This week was pretty incredible. We flew into Tromsø on Wednesday morning to go on splits and perform some missionary business. At our arrival, there were then 6 missionaries serving in Tromsø. It was pretty cool to be in that cluster of missionaries. We were able to do some contacting on the streets. Tromsø is a beautiful city - it has a lot of nice people and some tourists. It's really cool just to go out and talk to people on the streets. As strange as it might seem, it's a huge blessing to be a part of. In Alta, there aren't as many people to go out and speak with, so in a big city it's a little more fun.
The next morning, we flew into Trondheim to be part of some splits the day before Zone Conference. That day we probably did 4-hours of contacting around the city of Trondheim. That is another beautiful, beautiful city. A lot of really awesome people and a ton of students there at the university. It is one of the largest Atheist places in the world (it might be the world's largest, if I'm not mistaken), but it is so cool to talk to people about how they established their belief in certain things. The greatest blessing is that even when people claim to be Atheist, they still believe in a higher power. They just have not heard the truth of all things. As we go around and contact people, we are able to piece a little bit of the puzzle of this existence together for them - they then thank us and we part ways. Often times missionaries like to call it 'planting seeds'. It's just really satisfying to see people getting a little portion of the truth and them being grateful for it. This life is hard enough, but once we understand we are children of a Supreme Being who loves us and cares about us - life becomes a little bit more enjoyable.
We also had interviews with our president that night and Zone Conference the following day. As I was speaking with the Mission President's wife, I received a call from my old area - Sandnes. They were searching for some addresses that we had found people who had shown some interest in our message. As we got to talking about other people, there was a woman we found contacting one day. As we approached the woman that day, we had the world's biggest smiles. I remember thinking to myself, "why am I smiling so big?" The woman also asked us the same thing (our Ward Mission Leader used to call my companion and I his 'smiling assassins'). She was with her daughter walking on the street when we stopped them - smiling - asked her if she had heard of the Book of Mormon. She was surprised and told us that she had found the book on the street one day! It was laying on a ledge and she took it home with her. We asked if he could teach her about it, she agreed, but would be on vacation for 5-weeks. So, the update was that she was reading the Book of Mormon and praying - she also brought a friend on their first teach. They are both reading and praying. It was very satisfying to be part of that mini-miracle.
The other great miracle this week happened to us this past Friday night. We had to leave the Zone Conference a bit early to catch our flight back to Alta. Had we missed the flight, we'd be stuck in Trondheim until Monday - no more flights up there. As we got to the airport, we found that our flight plans were from Trondheim down to Oslo - from Olso we would fly to Tromsø and Alta. We were a bit surprised, but no big deal. As we got on our flight in Oslo to Tromsø/Alta, we sat next to a woman who immediately began speaking with us. She noticed our badges and expressed that she had spoken with missionaries earlier in the airport and that it was a surprise to be sitting next to us. The next 2-3 hours were spent talking to this woman, Ada. She was incredible. Very prepared to hear the message and often times as we spoke to her she would be saying, "I am listening very closely to what you are saying now." I felt the need to invite her to church (she was only going to be in Alta for the weekend). As Sunday came, she came to church! I sat next to her all church (our church attendance was 4 out of 10 people were not members!). It was an excellent couple hours of church! At the conclusion of the meetings, I turned and asked her how she liked church. She responded, "I have a lot to think about."
It was incredible to be part of that miracle! At first we didn't know why we were flying Trondheim - Oslo - Tromsø - Alta, but we did it. As we did it, we were able to take part in the Lord's work. He is the master of the work. He controls all of this. Now I will always stay in contact with Ada throughout my mission. Wherever I move to, I will let her know. She also has a son who is 24. She is surprised that we do this work. Two years of sacrifice, but to do it so that others can have the some knowledge and blessings that we have. It is a special experience to be part of the Lord's work - we are absolutely an instrument in His hands.
I hope everyone can have the experience to feel the love the Lord has for His children by taking part in any form of service. I know we are all needed to bless the lives of one another. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
It was incredible to be part of that miracle! At first we didn't know why we were flying Trondheim - Oslo - Tromsø - Alta, but we did it. As we did it, we were able to take part in the Lord's work. He is the master of the work. He controls all of this. Now I will always stay in contact with Ada throughout my mission. Wherever I move to, I will let her know. She also has a son who is 24. She is surprised that we do this work. Two years of sacrifice, but to do it so that others can have the some knowledge and blessings that we have. It is a special experience to be part of the Lord's work - we are absolutely an instrument in His hands.
I hope everyone can have the experience to feel the love the Lord has for His children by taking part in any form of service. I know we are all needed to bless the lives of one another. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
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