Kjære familie og venner.
Well, the apartment I was living in was sold, so we're moving haha. Luckily we still had the apartment from the second Elder companionship here in Trondheim so we're just moving in there. But my new address is here:
Dyre Halses gate 5 #26
7014 Trondheim
Yep, well that's been taking up some time this week. But Yongqing is still doing well. He came to a baptism that the Sisters had yesterday and he seemed to like it. The biggest problem is he is kinda quiet, so it's somewhat hard to gauge where he's at. But he keeps all the commitments we give him, so that's good. He'll be baptized this Saturday.
Other than him, we have a couple of other pretty positive people right now. Jenny is a friend to a member who we've started teaching. She took a Book of Mormon and seemed excited to read it. Then we have Lars, who is a referral from Fernanda, our recent convert. He really liked the Plan of Salvation, although they met with him while I was on splits this week, so I actually have taught him yet haha. We'll see where we get with them this week.
I had a cool study this week that I wanted to share, but I really don't have time. We've got some members who are planning to meet up with us to help us move today. But, I'll just have to send it out next week.
Talk to ya soon
Elder Sessions
Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Kjære familie og venner
It's an exciting time in Norway. We just got a second stake and our mission president is already talking about a 3rd. He's already got it planned and everything haha. I definitely don't think it will take us 35 years like it did last time. In order to show that the mission is serious about building that 3rd stake, President Johansen made some changes in the missionary areas. He opened a second area down in Tønsberg, my good ol' greenie area =) Now there are 4 missionaries working on that one branch of 25 people, because Tønsberg growing into a ward is a huge part of President's plan for a 3rd stake. In order to have enough missionaries for that, the second elder's area in Trondheim was closed.
Which means more work for me! haha
One of the investigators who was being taught by the other elders is a Chinese man named Yongqing. We met with him on Saturday and set a baptismal date for the 2nd of June. So that's pretty exciting. We had a dinner party at a members house later that night and he really enjoyed himself. Then, he came to church the next day and seemed to be really excited. We'll be meeting with him again on Wednesday. The hardest part is the language barrier. He can understand English pretty well, he just has a hard time expressing himself in english. So we have a chinese member who lives in Oslo that is going to skype in for our teaching appointments with him. so that'll be fun haha.
Elder Peterson seems to be enjoying himself here. It's his first transfer as a zone leader so it's been fun for me as well haha. He was a district leader down in Kristiansand, in the south of Norway, so the weather has also been an adjustment for him. He says he lives about 2 hours away from Coon Rapids, where mom used to live.
Fun fact, which your email actually just reminded me of. One of the AP's this transfer is named Elder Tarver from Austin, Texas. When we were in Oslo for the Norway Conference, we stayed at the AP's apartment for that weekend and I got to talking with Elder Tarver about Texas. The cool thing is that he was actually a part of the exact same performance that I was back when the San Antonio Temple was dedicated. The Austin stakes were also a part of the practice we had the week before the performance at that high school football field down in San Antonio. So that was a cool little "small world moment"
We've got a pretty normal week ahead of us though. President Johansen is coming to Trondheim tomorrow for a specialized training meeting. Elder Peterson and I are presenting there. Other than that abnormality, we'll just be meeting with some people for the first time and getting some return appointments. You know, normal stuff =P
Good luck to everyone who's starting exam season =) Kinda glad I don't have to worry about that for a few more semesters, haha
We'll talk
Elder Session
It's an exciting time in Norway. We just got a second stake and our mission president is already talking about a 3rd. He's already got it planned and everything haha. I definitely don't think it will take us 35 years like it did last time. In order to show that the mission is serious about building that 3rd stake, President Johansen made some changes in the missionary areas. He opened a second area down in Tønsberg, my good ol' greenie area =) Now there are 4 missionaries working on that one branch of 25 people, because Tønsberg growing into a ward is a huge part of President's plan for a 3rd stake. In order to have enough missionaries for that, the second elder's area in Trondheim was closed.
Which means more work for me! haha
One of the investigators who was being taught by the other elders is a Chinese man named Yongqing. We met with him on Saturday and set a baptismal date for the 2nd of June. So that's pretty exciting. We had a dinner party at a members house later that night and he really enjoyed himself. Then, he came to church the next day and seemed to be really excited. We'll be meeting with him again on Wednesday. The hardest part is the language barrier. He can understand English pretty well, he just has a hard time expressing himself in english. So we have a chinese member who lives in Oslo that is going to skype in for our teaching appointments with him. so that'll be fun haha.
Elder Peterson seems to be enjoying himself here. It's his first transfer as a zone leader so it's been fun for me as well haha. He was a district leader down in Kristiansand, in the south of Norway, so the weather has also been an adjustment for him. He says he lives about 2 hours away from Coon Rapids, where mom used to live.
Fun fact, which your email actually just reminded me of. One of the AP's this transfer is named Elder Tarver from Austin, Texas. When we were in Oslo for the Norway Conference, we stayed at the AP's apartment for that weekend and I got to talking with Elder Tarver about Texas. The cool thing is that he was actually a part of the exact same performance that I was back when the San Antonio Temple was dedicated. The Austin stakes were also a part of the practice we had the week before the performance at that high school football field down in San Antonio. So that was a cool little "small world moment"
We've got a pretty normal week ahead of us though. President Johansen is coming to Trondheim tomorrow for a specialized training meeting. Elder Peterson and I are presenting there. Other than that abnormality, we'll just be meeting with some people for the first time and getting some return appointments. You know, normal stuff =P
Good luck to everyone who's starting exam season =) Kinda glad I don't have to worry about that for a few more semesters, haha
We'll talk
Elder Session
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Kjære familie og venner
I've had a pretty busy week this time around. We had transfers on Tuesday so I got a new companion, Elder Peterson. He's from Minnesota, the only other place in the world besides Norway which can claim to be the home of the vikings. He's been on his mission for about 10 months now. We're pretty excited about the zone we have this transfer, so it'll be good to see how it turns out. Elder Bekker moved into the mission office in Sandvika. So I'll be here in Trondheim for at least another 2 months, which is fine cause I like it alright here =)
The second elders' area here in Trondheim closed with transfers as well, so we inherited all of their investigators. We suddenly became very busy. I'm still trying to sort out all the names and things, so get back to me next week and I'll let you know where we're at haha. Just kidding, we've got a couple of people to work with over the next few days so it should be some fun. We don't have any baptismal dates at the moment though, so I'll let you know when we find some people who start progressing towards that.
You may be wondering why my email is late this week. Actually, it's because today is the 17th of May, which is the Norwegian independence day. It's a non-proselyting day, mainly because it's illegal to proselyte haha. So we're having our preparation day on Thursday this week instead of Monday. So we have a day to kind of just hang out with the members and have a good rest. They have parades in all the cities during the day and then usually everyone goes back in huge family groups and has a barbecue dinner.
Well, other than that, it's just another week of work. We'll be getting back at it tomorrow. One of these days, I'll stay up and take a picture of the midnight sun to send home. Another cool thing about living up north =)
Have a good week everyone!
Elder Session
I've had a pretty busy week this time around. We had transfers on Tuesday so I got a new companion, Elder Peterson. He's from Minnesota, the only other place in the world besides Norway which can claim to be the home of the vikings. He's been on his mission for about 10 months now. We're pretty excited about the zone we have this transfer, so it'll be good to see how it turns out. Elder Bekker moved into the mission office in Sandvika. So I'll be here in Trondheim for at least another 2 months, which is fine cause I like it alright here =)
The second elders' area here in Trondheim closed with transfers as well, so we inherited all of their investigators. We suddenly became very busy. I'm still trying to sort out all the names and things, so get back to me next week and I'll let you know where we're at haha. Just kidding, we've got a couple of people to work with over the next few days so it should be some fun. We don't have any baptismal dates at the moment though, so I'll let you know when we find some people who start progressing towards that.
You may be wondering why my email is late this week. Actually, it's because today is the 17th of May, which is the Norwegian independence day. It's a non-proselyting day, mainly because it's illegal to proselyte haha. So we're having our preparation day on Thursday this week instead of Monday. So we have a day to kind of just hang out with the members and have a good rest. They have parades in all the cities during the day and then usually everyone goes back in huge family groups and has a barbecue dinner.
Well, other than that, it's just another week of work. We'll be getting back at it tomorrow. One of these days, I'll stay up and take a picture of the midnight sun to send home. Another cool thing about living up north =)
Have a good week everyone!
Elder Session
Monday, May 7, 2012
Kjære familie og venner.
I had really hoped that I would have time to actually write something cool this week. In fact, I planned to. But, we ended up with a dinner appointment today so I won't have as much time as I thought. But that's ok. I'll do my best anyways haha.
Well, Inara won't be baptized like we thought. It's been a crazy roller coaster ride with her. It just isn't possible for her to come to church at this point with her family being opposed to the church. We had hoped that she could make her own decision about it since she is a fully-grown adult, but her family just comes from another culture. She was contacted by the missionaries over a year ago so she's been around for quite a while now, and hasn't been able to be baptized yet. She does want it though.
We did get a baptismal date with a guy named Trygve though, for the 26th of May. He was previously taught by the sister missionaries here in Trondheim and he actually came to the church yesterday while Elder Bekker and I were eating dinner. The sisters weren't available to teach him so we ended up teaching him and we set a baptismal date with him. The sisters had taught him for several months before they stopped teaching him because he had trouble committing so it'll be interesting to see where we can get with him this time.
This is, most likely, my last week with Elder Bekker. One week from Wednesday is transfers. I actually have no definite idea of what is going to happen, but I would guess that I'm staying here in Trondheim for another 2 months, while Elder Bekker leaves. But we'll find out for sure on Sunday morning. Actually I'll probably find out before that just because I'll have to plan a presentation for the leadership meeting with my new companion before transfers. But in any case, I'll know what's happening by the next time I email. It's kinda sad to part with Elder Bekker again, but it's been good working with him again and I'm excited to find out who my new companion will be.
Every week I'm getting an email that someone else I know is gettin hitched or having a kid. What is happening out there? Someone's gotta hit the pause button or something, I'm not ready to come back to a group of friends who have more kids than video games.
Yeah, there's not really a whole lot happening right now actually. It's a tough time for the mission right now, but we're all just trying to work hard to get through it. It's a fun time to be a zone leader...lots of stuff to talk about haha. We had a really good zone leader conference with President Johansen this past week, trying to figure out how we can improve. We're going to have trainings meetings all over Norway this month with the president and his assistants as well as zone leaders giving presentations. So I'm hoping that will help, we kinda just decided we gotta go back to the basics of missionary work. It's been a nice refresher for me actually to go back and study things that I remember doing in the MTC. It's amazing how many of the simple things sometimes get swallowed up in all the new and improved contacting approaches or crazy teaching methods. Just gotta have a basic knowledge and testimony of the gospel and then be willing to share it with others around you. That's all it takes to be a missionary.
We went and visited the Nidaros cathedral today here in Trondheim. It's the biggest cathedral in Northern Europe. It's cool cause we actually walk past this building every single day but I hadn't been inside it yet. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to take pictures so I don't have any to share. But just trust me, it was cool haha. It's in this cathedral that the Kings and Queens of Norway are coronated, so we also saw the crown jewels of Norway. The king's crown had a jewel in it the size of my face. Ridiculous man.
But yeah, thats about it. Hope ya'll have a good one.
Elder Sessions
I had really hoped that I would have time to actually write something cool this week. In fact, I planned to. But, we ended up with a dinner appointment today so I won't have as much time as I thought. But that's ok. I'll do my best anyways haha.
Well, Inara won't be baptized like we thought. It's been a crazy roller coaster ride with her. It just isn't possible for her to come to church at this point with her family being opposed to the church. We had hoped that she could make her own decision about it since she is a fully-grown adult, but her family just comes from another culture. She was contacted by the missionaries over a year ago so she's been around for quite a while now, and hasn't been able to be baptized yet. She does want it though.
We did get a baptismal date with a guy named Trygve though, for the 26th of May. He was previously taught by the sister missionaries here in Trondheim and he actually came to the church yesterday while Elder Bekker and I were eating dinner. The sisters weren't available to teach him so we ended up teaching him and we set a baptismal date with him. The sisters had taught him for several months before they stopped teaching him because he had trouble committing so it'll be interesting to see where we can get with him this time.
This is, most likely, my last week with Elder Bekker. One week from Wednesday is transfers. I actually have no definite idea of what is going to happen, but I would guess that I'm staying here in Trondheim for another 2 months, while Elder Bekker leaves. But we'll find out for sure on Sunday morning. Actually I'll probably find out before that just because I'll have to plan a presentation for the leadership meeting with my new companion before transfers. But in any case, I'll know what's happening by the next time I email. It's kinda sad to part with Elder Bekker again, but it's been good working with him again and I'm excited to find out who my new companion will be.
Every week I'm getting an email that someone else I know is gettin hitched or having a kid. What is happening out there? Someone's gotta hit the pause button or something, I'm not ready to come back to a group of friends who have more kids than video games.
Yeah, there's not really a whole lot happening right now actually. It's a tough time for the mission right now, but we're all just trying to work hard to get through it. It's a fun time to be a zone leader...lots of stuff to talk about haha. We had a really good zone leader conference with President Johansen this past week, trying to figure out how we can improve. We're going to have trainings meetings all over Norway this month with the president and his assistants as well as zone leaders giving presentations. So I'm hoping that will help, we kinda just decided we gotta go back to the basics of missionary work. It's been a nice refresher for me actually to go back and study things that I remember doing in the MTC. It's amazing how many of the simple things sometimes get swallowed up in all the new and improved contacting approaches or crazy teaching methods. Just gotta have a basic knowledge and testimony of the gospel and then be willing to share it with others around you. That's all it takes to be a missionary.
We went and visited the Nidaros cathedral today here in Trondheim. It's the biggest cathedral in Northern Europe. It's cool cause we actually walk past this building every single day but I hadn't been inside it yet. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to take pictures so I don't have any to share. But just trust me, it was cool haha. It's in this cathedral that the Kings and Queens of Norway are coronated, so we also saw the crown jewels of Norway. The king's crown had a jewel in it the size of my face. Ridiculous man.
But yeah, thats about it. Hope ya'll have a good one.
Elder Sessions
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