Well, MELISSA GOT BAPTIZED!!!! :) This week was full of SO many experiences. This is going to be a looong email.
I will come back to talking about her baptism after I talk about the beginning of the week. :)
So last Pday we finished watching conference! Conference was AMAZING. Conference gets better the older I get. I really really really loved it.
That night we went and visited Dennis! He made us some African tortilla like things, and then you put mayonaise on them. They were really good! Dennis is so funny and we just love him!
On Tuesday, before we studied, I realized that I had left my memory card in the Library the day before!!! I was SO stressed! You remember how I used to lose a lot of things? well, I think it has gotten a little better on my mission. But Im still not so great at keeping track of everything.. haha So after studies, we came to the library. The whole morning I felt like I shouldnt be stressed, but I let Satan get to me, and I was. Sister Trydal told me it would be okay, and I felt it would...but I didnt react as good as i should have. So we got to the library and it wasnt in the computer. I felt, deep inside, a peace...but on the surface, I felt stress. We went and waited for someone to come and help..and all of a sudden, I saw it!!! It was on the bookshelf! I know that there really never is any reason to worry. The Lord is so aware of us and will take care of us. It is funny, becasue deep inside, the whole morning, and when we were at the library, I felt this peace of mind. Anyways, later that day we had District Meeting, and then met with a man at the library! We just talked for a few minutes, and then he had to go. So hopefully we will be meeting with a soon. He kebabed us later in the week...so we really hope we can get contact with him!
Later that night we went to Debbys house. Im not sure how much I have explained about Debby...but she is one of my favorite people in the world. She is from Northern Norway, but is half American. She has been meeting with the missionaries off and on for 9 years now!!! But about a year ago, she was walking outside of the church hoping someone would be there so she could talk to them, and the bishop was there, and she referred herself!!! Before I got here, she had taken a break from meeting with them, and they had not so often meetings with her. But we have been meeting with her more often, and she had come to church 3 times since I have been here! (well, she came yesterday but after the Sacrament.) Anyways, we decided to teach her about the Word of Wisdom. She smokes and drinks coffee. It went PERFECT. She has wanted to quit smoking for a while now. Oh my goodenss, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to feel the Spirit in her house! She lives alone, but has two daughters, and is divorced. She has had a hard hard HARD life. But is one of the strongest people ive met. She is also an artist! And we will be going to her house in about an hour to spend the rest of Pday at her house doing crafts :) So, we talked to her about Priesthood Blessings (in helping her to live the WOW) and she said, "Kan jeg spørre for en?" YES!! oh, woops! I forgot you dont all speak norwegian haha, she said, "Can I ask for one?" We said of course and the next day she got one! She is so spiritual, so she already believed that a Priesthood Blessing would work. We then asked her to live the WOW. She said she has wanted to stop smoking for a while, and yes. We said that an important step in all of this is to be baptized. And committed her to be baptized on May 24th!!! She loved the idea of having a goal for her to have to stop smoking by, and she said yes and wrote it in her planner!!! I realized when Sister Trydal was talking that I had this goofy smile on my face that didnt go away!!! haha, I couldnt stop smiling!!!! She told us that she gets the same good feeling when she goes to church or is with us, etc. Members actually thought that she was a member a couple Sundays ago!!! She has also had a hard time coming to church on Sunday because she stays up late on Saturdays with her boyfriend. But she committed herself to telling him that she goes to church on Sundays and coming EVERY WEEK until her baptism to get in the habit of coming!!! :) After the appointmetn, she picked up her cup of coffee to drink and told sister trydal, "I was going to take a sip. But not anymore!" OH I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!! After we walked away from her house, I had so much happiness taht I had to do a victory dance, and once we got to the church I was laughing and tearing up and just SO happy!!! This is the reason I am a missionary. Everything else, all of the doors slammed in our faces, the mean people, the people that dont pick up their phones, the hours of talking to people in the rain, is worth it! Just to feel that happiness. As I was talking to Sister Trydal afterwards the thought came into my head. Isnt it crazy that Heavenly Father feels 10000000 times love that we do!? That He blesses us, as missionaries, with the capability to love, well...just a sliver of what he does! That is why He is a God! Becuase we physically cannot feel that much love. I felt lilke my heart was going to explode because I had so much love in me! I LOVE IT!!! Afterwards we taught Melissa, the last time before she got baptized!! Her mom asked us to come after she is baptized and do FHE with them! What a GREAT day!
On Wednesday we met with a new convert, Betty. We shared a message with her and then worked on a baptismal calendar for Debby :) we got kebabed by a potetial, and I accidentally broke the church printer :/ Oh i got so stressed out! And it made me in a bad mood. But later that night we met with Debby and both Sister Trydal and I got in SUPER good moods! That is when you know a person is just GOOD. Becuase no matter what they say, they make you happy. (by the way, the elders fixed the printer...so all is good) :) We got a text message earlier that morning from Debby that her brother, that has been addicted to drugs, talked to her and wants to turn his life around. 30 minutes before we had an appointmetn with Debby, we came and talked with her and said a prayer with her for him. Then the Bishop came, talked and got to know Debby, and then gave her a blessing. If I didnt know the Priesthood was real before, I do now! Everything he said was completely and entirely to her, from Heavenly Father! It amazed me. One thing that he said made both Sister Trydal and I so happy. And I definitely felt the Spirit. He said that if she does the things she needs to do, she will be baptized in May!!! The Priesthood is restored!!! How amazing is that?!
Thursday was also a good day. We had Weekly Planning, and later met with Møfrid and Sondre. They arent progressing, but the lesson went so well. It was probably sister trydals and my best lesson...with how we worked together! It was all over the place, but it all went super well! The Spirit was there. Sondre, her son, said he would want to know if we have a living Prophet. He is the most positive of the family I think. We just need to get him friends in the church and get them to church!!! Then that night we met with a member family with a YW and taught a spiritual thought. :)
On Friday we met with a potential. We met him on the street and his name is Vygantas, from Lithuania. It was so creepy. So we were sitting there, with our legs crossed (like normal), we prayed (of course I folded my arms) and afterwards he said, "You are closed off to me. You are not open. You legs and arms are crossed. Ive studied psychology." Or something like that. Sister Trydal asked if it was better if we didnt cross our legs and he said yes...so we didnt sit with our legs crossed. I tried explaingint ot him that it is how we pray, with our arms crossed, but he didnt really listen. Anyways, he didnt agree with prayer, wasnt willing to change really, and asked if I had a boyfriend and other creepy questions. So that is the last time we are meeting with him. There was a goal in the zone to invite 175 people to church this week! And our zone invited 187 or something like that! Super cool!!! :) That night we met with Dennis with a member named Christy and talked to him about FHE :)
Saturday was also a good day! MELISSA WAS BAPTIZED!!!! We woke up and had a meeting with the other missionaries to go through the ward list, and then Melissas Baptism! Her dad, who isnt a member came too! And others in her family. It was so tender. Before she walked into the faunt, as other people were all coming into the room, her dad walked up to her, kissed her on the cheek gave her a hug and walked and sat down. My heart just melted and it made me miss daddy. She was confirmed in the meeting too :) After the baptism she told me she felt something when she was baptized and confirmed. It was cool that she felt it when she recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost! She told me also that she was really cold after she was baptized :) haha she is so cute! We gave her some roses and a triple Book Of Mormon afterwards too. WE LOVE HER! Later that night we went to meet with a former investigator named James. He is from the Kongo and was super postive, but not making progress. But we decided to meet with him again. This was my first time meeting him and we had a member with us! So, we walked there, got to the door and this lady answered. YIN YANG FROM PSYCH ANSWERED THE DOOR!!!!! Sister Trydal said, "uh..did you recently move in here?" And she told us no, but aksed if we were looking for her husband. (HE DOESNT HAVE A WIFE.) So we said yes...and she said that he wasnt interested..that he is catholic. So we tried giving her a card and inviting her to church, but she wasnt interested. She closed the door and walked away...it was super weird. But then, came james!!!!!! So, he invited us to come in!!! (I was a little..ehhh about it, and i think the other two were too.) Remember, this is YING YANG (I think thats her name...the lady with curly hair...) So we went there, he went in and talked to her as we stood outside the door. He came out and started telling us (super quietly, i couldnt hear very well) that she (his ex wife) just came to make dinner and then is going to leave. We decided to step outside and he started telling us that if she got mad at him then she would throw all his clothes away and he wouldnt have any, and wouldnt have money to buy other clothes. As he was talking out of the corner of my eye, I SAW YIN YANG GLARING AT US!!!!!!!!!!! The door was part way open, like in horror movies, and there she was, with her hands by her side, frizzy dark brown hair, GLARING. When I was younger, I thought about what I would do if there was a witch in the room or something scary happened, how I would react...and so I knew what to do. I just smiled my biggest smile at James, trying to act like he wasnt talking about her when she was standing right there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I thought I was going to get killed. She went in the house and I heard her in the kitchen. I was almost convinced she was getting a knife. And I really, with all jokes aside, did not feel good about the situation. she came back i think, and then SLAMMED the door. And we left. OH it was TERRIFYING! Seriously, YIN YANG LIVES IN DRAMMEN, NORWAY!!!!
Next time, well meet in the library. Then we contacted and came home and did some texting and calling.
Sunday was a good day :) We had church, and Debby came to the very end because she slept in! And of course we forgot to bring food on Fast Sunday! haha, so after talking with people, we went home after church, did some studying, ate a little later, got kebabed at the church, finished out studies, (because we have to walk to church a little early) and then had a meeting at our MMKs house with all of the missionaries.
And that was my week!!! It was a super good week full of LOTS of different, scary, spiritual experiences! :) I hope you all have an AMAZING Easter and I will write again next week!!! :)
JEG ELSKER DERE!!!!! :)
Love, Søster Chapman :)
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