had told us that she would for sure be baptized, because she felt it was right. We started off the skype with "how are you?" osv, and then she looked at us and said, "We have all talked and neither I, Bert, or Melissa, are going to be getting baptized." I was shocked. Sister Oldham thought she was about to say "JUST KIDDING!!!" but that didnt happen. I held in my emotions okay...until sister oldham broke down. After a period of time I had to leave the room to get tissues and literally sobbed. After thinking about it afterwards, it was actually scary. Because we could see and feel that the Spirit was no longer with her. We asked her why and she said that there were things like tithing and fasting (that we hadnt taught them yet) that didnt sit well. Melissa told them about the things we taught her, and the only problem with that was that they probably #1 didnt get the promised blessings and the WHY and #2 probably looked it up on the internett...and that is NOT the place to go. I felt like I had to say something, and asked Sister Oldham to pray that I would stop crying. I opened up my heart about personal things in my life. And Mariel was not very nice. The Spirit was just NOT there, on her end. My heart was broken, and we are sure there is something else that she is not telling us. She told us that she will never say never, but now is not their time. They will keep reading the Book Of Mormon though. So we are REALLY confused. And heart broken. Melissa wouldnt answer her phone or texts from us. It was SO weird and sad, because they were so postive the night before. Sister Oldham and I talked all about it, and we think they might have gotten into and accepted some anti material. Not sure though. Benjamin, our MMK, suggested that we both get blessings so that we can know exactly what to do for them. That night we did. It was a beautiful blessing and Im so so so thankful for the Priesthood. I love free agency and I know that it is necessar in the plan, but it breaks my heart when people use it in the wrong way! Before we got blessings, we visited a man named Rune with Alysha, a member. He has been taught for a while, but this is the first time we met him. It is so interesting how people search for truth. He believes in God, but has pictures of Indians on his walls and had us sit on a mat on his floor. I got a little square styrophom thing to sit on and the others sat on pillows. I also sat right infront of the incense....so by the time we left, I had the smell on me...and it didnt leave my clothes until we washed them! Interesting teach, but I am thankful that Alysha was there! She helped so much with scriptures and teaching.


On Wednesday we had lunch with Majken and discussed and talked about a new convert in this ward. She is so cute and I love her! Later that night we ate dinner with the sisters and a member named Helena Ørndal. Delicious dinner! But BAD idea for Sister Robbins and I to be sitting across from each other! hahaha There was a bowl of white flakes on the table, so ofcourse, thinking it was coconut or something, i put it on my food. Sister Robbins followed my lead and just dumped it on hers. Sister Ørndal then asked, "could you pass the salt?" Sister Robbins kept taking bites of her food and ended up making the funniest face because of the extremely salty chips she ate in her mouth! haha When Sister Ørndal turned around and went into the kitchen all 4 of us started dancing..as I write this it makes us sound super dorky, but it was so funny. You know those times where you want to laugh so hard, but you have to hold it in? this dinner was on eof those, but I laughed out loud at points. We were cleaning off the table and there was a stain from the food next to my place so I decided I would wash it off. I got my napkin, dipped it in the water and started rubbing it. And OF COURSE, the red rose napkins dye stained the white tableclothe red! Oh my goodness I almost had a heartattack and Sister Robbins started laughing. And to make this even better, we decided to sing a song all together for Sister Ørndal...and by the end of the song it was just Sister Roe singing becasue the rest of us were laughing! So funny :) Since the senior couple isnt here yet we have been able to use the car! So we went and tried visiting Sylvie, that I talked about last week, who we banked into, but she wasnt home. We knocked on some other doors and we got a try back! So that was great! we had a Zone Conference call that night and shared the miracle of Sylvie on it.


Thursday after studies, we went to a member, named Jan Erik, to help with service. Majken came with us...but i guess he didnt think we had enough time to help serve him, so we sang songs around the piano, he gave us ice cream and fresh norske strawberries and cookies, and we shared a thought with him. Our MMK has asked us to go around to members and have them fill out a paper with when they are available to help us. So this is a project we are working on now too. :) Afterwards we drove to Melissas house, she hadnt contacted us yet and so we brought her some chocolate and a card. Thought she might be home, but she wasnt. Also dropped off a cute note for a less active, Turid, we cant see right now. We taught Hem and his wife and Inger Helene Jørgensen helped us! We read 2 Nephi 32 with them as they read in Hindi and we read in Norsk. The Book Of Mormon needs to be translated into Nepalese! It would help so much. Then we taught a Norwegian girl named Monja at the church! She is probably about 17 years old, and we met her a couple weeks ago at the bus stop! The teach started off great! My phone started vibrating, but I ignored it, and then Sister Oldham checked hers and Melissa was calling! She had to take it so she did and I taught the rest of the lesson to Monja. It was such a special lesson. I felt led by the Spirit and the things said were what was needed. She said that if she could ask God one question right now, she would asked what has happened to the people who have passed on? I was able to explain that to her and then we watched "Because of Him" (the Easter mormon message) :) It was such a good lesson! Sister Oldham came in for the closing prayer and we got a return appointmetn with her! That night all of us four put on Sister Roes fake mustaches and danced to the Rema 1000 song. I love living with these 3 sisters!
On Friday we did some weekly planning and then went and at lunch with Melissa! Oh! I forgot to tell you how the phone call went. She has changed over night. She isnt sure about it now, more of it not being her time. We went and ate sushi with her in the shopping center and it was so..uncomfortable? I dont know if that would describe it. She is unsure about the Word of Wisdom, but has recieved an answer about this church being right. We are so confused. She tried getting out fast and then we walked her part way to the train station so that she could go to her parents for the weekend. It made me cry, because the Spirit was not with her and she wasnt really the same person! They let fear overcome their faith. I KNOW that we met them for a reason and that this is a chance for them to strengthen their faith to be bigger than their fear. But I also know that all of us have our free agency. It just breaks my heart. The ward is also sad, they love them! After lunch, we had a teach again with Håvard, and Majken helped. He brought his son and told us that he had gotten a few answers from prayer! It was amazing!!! He is acting and showing faith and signs/answers are coming! Thats what it takes!! They had to leave before we were done though, because his son was wanting to leave. haha We taught a Haithan a little later with a member named Wenche and then went out to a Josteins house and taught him. An old sweet norwegian man that seems lonely. But we taught him the first lesson and it went well! He had read the Intro in Mormons Bok and we committed him to read more and he said he might pray! He was glad to hear that we do free service and we would come this week to help :)
Saturday we had sport, and the person that we were waiting to come, didnt show! So we left after an hour (said hed be there between 10 and 12 but didnt come) and it ended. So that was okay. We went and tried visiting Jing, the chinese family, but they werent home either, they told us to come visit later that night. So we weekly planned. That night we drove out to a members house to teach his grandaughter. He wasnt going to say anything, to not influence her, but he ended up sharing his testimony, etc. It was good! And they came to part of church yesterday :) Then we drove to the Hendens, members in the ward, and were planning on just sharing a though, but she made dessert for us! Chocolate mousse and vanille creme with rips berries!!! It was delicious! And they had us eat like...a quarter of the bowl! It was delicious! We all shared miracle stories, and theres is absolutely amazing. He got baptized 25 years after her because of an accident he was in, but ended up living. And then they got permission to travel to england, where their son (who i know in Drammen) had been serving his mission for a month, and he baptized him! it was amazing! We also gave them the Availability forms for the missionaries. It was a good day. :)
Yesterday was a good day in church! We first had MMK, and then church. Håvard came! And Hem, his children, and Rupa came! (to all 3 hours.) Rupa (his mom) cant speak or understand Norsk, but she sat calmly and sweetly and listened to R.S. My heart melted seeing that and that even though she didnt understand, she felt it. Håvard also loved church and how it wasnt just a priest standing up there talking, but members did things! Its how Christ church was, so thats how it is today :) After church we taught the new convert with Majken, named Omar! Then we were supposed to teach Hunk on Skype again, but that fell through...so we ate quickly, and went to a fireside with Clayton M. Christiansen of the 70! (we found out earlier this week he was coming for NTNU (college) to do a presentation about business). It was a great fireside about how to share the gospel! Here are some points he gave on how to do missionary work.
#1 Sometimes they dont have the questions we think they have. Get them to ask THEIR questions.
#2 Many people would be open to the gospel if they could start off by doing service or helping others.
Tonight we are going to go out to dinner with him and his family, and his host from NTNU. The host is going to pay and told us not to look at the prices. They serve reindeer!!! (its like....40 or 50 bucks..) but its going to taste delicious! Im so excited! haha Anyways, then we finished our studies and weekly planning (we were so busy this week!) And then wanted and needed to get a new investigator. So we went out and were walking towards a man we see often. I wave and say hi to him each time we pass. He is a Romanian man, that we think is homeless, that sells flowers on the side of the road. We got to him and he told us to wait. I was having a little bit of a tough hour...and I decided I would try to forget about myself and I knew the Lord would bless me. He came back and handed me flowers from his bucket! It was a tender mercy from the Lord and something I will always hold close to my heart. It has taught me a lot of blessings. Really, a wave, smile, "hi" affects people more than you know. We got to the curch and got a Romanian Book of Mormon, gave it to him, hard to teach becasue of the language, but I could feel the promise that we will be able to discern what they say. he was speaking his language, but for the most part, we kmnew what he was trying to get accross. We will meet with him again tomorrow! I know that the Lord answers prayers. He became a new investigator.


It was a great week!!
I hope your week is great and I love you all so much!
Jeg savner dere!
Love, Søster Chapman :)




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