He Is The Gift

A turn of events here in the last leg of my mission - instead of going to Romerike, I was called the night before I moved and was told I'd serve back in Sandvika instead!  So, back I went to my previous Ward, this time serving with Elder Allen.  I was looking forward to traveling to the area my ancestors come from, but instead find myself here!  Of course, it leads me to think, "Alright, what does the Lord need me for for a second time?"

Last night, we had a pretty cool experience.  We had dinner with a family here in Sandvika.  During our conversation, it came up that my mom was from a small town in Eastern France where she originally joined the church.  The family told me that they had a son who had served in that very town.  They mentioned that they stayed with a family years back - a family who had a lot of kids and the wife decorated eggs.  I shouted, "DET ER TANTEN MIN!!!" "That's my aunt!!"  I was so excited that they had met my family!  They then shared pictures that had my uncle in them!  It was so crazy!!

It was one of those experiences where Heavenly Father was reminding me that He is mindful of where I am.  There have been several experiences I've had like this on my mission.  I generally tell people I am from Chicago in passing, but sometimes it comes out that the very people I meet have been to or even come from Rockford, IL.  I was so amazed at the one time when I spoke to a man on the street - he said, "My wife is from Rockford" and I was shocked and said, "THAT'S WHERE I'M FROM!"  I am certainly confident that our Heavenly Father knows exactly where we are, what we're going through, and who we are to become.

This Christmas, we are focusing on "He Is The Gift" which is being shared by our church.  The church has made a powerful 3-minute film reminding us of what the true meaning of Christmas really is all about.  Attached is a link to the film, so that all can see:

He Is The Gift 

Just before I left Oslo, I had the opportunity to give a blessing to a woman who was just diagnosed with cancer for the second time.  After the blessing was completed, she put her face in her hands and cried.  She thanked us for coming over and sharing in the Spirit with her.  We concluded by reading a chapter from the Book of Mormon, where Christ comes to visit the people.  As we passed the book around, she could hardly stop herself from reading the whole chapter by herself.

This Christmas, it is such a blessing to be able to share The Gift of Jesus Christ.  It has been the greatest blessing to me, to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone here in Norway.  I love this land and I love this work - this is such a special thing to be part of!  I hope everyone is able to enjoy The Gift this Christmas!