- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Today's Letter! ANOTHER Baptism!
GOD PÅSKE!!! :)
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 :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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 :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
FROM MOM: FOR SOME REASON, BLOGGER WOULDN'T LET ME UPLOAD FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. IT'S WORKING NOW! SO 3 LETTERS IN A ROW:
Kjære Familie,
This was a good week! Wasnt Conference amazing? I havent seen the last session yet, but am going to after emailing :)
So, last Pday we relaxed. Dad, did you get the postcard? I hope so!
Anyways, that night we went and visited Dennis. It was so funny what he said. After he was baptized, Michael - the Kongsberg elders new convert - got baptized. But he had to be baptized a few times because he didnt go completely under. But Dennis didnt know that. So he just heard continuing splashes! He said to us, "I thought Michael might have been swimming!" Hahaha! He told us that after church he slept and had a dream that Michael was swimming in the font! We were all dieing laughing, tears in our eyes. Oh it was so funny. We LOVE Dennis! We gave him a Triple with notes from us written inside. And we think he felt somewhat impelled to give us something, so he went inside and gave us a pack of cookies! haha, see why we love him? :)
On Tuesday we had District Meeting! It was about chapter 6 in Preach my Gospel - speaking of, looks like you will all be studying a lot more out of PMG! M. Russel Ballards talk was SO good!!! Anyways, chapter 6 is one of my favorite chapters. We all got assigned to a specific Christ-like attribute a few days earlier, and I got assigned Patience. I loved teaching that, and studying more about it. I used a quote dad gave me, "Never be discouraged. If I were stuck in the lowest pits of Nova Scotia with the Rocky mountains piled on top of me, I would hang on, excersize faith, and keep up the good work and I would end up on top." Or something like that, by Joseph Smith. Patience is something we will always be working towards, and is ESSENTIAL for eternal life! Later that day we visited a lady in the ward Sister Trydal and I accidentally contacted a week or so ago hahaha Then a little later we went to a member families house for dinner! There son told me that I am getting the Drammen dialect!!! So that was way exciting! But I am a little sad I am losing the Kristiansand tonal fall :( But it is also good that I dont sound completely mixed up with a lot of different influences :) Drammen tonal fall is good! Also, Sister Finnerud gave us a freshly baked loaf of bread!!! It was delicious!!! It was the closest thing that I have tasted to Moms bread since Ive been in Norway :) It was a goal last week in our zone to give out 80 Book Of Mormons! By the end of the week, the zone had given out 46, and Sister Trydal and I had given out 12 of those!!! On tuesday we gave out 5!
Wednesday was a good day! We taught a lady from India that is also getting visits by some Jehovahs Witnesses.She told us that she thinks she will just stick to the others that are teaching her and my heart broke. BUT, we got a return appointment :) So that made me happy!!! We met with Betty, a new investigator and had to explain baptism to her. She had been baptized twice and doesnt completely understand the authority yet. So that was a little bit awkward...We had taught her The Plan of Salvation, so this time we will teach her the Restoration :) That night we ate with a recently married couple, the Stulens. They both served in the Ogden Utah mission and got married 10 days after she got home!!!! It was so koselig eating with them! Then we had Ward Council, the first of each month the misisonaries come and we share about our investigators :) This ward is SO organized, just how it should be! I love it. That is why the ward has a 100% retention rate! Because they take so good care of new converts and investigators!!! That night we contacted and then called people. I got asked on a date by an investigator and it was so awkward. It was horrid. haha he is a really nice investigator though!
Then on Thursday we had weekly planning, like usual! One of our investigators fell of the face of the earth!!! So we got permission to look for her on facebook, Sister Trydal logged in to hers, and miraculously found her! We sent a message, but last time we checked, havent gotten anything back from her :( We will keep trying!!! Then the elders had a baptism and President and Sister Evans were there! That night we gave out two Book Of Mormons. One of the men that took one was muslim and asked us if we would meet with him to discuss. He would bring his book and give it to us. Our conversation changed into where we are from, and i told him I was from America and he told me that I wasnt and to never say that! We was trying to say that he didnt believe me because of my Norwegian, but I thought that he just didnt like America! So I just said to him, "YES! I am from America!" Hahaha one time someone ask me why I am from America. I said that I was born there and they said, "WHY!?" My goodness! Hahaha! I LOVE AMERICA! ;) Anyways, this man was writing down my name and thought that the beginning of the churchs name was my name, "Jesu Kristi." He ended up figuring it out hahaha :) Anyways, well see what happens with the. He tried making an appointment, but he will call back another day maybe.
On Friday we met with Betty, a new convert, at the church. Then later, ate dinner and had a family home evening with the Lystads, a part member family. We are teaching the children :) Then we taught Melissa, who is getting baptized THIS WEEK!!! And later that night taught John. We found a super cool Mormon Message of a jamaican bishop that lives in england that is a convert. It was great showing that to him! Before John, we went banking. There was one man that we talked to that flat out LAUGHED at Sister Trydal after she bore her testimony. I was SO furious! I told him that we werent there to force him to believe what we believe, but to share something that means a lot to us. He said we could discuss if we wanted to...and told us that "God is in your heads." Oh it just broke my heart and did not make me so happy. Isnt that so sad?
Anyways, Saturday was a good day too!! Friday night I took a half dose of Niquill that Sister Evans gave me, and on Saturday morning when I woke up, I had more energy than I have had in a LONG time!!! I think it is because I slept the entire night, deeply. Anyways, we knocked on some doors for 2 or so hours. A man answered one of the doors and it was SO sad. He likes believing that there is a beginning and an end. He enjoys his time now more. I am SO thankful to know that life doesnt have an end or a beginning. We dont need to worry about anything, because we have a loving Heavenly Father that takes care of us, and will never stop! So after we banked in that area, we went to Bettys neighborhood. A couple days earlier when we started the Book Of MOrmon goal in our zone, sister trydal and I packed our backpacks with some Book of Mormons, and I thought it owuld be good to bring another language. I asked sister trydal and she said Swedish! So I had that in my backpack. We had been asked to share the "Miracle Story" for a sisters call we have each month. So earlier when we were contacting and banking I asked sister trydal what we should share. She said, "That time we gae out a Swedish Book Of Mormon and they became a new investigator!" I htought for a minute, and realized that is what she was saying would happen this day :) So, we prayed! As we were banking in Bettys area, we were about to go to the church, it was about time to go! But as we were walking away, I saw a yellow house behind us. We decided to go there, got a "come back" at another house, and then went to the yellow house. The lady there told us to come back next week, and as we were walking away, Sister Trydal said that she was Swedish!!!!!!!!!!! OHH I was so just...UHHH!! Haha I really wanted to give out that Swedish Book Of Mormon. So we prayed, and felt like we should go back!!! I dont like awkwardness, Sister Trydal doesnt like awkwardness, and this was going to be awkward. But the Lord blessed us, and when we went up the stairs to her door, she was already outside! It wasnt awkward and it went well!! The only scary thing was her huge barking dog that we thought was going to kill us! haha I think it was a doberman, those scary dogs that used to live behind our house? Anyways, WHAT A MIRACLE!!! We will meet with her next week hopefully and she will become a new investigator!!! The Lord answers prayers! Specific questions bring specific answers. To add to this miracle, as we were walking to the church, we saw Betty (the new investigator)! She had to cancel her appointment earlier that day, because she was in Oslo, and would be travelling back that day too. But the Lord is so aware of each second of time! He really truly is in the details of our lives!!! Then we had a Relief Society lunch and watched the Womens Conference. HOLY COW! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so funny, because when the Sister had the 8-10 or so year olds stand up and sing, there was just ONE there hahahaha But it really was just amazing. Then we watched the first session, at 6 pm, when you were all watching it in the morning!!! I love watching live conference, i feel so connected to you all! Singing the same song at the same time too! What an amazing session!!!! I recieved so much personal inspiration, I am so thankful for the Prophet and Apostles and leaders of the church. Afterwards, Dennis said to me, "I believe it. I know its true." :) AND, there was a drunk man that came in and started talking and mumbling, then came and shook sister trydals hand and said, "JEG HAR MI BOKA! JEG HAR MI BOKA!" to her!!! hahahaha After the meeting he tried hugging sister trydal too. Oh it was ridiculous haha! I felt like that night Satan was just throwing all wickedness into my eyes. There was a completely limp drunk girl carried into a car at a busstop we were waiting at, etc. Anyways, we had to walk home from sentrum and after jogging, speedwalking, etc., we got home at 8:59 :) Thats a good ending to a day!
Sunday was also amazing! I didnt take any medicine the night before, and I woke up 3 or so times in the night. Not so fun. We brought Melissa a baptism dress before the 2nd session of conference (we watched it at 2, the one you all saw Saturday night), and then after the session, we ate dinner at the Høgsaas families house with all the missionaries! Then we watched the Sunday morning session Live at the church! Dennis and DEBBY were there!!! Oh we LOVE Debby! We gave her a container full of comfort scriptures and things a week or so ago, and she just loves it. She had to call a person or two yesterday that she was super scared to call. But she pulled a paper out of the container and read the scripture about not being afraid of what to say, because it will come out of our mouths. Then right away she got the courage and called! Members asked her if she was a member last night and she said, "Not yet!" :) I LOVE HER!!!
Also, Sister Johnson talked to David last night, and I was able to talk to him earlier this week. The man that was baptized in Kristiansand towards the beginning of my mission! He is not doing well. I feel the way that Alma and Lehi felt for their people...just heartbroken. He is not active and is confused. He needs friends and comfort. When I talked to him on the phone I just started crying. The scriptures, "how great is one soul in the eyes of God" and "I pray for you by day and my eyes water my pillow for you by night" came to my head this morning. Thats how I feel. Oh I just lvoe him so much! It is so special to be able to feel a SLIVER of what Heavenly Father feels for us when we are lost. Can you imagine how sorrowful He feels? But then how JOYFUL He feels when we do what is right and find the way? I would love for you all to pray for David, I know it will help. I also want to invite you all (all of you, my family, and all of the people that read this from the blog) to do something this week. This is to members, non members, etc. Do ONE thing out of your comfort zone this week to touch someones life. Give someone comfort, smile to a stranger, buy someone lunch, give an old person a compliment. Like it was said in conferance, we might forget what we did that was nice yesterday, but the recipitant might remember it for eternity.
I know that this is Christs church. I know that He loves us. That Heavenly Father loves us. And that we can change someones life with a smile.
Wasnt David A. Bednars talk AMAZING!? I am amazed by the conference and cant wait to watch the rest today!!!!! :)
Well, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!! :)
LOVE, Søster Chapman :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Kjære Familie,
This was a good week! Wasnt Conference amazing? I havent seen the last session yet, but am going to after emailing :)
So, last Pday we relaxed. Dad, did you get the postcard? I hope so!
Anyways, that night we went and visited Dennis. It was so funny what he said. After he was baptized, Michael - the Kongsberg elders new convert - got baptized. But he had to be baptized a few times because he didnt go completely under. But Dennis didnt know that. So he just heard continuing splashes! He said to us, "I thought Michael might have been swimming!" Hahaha! He told us that after church he slept and had a dream that Michael was swimming in the font! We were all dieing laughing, tears in our eyes. Oh it was so funny. We LOVE Dennis! We gave him a Triple with notes from us written inside. And we think he felt somewhat impelled to give us something, so he went inside and gave us a pack of cookies! haha, see why we love him? :)
On Tuesday we had District Meeting! It was about chapter 6 in Preach my Gospel - speaking of, looks like you will all be studying a lot more out of PMG! M. Russel Ballards talk was SO good!!! Anyways, chapter 6 is one of my favorite chapters. We all got assigned to a specific Christ-like attribute a few days earlier, and I got assigned Patience. I loved teaching that, and studying more about it. I used a quote dad gave me, "Never be discouraged. If I were stuck in the lowest pits of Nova Scotia with the Rocky mountains piled on top of me, I would hang on, excersize faith, and keep up the good work and I would end up on top." Or something like that, by Joseph Smith. Patience is something we will always be working towards, and is ESSENTIAL for eternal life! Later that day we visited a lady in the ward Sister Trydal and I accidentally contacted a week or so ago hahaha Then a little later we went to a member families house for dinner! There son told me that I am getting the Drammen dialect!!! So that was way exciting! But I am a little sad I am losing the Kristiansand tonal fall :( But it is also good that I dont sound completely mixed up with a lot of different influences :) Drammen tonal fall is good! Also, Sister Finnerud gave us a freshly baked loaf of bread!!! It was delicious!!! It was the closest thing that I have tasted to Moms bread since Ive been in Norway :) It was a goal last week in our zone to give out 80 Book Of Mormons! By the end of the week, the zone had given out 46, and Sister Trydal and I had given out 12 of those!!! On tuesday we gave out 5!
Wednesday was a good day! We taught a lady from India that is also getting visits by some Jehovahs Witnesses.She told us that she thinks she will just stick to the others that are teaching her and my heart broke. BUT, we got a return appointment :) So that made me happy!!! We met with Betty, a new investigator and had to explain baptism to her. She had been baptized twice and doesnt completely understand the authority yet. So that was a little bit awkward...We had taught her The Plan of Salvation, so this time we will teach her the Restoration :) That night we ate with a recently married couple, the Stulens. They both served in the Ogden Utah mission and got married 10 days after she got home!!!! It was so koselig eating with them! Then we had Ward Council, the first of each month the misisonaries come and we share about our investigators :) This ward is SO organized, just how it should be! I love it. That is why the ward has a 100% retention rate! Because they take so good care of new converts and investigators!!! That night we contacted and then called people. I got asked on a date by an investigator and it was so awkward. It was horrid. haha he is a really nice investigator though!
Then on Thursday we had weekly planning, like usual! One of our investigators fell of the face of the earth!!! So we got permission to look for her on facebook, Sister Trydal logged in to hers, and miraculously found her! We sent a message, but last time we checked, havent gotten anything back from her :( We will keep trying!!! Then the elders had a baptism and President and Sister Evans were there! That night we gave out two Book Of Mormons. One of the men that took one was muslim and asked us if we would meet with him to discuss. He would bring his book and give it to us. Our conversation changed into where we are from, and i told him I was from America and he told me that I wasnt and to never say that! We was trying to say that he didnt believe me because of my Norwegian, but I thought that he just didnt like America! So I just said to him, "YES! I am from America!" Hahaha one time someone ask me why I am from America. I said that I was born there and they said, "WHY!?" My goodness! Hahaha! I LOVE AMERICA! ;) Anyways, this man was writing down my name and thought that the beginning of the churchs name was my name, "Jesu Kristi." He ended up figuring it out hahaha :) Anyways, well see what happens with the. He tried making an appointment, but he will call back another day maybe.
On Friday we met with Betty, a new convert, at the church. Then later, ate dinner and had a family home evening with the Lystads, a part member family. We are teaching the children :) Then we taught Melissa, who is getting baptized THIS WEEK!!! And later that night taught John. We found a super cool Mormon Message of a jamaican bishop that lives in england that is a convert. It was great showing that to him! Before John, we went banking. There was one man that we talked to that flat out LAUGHED at Sister Trydal after she bore her testimony. I was SO furious! I told him that we werent there to force him to believe what we believe, but to share something that means a lot to us. He said we could discuss if we wanted to...and told us that "God is in your heads." Oh it just broke my heart and did not make me so happy. Isnt that so sad?
Anyways, Saturday was a good day too!! Friday night I took a half dose of Niquill that Sister Evans gave me, and on Saturday morning when I woke up, I had more energy than I have had in a LONG time!!! I think it is because I slept the entire night, deeply. Anyways, we knocked on some doors for 2 or so hours. A man answered one of the doors and it was SO sad. He likes believing that there is a beginning and an end. He enjoys his time now more. I am SO thankful to know that life doesnt have an end or a beginning. We dont need to worry about anything, because we have a loving Heavenly Father that takes care of us, and will never stop! So after we banked in that area, we went to Bettys neighborhood. A couple days earlier when we started the Book Of MOrmon goal in our zone, sister trydal and I packed our backpacks with some Book of Mormons, and I thought it owuld be good to bring another language. I asked sister trydal and she said Swedish! So I had that in my backpack. We had been asked to share the "Miracle Story" for a sisters call we have each month. So earlier when we were contacting and banking I asked sister trydal what we should share. She said, "That time we gae out a Swedish Book Of Mormon and they became a new investigator!" I htought for a minute, and realized that is what she was saying would happen this day :) So, we prayed! As we were banking in Bettys area, we were about to go to the church, it was about time to go! But as we were walking away, I saw a yellow house behind us. We decided to go there, got a "come back" at another house, and then went to the yellow house. The lady there told us to come back next week, and as we were walking away, Sister Trydal said that she was Swedish!!!!!!!!!!! OHH I was so just...UHHH!! Haha I really wanted to give out that Swedish Book Of Mormon. So we prayed, and felt like we should go back!!! I dont like awkwardness, Sister Trydal doesnt like awkwardness, and this was going to be awkward. But the Lord blessed us, and when we went up the stairs to her door, she was already outside! It wasnt awkward and it went well!! The only scary thing was her huge barking dog that we thought was going to kill us! haha I think it was a doberman, those scary dogs that used to live behind our house? Anyways, WHAT A MIRACLE!!! We will meet with her next week hopefully and she will become a new investigator!!! The Lord answers prayers! Specific questions bring specific answers. To add to this miracle, as we were walking to the church, we saw Betty (the new investigator)! She had to cancel her appointment earlier that day, because she was in Oslo, and would be travelling back that day too. But the Lord is so aware of each second of time! He really truly is in the details of our lives!!! Then we had a Relief Society lunch and watched the Womens Conference. HOLY COW! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so funny, because when the Sister had the 8-10 or so year olds stand up and sing, there was just ONE there hahahaha But it really was just amazing. Then we watched the first session, at 6 pm, when you were all watching it in the morning!!! I love watching live conference, i feel so connected to you all! Singing the same song at the same time too! What an amazing session!!!! I recieved so much personal inspiration, I am so thankful for the Prophet and Apostles and leaders of the church. Afterwards, Dennis said to me, "I believe it. I know its true." :) AND, there was a drunk man that came in and started talking and mumbling, then came and shook sister trydals hand and said, "JEG HAR MI BOKA! JEG HAR MI BOKA!" to her!!! hahahaha After the meeting he tried hugging sister trydal too. Oh it was ridiculous haha! I felt like that night Satan was just throwing all wickedness into my eyes. There was a completely limp drunk girl carried into a car at a busstop we were waiting at, etc. Anyways, we had to walk home from sentrum and after jogging, speedwalking, etc., we got home at 8:59 :) Thats a good ending to a day!
Sunday was also amazing! I didnt take any medicine the night before, and I woke up 3 or so times in the night. Not so fun. We brought Melissa a baptism dress before the 2nd session of conference (we watched it at 2, the one you all saw Saturday night), and then after the session, we ate dinner at the Høgsaas families house with all the missionaries! Then we watched the Sunday morning session Live at the church! Dennis and DEBBY were there!!! Oh we LOVE Debby! We gave her a container full of comfort scriptures and things a week or so ago, and she just loves it. She had to call a person or two yesterday that she was super scared to call. But she pulled a paper out of the container and read the scripture about not being afraid of what to say, because it will come out of our mouths. Then right away she got the courage and called! Members asked her if she was a member last night and she said, "Not yet!" :) I LOVE HER!!!
Also, Sister Johnson talked to David last night, and I was able to talk to him earlier this week. The man that was baptized in Kristiansand towards the beginning of my mission! He is not doing well. I feel the way that Alma and Lehi felt for their people...just heartbroken. He is not active and is confused. He needs friends and comfort. When I talked to him on the phone I just started crying. The scriptures, "how great is one soul in the eyes of God" and "I pray for you by day and my eyes water my pillow for you by night" came to my head this morning. Thats how I feel. Oh I just lvoe him so much! It is so special to be able to feel a SLIVER of what Heavenly Father feels for us when we are lost. Can you imagine how sorrowful He feels? But then how JOYFUL He feels when we do what is right and find the way? I would love for you all to pray for David, I know it will help. I also want to invite you all (all of you, my family, and all of the people that read this from the blog) to do something this week. This is to members, non members, etc. Do ONE thing out of your comfort zone this week to touch someones life. Give someone comfort, smile to a stranger, buy someone lunch, give an old person a compliment. Like it was said in conferance, we might forget what we did that was nice yesterday, but the recipitant might remember it for eternity.
I know that this is Christs church. I know that He loves us. That Heavenly Father loves us. And that we can change someones life with a smile.
Wasnt David A. Bednars talk AMAZING!? I am amazed by the conference and cant wait to watch the rest today!!!!! :)
Well, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!! :)
LOVE, Søster Chapman :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
2 Weeks Ago - a BAPTISM!
Kjære familie,
This was a good week!!! DENNIS GOT BAPTIZED!!!! Yesterday, him and another man, named Michael, got baptized! The elders from Kongsberg taught Michael who, by coincidence, is also from Uganda! Yesterday we needed to change the clock to an hour later (the worst day of the year for missionaries) ;) I set my clock to an hour later, not knowing that it would do it itself also...so we woke up, I brushed my teeth, and walked out to the family room and Sister Trydal said, "Sister Chapman...I dont know what time it is." We ended up looking at our watches, and realized we woke up 2 hours early instead of 1 hour! So we got 45 more minutes of sleep!!! We walked to the church after getting ready and got everything ready for the baptism :) The ward had had temple week, so Sunday was the best day to hold the baptism. Dennis was so nervous. But everything went so well! When he came up out of the water he was smiling, just a pure simple smile. And it continued as he walked out of the font and into the bathroom to change. I am SO thankful to have taught him! He was found my first day here in Drammen, by sister landry on the bus!!! The rest of the meeting went well. Then we had church and he recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost! (along with 2 others!) The Zone Leaders had a baptism last wednesday. Drammen is a miracle city!!!!! Anyways, also a referral from a member came to church with that member and she wants to be baptized! The elders talked to her and she asked how she can be baptized! Presdient and Sister Evans were at the baptism and in church with us! Presdient taught the 5th Sunday class, so it worked out perfect for them to be there for the baptism :) Also, us missionaries sang for Sacrament Meeting! We sang "Nearer My God to Thee" and it went well. One of the elders was going to sing a solo, but he got sick and so I sang it. I was sick too, but it went well. The ward was so sweet after church complimenting! We ate dinner with the Hansen couple and the Kongsberg elders, and then later had an Open House in the church. I LOVE this ward and the members in it!!!!! I hope I can be here for another transfer after this one.
So now I will start with last Monday. Our plans got cancelled again, so after emailing we went to the church and did some things, then worked on Dennis and Michaels Baptism program! Then we taught Dennis about the covenants he would be making in baptism. He said something like, "I believe this Book Of Mormon is true. I felt something when I read Joseph Smiths testimony. It is so important to have testimonies in here! It affects so many peoples lives." Oh we just LOVE him! Then a member came and we went to a mans house that told us to come back. We had to make a return appointment with him though, because he couldnt meet then. Later in the week he told us he thought about it and doesnt want us to come, but said we could bring a Book Of Mormon :)
On Tuesday we went to Oslo!!! We had Zone Conference with the east (im in the telemark zone) and I got to see Sister Johnson and Sister McArthur!!! The Conference was great, as usual, and it was so good seeing Presdient and Sister Evans and some other missionaries :) We came home, ate some dinner, and knocked on some doors, and called people the rest of the night :)
Wednesday we taught an investigator named Shiri. She is muslim and we are not sure how positive she is. she likes learning, but not sure if she is willing to change. Anyways, we knocked on some doors afterwards, and a woman said the saddest thing to us! She was from the Jehovas Witness church and she said, "I am absolutely not going to heaven." I looked at her and said something like, "That would make me SO sad! We believe Heavenly Father loves us so much that He wants us to come back to Him! All of us!" They believe that those that go to heaven will be able to be like Heavenly Father (which we believe too) but that everyone else will stay on earth, forever. It just broke my heart...that she has already decided that she is NOT going to heaven and doestn want to! After we knocked on some doors we went and ate dinner at a members house and shared a thought. Right afterwards, the elders had a baptism! A lady named Betty was baptized and it was great to be there :) We practiced the song we were going to sing on Sunday and then went home! It was a good day!
On Thursday we had Weekly Planning. Then we taught Melissa :) We were planning on teaching something different, but ended up teaching tithing again, and it went well! She is the CUTEST thing and is going to be baptized next week!!!!! :) Then we taught Dennis with a member named Aman. We taught about Priesthood, callings, prophets, and home teaching! We also went over the program for the baptism. :) We sure do love him!
Friday we met with Betty, the lady that had just gotten baptized, and got to know her a little bit better and shared a thought :) Friday is when I realized I was getting sick also. I have a gross cold :( Hopefully it will go away soon. Anyways, we worked on the program for the baptism some more and did some studies that we hadnt finished, and then we took a bus to visit some less active members! They lived about an hour away, but the bus ride was GORGEOUS!!!! It is always prettier out of the city I think :) TENDER MERCY! We were on our way to the wrong address, but got off the bus early, because we didnt exactly where it was or what we should do...and ended up being a lot closer than we would have if we would have waited to get off at the other stop! We walked to their house from where we got dropped off and shared a thought with them and got to know them. The problem with Norway is that the church is in a lot of cities, but there is SO many small cities or areas that people live that are an hour, two, three, etc. away from the church. The couple we visited were really young, one was a convert, one has been a member her whole life. But they are both sick and live far away without a car. It was koselig visitign them and I we will probably go and visit them again soon :) That night we taught John with Rannveig. We read in the scirptures, but it ended up getting changed to the Word of Wisdom again, becuase that is the problem John has. We will need to work more with him. Something that I really do know is that, if Joseph Smith is a prophet, if this is Jesus Christs church, then everything else that comes from that, IS TRUE! A solid testimony is SO important. Betty, the lady that got baptized agreed right away to give up coffee and tea, etc. Even though she had to have a coffee in the morning, her testimony is so strong that she agreed! She has read all of the Book Of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants in less than 2 or 3 months!!!! Anyways, that morning, I was eating yoghurt and musli...like granola. And this is going to sound super weird. But i had a thought. Each time I would take a bite, i started thinking about the next bite I was going to take. And then when I had my last bite, I thought about that bite before, never thinking about the bite that I actually had in my mouth. And it is the same exact thing with life. If we spend our time worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past, we will NEVER experience the joy in the moment. It will go by and you wont remember how it tasted. I know that is super weird, but it randomly came into my head when I was eating hahaha :) Also, when we were on the bus another thing came into my head. The busdriver had a name tag, with a piece of paper taped over it that said, "Tin-Tin". And he had a little toy tin-tin character taped to the card reader. I was thinking....there are SO many bus drivers that look miserable when they drive. I mean, they just drie people around for their job. People are rude, its loud, they drive huge busses the whole day! They have a good excuse to not be super happy. But this driver tuaght me a lesson. It wasnt the only time I had seen him. Each day, he tapes this tin tin to the card reader and says "Hallo!!!" "Hei!" "Hei du!" To EVERYONE!!! We can choose to make a bad situation good or a bad situation bad. And by making the bad situation good, it turns it into a good situation.
Just some food for thought.
On Saturday I was sooo sick. We made Debby a glass container full of comfort scriptures and a quote and poem that she can read when she needs comfort. She hadnt been able to meet with us that week and hadnt texted us back..things are a little rough right now, so we thoguth it would help. She randomly texted us though and so later we went and dropped it by and talked with her a little bit :) We knocked on some doors of people that told us to come back, in which they told us to come back again :) and knocked on some more doors, then went to the church and ate dinner. Betty was waiting outside for a ride, so we invted her in and ate dinner with her. Then we went to the Kapstads house and taught Dennis about temples, enduring to the end, and eternal marriage! The Kapstads had just been in Sweden at the temple, so it was perfect :) I MISS THE TEMPLE SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I wish we could go to Sweden. or Denmark. :)
Anyways, a temple will be in Norway SOON! We need to keep praying for it!!!
Also, I recorded Dads song onto my recorder and have probably listened to it 100 times this week :) I LOVE IT! And Sister Trydal does too. She suggested that we sing that in Sacrament Meeting :)
Anyways, I love you all SO MUCH and miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great week!!!!!! :)
Klem, Søster Chapman
xoxo
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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