Saturday, March 8, 2014

Kjære Familie,
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! :) I hope it has been a good day! Well, I hope it will be a good day when you all wake up :)
Anyways, this week has been pretty slow...tough...yeah, slow! It was Vinter ferie, winter vacation. (They have SO many vacations here in Norway haha) Anyways, last Monday we went to an AMAZING church.


It is about 2...ish hours away and is made only of wood. I will send some pictures, I took a lot :) Monday night as we were walking on a street, we stopped a lady, and started talking to her. SO funny and interesting how the Lord works! We started talking to her and she said that we had called her daughter the week before. (we had been going through the formers in the area book)! It was awkward because she asked if we had a list of something with there number. And I just said that we were just going through old numbers we had. (Not saying the part about how we have a record of everything that was said in the lessons, where they live, what they believe in, etc. etc.) hahaha that makes us sound so creepy! Anyways, she told us we could come and visit! It was so interseting because she was a lady that I didnt get ahold of while calling, but wrote her name down for us to go and knock on her door, but instead, the Lord really wanted us to meet her as soon as possible!!! SO cool!


That night Sister Evans called and congratulated us on how the week before had gone. Our District got 6 or 7 baptismal dates last week!!! She said somethings to me that were really sweet too, that I needed to hear...it was like having Mom call, so that was a tender mercy :)
On Tuesday we had District Meeting! Later, Sister Trydal and I went and knocked on some doors. ONe of the houses we knocked on was a duplex, i think thats what it is called...like our Sitka house, but it was green and was really harry potter like. One lady answered the door and told us she would like to know that we could live again after this life, but wasnt intersted for us to tell her about it. AHHH it is SO SAD!!!! After banking for a little while, we were walking up to an old ladies house in the ward, and an old man saw me yawn and asked if we were tired, and it led to a discussion about the church (ALWAYS FINDING! ;) ) haha, no but he asked us about who we were and stuff :) Anyways, he wasnt really intersted to learn, just curious.





But we went into the appartment complex and ate dinner with this sweet sweet old lady named Ine. It was like walking into a room on the Titanic, old glass lights, and old pictures, with fancy things all over. It was so fun :) She made us soup (which reminded me of your soup mom, SO GOOD!) and Norwegian pancakes :) So good!!! Then we taught Melissa, the 9 year old investigator, and then taught Dennis :) We taught him with 2 members and that went well!
On Wednesday I got to call Serge!!!! It was such a tender mercy and it made me so happy :) He got the Priesthood a week ago!!! But he is moving back to Italy. Well, he did a couple of days ago now. He told me he is going to have to take a boat to church, but everything will work out :) And Sister Robbins told me he has practiced how he is going to tell his family about the church, how he was baptized and all! It is so obvious that he has the gift of the Holy Ghost now! I just love him! He asked if I wanted him to write something on a piece of wood for me, like he is doing for the other sisters and I said yeah! So that will be cool :) He said, that he misses me and its not the same there, and that just made me so happy. It was like talking to my best friend ont he phone :) OHH I JUST LOVE HIM! We knocked on doors a lot ofthis day and to tell you the truth, I cant really remember where or what happened, because we knocked SO much this week! Anyways, we tuaght Dennis again that night and we watched the Restoration film with him. That was good :) Then we taught John afterwards, and taughta bout the Word of Wisdom. He has some problems with seeing how it is important, but that comes with a testimony of Joseph Smith and the church, so that will come if he acts on getting a stronger testimony :)


On Thursday Sister Trydal wanted to run. I have ran a little bit with her, but I honestly couldnt on that day. My shoulder and body were jsut so sore!!! My shoulder was hurting again, even though I have a backpack. :/ Ive been trying not to carry to much though, so that is good :) Anyways, we had Weekly Planning! Later, we took a bus to go and visit Møyfrid, the lady that I had called, and then we found her earlier this week. On the bus, which is one we wouldnt usually take, but would get us close to wehre we needed to go, I sat next to a norwegian girl. I used to be a lot better at bus contacting, but not so mcuh now :/ So I am working on it! But I talked to this girl and it was so natural. The problem is Satan trying to scare me before I talk. But once I talk it is totally good! Like promised int he scriptures! Anyways, I gave her a card, but didnt get her number...she got off the bus. But it was still a highlight of that day! :)





We went to Møyfrids house, but she had a migraine, so we had to schedule another day to come. Then, we taught Dennis AGAIN! haha! We taught him at a members house about the ten commandments, the Law of Chastity, and Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. It helps so much to have members on our lessons, so that went well :) And he committed to live them!
Then it was friday! We had pancakes for breakfast (sister trydal is great!) Then we checked me into the city (which we should have done a week or so ago! haha But we took a bus to the church and then went and knocked on doors, well went back to houses that told us to come back first! On the bus there, well, I wasnt too excited to knock on doors. I remembered earlier that week or the week before when I had been just grouchy. Not happy knocking on doors and the time went slowly and the success was not super great and the Spirit couldnt really guide us. So I prayed to Heavenly Father and told him how I felt and how I knew it was His time, so to use it how He wanted it to be used. and that I would do whatever was His will. And guess what? I was happy like, the whole time! The time went fast and people told us to come back! :) After a little while we read some quotes i have written on my planner to pump Sister Trydal up a little, and then we prayed to know where to go to find someone. And during the prayer, someone came into my midn that I had kind of forgotten about. A muslim family that the father todl us to come back! So we did and the lady told us we could come back next week! SO COOL! :)


We had 3 appointmetns planned for that day, but they all fell through. haha, Soooo we found the whole day! I GOT THE BIRTHDAY PACKAGE SLIP!!! AND so we are going to get that today!!! :) Anyways, after dinner we called some people and then went and knocked on some more doors!!! it was probably the funnest we have had banking here! Sister Trydal helped me with some Norwegian songs and we just talked while knocking. It was really intersting though. There was one house that we were thinking about going up to knock on. But we were a little unsure and I didnt feel great about it. But we went up to a another one and then we were really close to the other, so we started walking towards it. At the same time, Sister Trydal and I both felt BAD about about house. Unsafe/just not a good feeling, so we left and ran down. The Holy Ghost was there with us! I am so thankful for that! But the last house we were about to bank on, we said a prayer that we would be able to go in. We knocked on the door and a norwegian man opened it. He was so nice and told us that he had visitors, but kind of mentioned how we could come back, and so we asked if we could and he said yes!!! he was so positve and it was amazing!!! Becuase thorugh the night we had turned different ways through the neighborhood, but ended up at his house. And the same thing happened with Møfrid earlier that week, being led by the Spirit to her. But it wasnt like the Spirit said, "okay, turn right. Turn left. STOP! now run for 3 minutes!" Like Elder Bednar has said that if we are good boys and girls the Spirit will lead us. That was a cool experience :)





Saturday was fun! We had Sport where we played dodge ball! haha, but instead of with a bunch of balls its it two and everyone against eachother. SO FUN! It is getting started here again, so not many members cmae, but we think it will get bigger :) We had 2 appointmetns fall through for different reasons, but guess waht we did??? WE KNOCKED ON DOORS! :) haha and we called people and had a meeting with elders about the ward! But when we knocked on doors, we found a few people that told us to come back. One old lady asked if we wanted money, thinking we were beggars, I thought it was funny :) hahaha and another door we knocked on was a lady visiting her sister that I had talked to on the bus! Ive never had that happen before! But she said she would call us if she is intersted. I gave her a card on the bus, so hopefully she calls at some point :) There was also a man that we talked to that wasnt intersted, but doesnt believe in anything after this life. I just kept talking to him, because I WANTED HIM TO KNOW!!! Haha, he didnt want us to come it, but I hope he is able to think about what we tlaked about and accept that. If you could know there was life after this life, WITH OUR FAMILIES, wouldnt you want it? I WOULD! ANyways, it just makes me sad, especially becuase his sons were there and might have heard him say that he doesnt believe in anything after this life, but just doesnt think about it. :/ so sad. But it was good being able to bear my testimony!


Then on Sunday we went to chruch and had Ward Missionary Meeting! Dennis had cancelled earlier that morning, John never came, and Debby cancelled during R.S. So sad. But in relief society it was probably my favorite lesson I have had on my mission! It was about trials, and making "lemonade out of lemon juice." I was asked to translate for a senior missionary, and I was NOT good at it! haha! It cant formulate the sentences and think of the english words fast enough! And then when a bunch of people are making comments, oh it was hard. But thats ok :) One quote that I just loved and has impacted me a lot is this, I sent it to Dad too, but here it is,
"It is your reaction to adversity, NOT the adversity itself, that determines how your lifes story will develop." - President Uchtdorf
I LOVE that! Then we had Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting :) SO goooood! Afterwards we ate dinner at a members house, the husband is our MMK and the wife is from America! Then we had a teach with Dennis, and taught something we had planned right before (ddnt have time to plan that morning) and it was exactly what he needed! The Book Of Mormon and Jesus Christ. (3 Nephi 11) and it was so cool how it was what he needed :) Then we walked home and knocked on some doors, again led by the Spirit to houses that we wouldnt have knocked on if we wouldnt have gone a specific way! So cool!!! :) It was so funnny in church yesterday becasue we were all SO sore from Dodge ball. My whole body was just hurting, and is a little better today hahaha :) ANyways, thats my week!!!


I hope you all have an amazing week! JEG ELSKER DERE!!! :)
Ha en trygg og gøy uke!
Love, Søster Chapman :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No comments:

Post a Comment