Kjære familie og venner
Well we had a pretty busy week this week. Trondheim branch had a party on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the branch being here. So it was a pretty big shindig and President Johansen came for it and everything. That was fun, the missionaries played waiter for the night, serving the food for the members and things. Then, we got to eat the leftovers haha. Pretty good time to spend with the members.
Well, Trondheim is going to have two baptisms this next week. Neither of them will be Inara. She told her father that she intended to be baptized after he left, and he flipped. He has people watching her to make sure we don't come in contact with her through telephone or anything. So it's pretty frustrating that the man is so hard hearted, but there really isn't much we can do. I just wish he would let his 30 year old daughter make her own decisions. In any case, she won't be baptized this week, and we've stopped meeting with her for now.
Other than that, the only people we're still teaching is Nhat and Trinh, the vietnamese couple. They weren't able to come to the party or church this Sunday, because their son got sick, but we'll be meeting with them sometime this week again.
So wasn't such a good week for missionary work. On the bright side, the zone leader area here in Trondheim got 3 baptismal dates for March. So that's what I'll be transferring into on March 14th, but it's a little disappointing to be leaving an area so empty. Hopefully we can find someone this week for the new missionaries who will be moving here in a week and a half.
I've got my first zone leader council with President Johansen on Wednesday. So we'll be spending the day in Oslo there. Pretty excited for that one, don't really know what to expect though. It still feels weird to become a zone leader and actually be one of the older missionaries here.
I had a bit of an epiphany last night as I was writing in my journal. It's been a tough transfer as far as my companionship. Don't need to go into details, but I realized as hard as it can be to get along sometimes, we have a unique opportunity to be stuck for 9 weeks with all kinds of different people. For better or for worse. We can either take the chance to learn how to work with different kinds of people, or spend 9 weeks trying not to kill each other. Let's just say I've decided to try and make some changes over the last week and a half of this transfer haha.
Gotta send a special thanks to the Ryder family for their generosity. I also finally got their christmas package. Not a fan of this Norwegian postal service. But hey, the beef jerky tasted fantastic, I had to fight off my companion in order to have any for myself. Also thanks to the Spence family for the Mac and Cheese special delivery. Can't say there's too much of it left anymore, but hey, it tasted great =)
That's pretty much the week I've had. Things are looking good for this next transfer, I'm pretty excited.
Love you all
Elder Sessions
Monday, March 5, 2012
27 February 2012
Kjære familie og venner,
Well, this is my last email on "this" side of my mission. By my next email, I'll be over the hill...my year mark is March 2nd, on Friday!
We met with Inara last Tuesday, and she asked Gjermund, a recent convert, to be the one to baptize her. We're going to have a returned missionary who served in Russia to do the confirmation, because Inara speaks Russian, and it'd be cool for her to hear it in her own language.
Inara was taught by the missionaries about a year ago, but they ended up dropping her because of the difficulties with her father. In December of this year, she was again contacted by Elder Strange and his previous companion, so we've been teaching her for about two and a half months now. She'll be coming to the church for her first time tonight, for Family Home Evening, since her father left last night.
We also taught a nice newlywed couple from Vietnam this week. They seemed to be pretty positive, especially the wife. She said she was really curious to learn about what we believe. We're going to try and go for a baptismal date the next time we meet with them this week. So hopefully that will turn out well.
So that's who we are working with right now. It's exciting times in Norway right now. Originally, the Stavanger district had a conference planned for all of Western Norway in April. That has now been changed to a country-wide conference in Oslo. We don't know for sure, because nothing has been confirmed yet, but most people believe it's because we'll finally be getting a second stake in Norway. So it's exciting for that reason, and also because we could potentially have another Mission Conference if we get the approval for that weekend in April to attend the Norwegian conference. And those are always fun =)
I got the email about Great Grandpa Hanson. I remember when I lived in Idaho we would go and visit him every now and then. It was always fun, and he always seemed to be in a good mood. He and Grandpa Hanson would occasionally race to see who could fall asleep on the couch the fastest. I'm pretty sure most times it ended up being a tie. I remember going there one time right after he had just gotten his cell phone. Poor guy said he didn't know how to use it. We explained it to him though =) I'll definitely miss those visits when I get back to Rexburg next year.
That's all I've got going on this week! See you on the "other" side =)
Elder Sessions
Well, this is my last email on "this" side of my mission. By my next email, I'll be over the hill...my year mark is March 2nd, on Friday!
We met with Inara last Tuesday, and she asked Gjermund, a recent convert, to be the one to baptize her. We're going to have a returned missionary who served in Russia to do the confirmation, because Inara speaks Russian, and it'd be cool for her to hear it in her own language.
Inara was taught by the missionaries about a year ago, but they ended up dropping her because of the difficulties with her father. In December of this year, she was again contacted by Elder Strange and his previous companion, so we've been teaching her for about two and a half months now. She'll be coming to the church for her first time tonight, for Family Home Evening, since her father left last night.
We also taught a nice newlywed couple from Vietnam this week. They seemed to be pretty positive, especially the wife. She said she was really curious to learn about what we believe. We're going to try and go for a baptismal date the next time we meet with them this week. So hopefully that will turn out well.
So that's who we are working with right now. It's exciting times in Norway right now. Originally, the Stavanger district had a conference planned for all of Western Norway in April. That has now been changed to a country-wide conference in Oslo. We don't know for sure, because nothing has been confirmed yet, but most people believe it's because we'll finally be getting a second stake in Norway. So it's exciting for that reason, and also because we could potentially have another Mission Conference if we get the approval for that weekend in April to attend the Norwegian conference. And those are always fun =)
I got the email about Great Grandpa Hanson. I remember when I lived in Idaho we would go and visit him every now and then. It was always fun, and he always seemed to be in a good mood. He and Grandpa Hanson would occasionally race to see who could fall asleep on the couch the fastest. I'm pretty sure most times it ended up being a tie. I remember going there one time right after he had just gotten his cell phone. Poor guy said he didn't know how to use it. We explained it to him though =) I'll definitely miss those visits when I get back to Rexburg next year.
That's all I've got going on this week! See you on the "other" side =)
Elder Sessions
20 February 2012
Kjære familie og venner
Trondheim is the biggest city in the zone since we are a part of the North zone where only the eskimos live. Just kidding, there are no eskimos in Norway. But there ARE reindeer. Unfortunately, I'm too far south to see those. Anyways, because we're the biggest city (with 6 missionaries), zone conference was held right here in our chapel. So that was nice and convenient. Some of the missionaries had to get on flights at like 6:30am to get here on time. But not me =)
President Johansen talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how that can make us better missionaries. He started out by asking us what it was that Jesus Christ's atonement and grace does for us. I thought I was gonna get some brownie points so I answered:
"He made it possible for us to receive grace so long as we do everything we can do to follow him. He'll make up the difference for us."
And he replied:
"That is absolutely, 100%....wrong."
Bummer.
He said something interesting though. No matter what we do in this life, no matter how closely we follow the commandments, we will never begin paying Jesus Christ back for what he did for us. The gospel and the commandments and this life will never be about doing everything we can to follow him. We do everything we can to follow him....in order to change ourselves. That's what this life is about. It's about becoming the person we have the potential to be. The Atonement and the Gospel is what enables us to do that.
So no matter what my problems are, no matter what I've done wrong, I can always change...because of the Atonement. We shouldn't follow the commandments so we can pay Christ back or to show him that we can be perfect, because we will never be able to do that. We should follow the commandments because we love Him and we want to become like Him. Because he is our ultimate example of who we can be. The Atonement, ultimately, is about change.
President later said he did like my answer, though. So that was a little comforting =P
Being district leader is fun. Stressful. There are only 8 missionaries in my district (6 in Trondheim, including 2 zone leaders, and 2 in Ålesund), but it's actually the largest missionary district in Norway. We're a tiny mission haha. It always crazy to hear stories from other missions, things are SO different. One of my previous companions received a letter from a missionary in Bolivia who was complaining about how they had ONLY gotten 183 baptisms as a mission that month. In 2011, the Norway Oslo mission had 128. All year. And that is the highest number of baptisms, EVER. Our goal as a mission is to have 100 baptisms by June 30th. Some members think President Johansen is nuts. He is, but in a good way haha. He's got a lot of faith, and he's lifted Norway much higher than anyone ever believed it could be.
Another exciting thing which happened at zone conference: President Johansen told me he is planning on making me a zone leader right here in Trondheim next transfer. That would put me with my MTC companion Elder Bekker, for the second time. He is currently zone leader right now, so it's been fun having him in the district, and now we're both pretty stoked to be working together in a little over 3 weeks. He and I had some pretty good times in the MTC, and every time I go on splits with him we have a nice little reminiscing session haha. The best part of it all is, I wouldn't have to move apartments!
Anyways, in other news, Elder Strange and I got a baptismal date this week with a girl named Inara. I can't remember if I've talked about her before. But, her father is not a huge fan of religion. So he's been a huge roadblock, because he's got a huge personality. So even though Inara is in her 30's, he has been keeping her from coming to church since we started meeting with her. But he has only been on visit here in Norway, and he is going back home next week. Inara has said that she wants to come to church after that, and that she wants to be baptized. So we set a date for March 10th. It was pretty exciting. So we'll be working with her more this week and next, getting her prepared for baptism.
I got a letter from a good friend Alexa this past week. She was married since I've been on my mission. So I look at the envelope and it says "Alexa Staples" I'm just like, who the flip is Alexa Staples? I don't know an Alexa Staples....then it clicked. Used to be Alexa Levesque haha. So it just makes me wonder, how many of my other friends are gonna have different last names by the time I get home!? Just found out another one of my cousins has been engaged, but his name won't change, so more power to him. He goes by the same name as me too, so go get 'em Dave! At least I was able to be there for Heather's wedding...heck, I opened my mission call at it. Lysa can just wait until my homecoming weekend and I'll steal the spotlight from her too. =P Haha ok ferdig med det... <---- norwegian.
Well, Elder Strange is done getting his head shaved, so we're outta here. Look forward to hearing from ya'll next week =)
Elder Sessions
Trondheim is the biggest city in the zone since we are a part of the North zone where only the eskimos live. Just kidding, there are no eskimos in Norway. But there ARE reindeer. Unfortunately, I'm too far south to see those. Anyways, because we're the biggest city (with 6 missionaries), zone conference was held right here in our chapel. So that was nice and convenient. Some of the missionaries had to get on flights at like 6:30am to get here on time. But not me =)
President Johansen talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how that can make us better missionaries. He started out by asking us what it was that Jesus Christ's atonement and grace does for us. I thought I was gonna get some brownie points so I answered:
"He made it possible for us to receive grace so long as we do everything we can do to follow him. He'll make up the difference for us."
And he replied:
"That is absolutely, 100%....wrong."
Bummer.
He said something interesting though. No matter what we do in this life, no matter how closely we follow the commandments, we will never begin paying Jesus Christ back for what he did for us. The gospel and the commandments and this life will never be about doing everything we can to follow him. We do everything we can to follow him....in order to change ourselves. That's what this life is about. It's about becoming the person we have the potential to be. The Atonement and the Gospel is what enables us to do that.
So no matter what my problems are, no matter what I've done wrong, I can always change...because of the Atonement. We shouldn't follow the commandments so we can pay Christ back or to show him that we can be perfect, because we will never be able to do that. We should follow the commandments because we love Him and we want to become like Him. Because he is our ultimate example of who we can be. The Atonement, ultimately, is about change.
President later said he did like my answer, though. So that was a little comforting =P
Being district leader is fun. Stressful. There are only 8 missionaries in my district (6 in Trondheim, including 2 zone leaders, and 2 in Ålesund), but it's actually the largest missionary district in Norway. We're a tiny mission haha. It always crazy to hear stories from other missions, things are SO different. One of my previous companions received a letter from a missionary in Bolivia who was complaining about how they had ONLY gotten 183 baptisms as a mission that month. In 2011, the Norway Oslo mission had 128. All year. And that is the highest number of baptisms, EVER. Our goal as a mission is to have 100 baptisms by June 30th. Some members think President Johansen is nuts. He is, but in a good way haha. He's got a lot of faith, and he's lifted Norway much higher than anyone ever believed it could be.
Another exciting thing which happened at zone conference: President Johansen told me he is planning on making me a zone leader right here in Trondheim next transfer. That would put me with my MTC companion Elder Bekker, for the second time. He is currently zone leader right now, so it's been fun having him in the district, and now we're both pretty stoked to be working together in a little over 3 weeks. He and I had some pretty good times in the MTC, and every time I go on splits with him we have a nice little reminiscing session haha. The best part of it all is, I wouldn't have to move apartments!
Anyways, in other news, Elder Strange and I got a baptismal date this week with a girl named Inara. I can't remember if I've talked about her before. But, her father is not a huge fan of religion. So he's been a huge roadblock, because he's got a huge personality. So even though Inara is in her 30's, he has been keeping her from coming to church since we started meeting with her. But he has only been on visit here in Norway, and he is going back home next week. Inara has said that she wants to come to church after that, and that she wants to be baptized. So we set a date for March 10th. It was pretty exciting. So we'll be working with her more this week and next, getting her prepared for baptism.
I got a letter from a good friend Alexa this past week. She was married since I've been on my mission. So I look at the envelope and it says "Alexa Staples" I'm just like, who the flip is Alexa Staples? I don't know an Alexa Staples....then it clicked. Used to be Alexa Levesque haha. So it just makes me wonder, how many of my other friends are gonna have different last names by the time I get home!? Just found out another one of my cousins has been engaged, but his name won't change, so more power to him. He goes by the same name as me too, so go get 'em Dave! At least I was able to be there for Heather's wedding...heck, I opened my mission call at it. Lysa can just wait until my homecoming weekend and I'll steal the spotlight from her too. =P Haha ok ferdig med det... <---- norwegian.
Well, Elder Strange is done getting his head shaved, so we're outta here. Look forward to hearing from ya'll next week =)
Elder Sessions
13 February 2012
Kjære familie og venner
Ane Rebekka was baptized on Saturday! I wasn't able to be there for it, but she sent me a few pictures so I'll send those on too. I talked to her on the phone Saturday night and she said she felt fantastic. So that was awesome.
I went on splits this week with Elder Argyle. He was a greenie my first transfer in Bergen, so that was fun to get back together with him. He's currently in Ålesund, which is a part of my district, so he flew up to Trondheim, and Elder Strange flew to Ålesund. We had a couple of way good days, spent the whole time out on the street contacting and found a couple of cool people.
We still weren't able to get them to come to church, but hopefully we'll be able to see some good progress with them over the next week. Other than that, Elder Strange and I are just out contacting to find some other people that we can teach.
We'll have zone conference this week on Thursday. It's a bit of a relief for me cause it means I don't have to organize a district meeting this week haha. It's a nice break, plus I've heard that President Johansen has one heck of a talk planned for us. So I'm excited for that one.
That's all for this week. Happy Birthday to Cody on Friday!
Love,
Elder Sessions
Ane Rebekka was baptized on Saturday! I wasn't able to be there for it, but she sent me a few pictures so I'll send those on too. I talked to her on the phone Saturday night and she said she felt fantastic. So that was awesome.
I went on splits this week with Elder Argyle. He was a greenie my first transfer in Bergen, so that was fun to get back together with him. He's currently in Ålesund, which is a part of my district, so he flew up to Trondheim, and Elder Strange flew to Ålesund. We had a couple of way good days, spent the whole time out on the street contacting and found a couple of cool people.
We still weren't able to get them to come to church, but hopefully we'll be able to see some good progress with them over the next week. Other than that, Elder Strange and I are just out contacting to find some other people that we can teach.
We'll have zone conference this week on Thursday. It's a bit of a relief for me cause it means I don't have to organize a district meeting this week haha. It's a nice break, plus I've heard that President Johansen has one heck of a talk planned for us. So I'm excited for that one.
That's all for this week. Happy Birthday to Cody on Friday!
Love,
Elder Sessions
30 January 2012
Kjære familie og venner,
Most of my mission so far has been spent in areas that don't have a whole lot going on in terms of progressing investigators. Apparently the Lord feels like I can handle that particular challenge, cause he keeps putting me in those situations haha. The streak continued this week.
We're just having trouble getting any real traction with the people we're teaching. Hungdai hasn't met with us since the first time we taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon and we haven't had an investigator in church since I came to Trondheim. It's frustrating, but there are flashes of potential as well. A Filipino girl named Jemai was supposed to come to church Sunday, but wasn't able to due to an angry aunt. Not really sure what happened there, but apparently she really wants to come. So we'll see how that goes.
A man on the street the other day objected when I told him that I knew Christ's church was back on the earth again. He said, "You can never KNOW anything about religion." The funny thing was, this man believed in God and described himself as a Christian.
At first glance, I simply rejected what that man said. He just didn't know what he was talking about. I felt I had thoroughly defeated him when he dispensed all of his arguments and finally just had to walk away when he ran out of things to say. Because of that, I decided he just couldn't be right in saying that I didn't really know, I just believed. But it kept bugging me.
Luckily, God knows what we're thinking about and he knows what's bugging us. So over the last couple of days, I've felt like my faith has become strengthened in several aspects of the gospel to the point where I really do know. Through teaches with investigators, a temple preparation class on Sunday, and in watching the Joseph Smith movie with someone yesterday, the thought entered into my mind that I really did know AND believe all of those things. The Plan of Salvation, temples, and Joseph Smith. It's hard to describe, because I don't think I even realized that we could reach that point in our faith. But I honestly feel like, at this point, I could never deny the things I know to be true.
It's not that easy though. We can't ever get away from the things we're supposed to do, no matter how sure we are that we know. That man had one thing right. I may not know to the point where I could ever become complacent in my knowledge. But I can believe enough to use the word "know" =)
I'm just glad I belong to a church where it's ok to say I know it's true. How much security and comfort comes from having a true faith in what you believe? In saying that you know that what you believe is true?
Even if I'm wrong, at least I'll die secure in my beliefs. At least I'll die happy.
but don't hold your breath, nay-sayers
Most of my mission so far has been spent in areas that don't have a whole lot going on in terms of progressing investigators. Apparently the Lord feels like I can handle that particular challenge, cause he keeps putting me in those situations haha. The streak continued this week.
We're just having trouble getting any real traction with the people we're teaching. Hungdai hasn't met with us since the first time we taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon and we haven't had an investigator in church since I came to Trondheim. It's frustrating, but there are flashes of potential as well. A Filipino girl named Jemai was supposed to come to church Sunday, but wasn't able to due to an angry aunt. Not really sure what happened there, but apparently she really wants to come. So we'll see how that goes.
A man on the street the other day objected when I told him that I knew Christ's church was back on the earth again. He said, "You can never KNOW anything about religion." The funny thing was, this man believed in God and described himself as a Christian.
At first glance, I simply rejected what that man said. He just didn't know what he was talking about. I felt I had thoroughly defeated him when he dispensed all of his arguments and finally just had to walk away when he ran out of things to say. Because of that, I decided he just couldn't be right in saying that I didn't really know, I just believed. But it kept bugging me.
Luckily, God knows what we're thinking about and he knows what's bugging us. So over the last couple of days, I've felt like my faith has become strengthened in several aspects of the gospel to the point where I really do know. Through teaches with investigators, a temple preparation class on Sunday, and in watching the Joseph Smith movie with someone yesterday, the thought entered into my mind that I really did know AND believe all of those things. The Plan of Salvation, temples, and Joseph Smith. It's hard to describe, because I don't think I even realized that we could reach that point in our faith. But I honestly feel like, at this point, I could never deny the things I know to be true.
It's not that easy though. We can't ever get away from the things we're supposed to do, no matter how sure we are that we know. That man had one thing right. I may not know to the point where I could ever become complacent in my knowledge. But I can believe enough to use the word "know" =)
I'm just glad I belong to a church where it's ok to say I know it's true. How much security and comfort comes from having a true faith in what you believe? In saying that you know that what you believe is true?
Even if I'm wrong, at least I'll die secure in my beliefs. At least I'll die happy.
but don't hold your breath, nay-sayers
23 January 2012
Kjære familie og venner,
We saw the Northern lights last night! I managed to get a couple of pictures of it. I don't really have a bucket list, but if I had one, seeing the Northern lights would be on it and I would have just scratched it out! There's also a few pictures of the city of Trondheim in the daytime from the roof of our apartment building, including Nidaros cathedral which is the biggest cathedral in Norway.
Well I thought Bergen was cold. Trondheim is even more north of Bergen. North enough to see the Northern lights, I guess. The branch is about half the size of Bergen. There's some pretty cool members here though, it'll be fun to work with them the next few weeks.
Elder Strange is from Provo. He's one transfer behind me, so he'll be out 10 months at the end of this transfer in March. He's been in Trondheim for 2 months now.
I went on a trip to Ålesund this weekend to do a baptismal interview. Ålesund is a 1 hour flight away, and they're in our district. It was pretty cool, Ålesund is a tiny city, reminds me a lot of Tønsberg. We contacted pretty much all day and found a girl who seemed pretty positive. They're gonna meet with her again this week. I also did my first ever baptismal interview and it went pretty well. She passed, and I think I passed too haha.
Other than that, Elder Strange and I have just been visiting members and finding. We talked to one guy this week that we're gonna continue teaching, named Hungdai. When we taught him yesterday, he accepted a soft baptismal commitment, which means he said he would be baptized if he received an answer that the church is true. I don't put a whole lot of weight on that, since it's pretty logical to say yes to that question, but it's a positive step nonetheless. We'll meet with him again this week and see how that goes.
Other than that, it's been a pretty boring week actually. Well not boring, cause nothing is boring here, but there just wasn't anything overly spectacular that happened. I guess sometimes you have weeks like that, no matter what you're doing.
We saw the Northern lights last night! I managed to get a couple of pictures of it. I don't really have a bucket list, but if I had one, seeing the Northern lights would be on it and I would have just scratched it out! There's also a few pictures of the city of Trondheim in the daytime from the roof of our apartment building, including Nidaros cathedral which is the biggest cathedral in Norway.
Well I thought Bergen was cold. Trondheim is even more north of Bergen. North enough to see the Northern lights, I guess. The branch is about half the size of Bergen. There's some pretty cool members here though, it'll be fun to work with them the next few weeks.
Elder Strange is from Provo. He's one transfer behind me, so he'll be out 10 months at the end of this transfer in March. He's been in Trondheim for 2 months now.
I went on a trip to Ålesund this weekend to do a baptismal interview. Ålesund is a 1 hour flight away, and they're in our district. It was pretty cool, Ålesund is a tiny city, reminds me a lot of Tønsberg. We contacted pretty much all day and found a girl who seemed pretty positive. They're gonna meet with her again this week. I also did my first ever baptismal interview and it went pretty well. She passed, and I think I passed too haha.
Other than that, Elder Strange and I have just been visiting members and finding. We talked to one guy this week that we're gonna continue teaching, named Hungdai. When we taught him yesterday, he accepted a soft baptismal commitment, which means he said he would be baptized if he received an answer that the church is true. I don't put a whole lot of weight on that, since it's pretty logical to say yes to that question, but it's a positive step nonetheless. We'll meet with him again this week and see how that goes.
Other than that, it's been a pretty boring week actually. Well not boring, cause nothing is boring here, but there just wasn't anything overly spectacular that happened. I guess sometimes you have weeks like that, no matter what you're doing.
16 January 2012
Kjære familie og venner!
I hate moving. Like for realz. You gotta pack, then carry all your stuff around the airport, then all around Oslo, then back to the airport, then through Trondheim, and then when you get home, you gotta unpack everything! At least, you do if you're me, haha. I must admit, I have yet to finish the whole "unpacking" part, but I'm sure I'll get it done soon.
This week was nuts. Monday and Tuesday was spent packing and getting ready to leave Bergen. Elder Bird and I got out for a little bit of contacting and things on Tuesday, but pretty much we were stuck cleaning our apartment and stuff like that. Elder Bird shipped out of Bergen on Wednesday morning, and I played tour guide for the new missionaries all day Wednesday. Helped them check into the city and stuff. It was weird, for the first time, I was the oldest missionary in the city.
Wednesday night, I finally flew out of Bergen....and to Oslo. I thought I was moving to Trondheim? Yes, that's true. But we had a training meeting for mission leaders on Thursday in Oslo. So I spent the night in Oslo at Elder Perry's new apartment, that was fun. He moved from Bergen to Oslo as a district leader, so we weren't separated for too long =P But, alas, Thursday night came and I got on a flight from Oslo to Trondheim. Two days after transfers started, I was finally in my new area.
First impression: Trondheim is cold. Colder than Bergen at least. The market place is one giant ice skating rink. Not because they made it into an ice skating rink, but because Mother Nature did.
Second impression: I could actually end up liking this place. I had my doubts after spending 4 months in Paradise, (no joke, that's what the suburb of Bergen which I lived in, was called) but the members here are all amazing so far. We're a little low on the investigators right now, actually we've got none haha, so I'm looking forward to getting to know some of the members like we did in Bergen. It seems like the Trondheim branch is really supportive of the missionary work, which is good to see.
Third impression: Being a district leader is harder than it looks. I spend most of my nights on the phone with other members of the district. I never realized how much time Elder Perry actually spent on the phone over there in Bergen. But it's cool, cause I get to know the other missionaries and their investigators really well. So this will be a fun transfer.
Elder Strange is a cool dude. He's from Utah. Surprise =P We'll have a good time, but we've got our work cut out for us if we're gonna see some success this transfer. But I'm excited.
My family goes to all the cool places when I'm not around. I've wanted to go to DisneyWorld my whole life, but I never had the chance. (Disneyland Paris does NOT count. Mickey doesn't know how to speak French, everyone knows that!) Lo and behold, they went to DisneyWorld this week, without me. That's ok, I'm in Norway =)
Have a good week!
Elder Sessions
I hate moving. Like for realz. You gotta pack, then carry all your stuff around the airport, then all around Oslo, then back to the airport, then through Trondheim, and then when you get home, you gotta unpack everything! At least, you do if you're me, haha. I must admit, I have yet to finish the whole "unpacking" part, but I'm sure I'll get it done soon.
This week was nuts. Monday and Tuesday was spent packing and getting ready to leave Bergen. Elder Bird and I got out for a little bit of contacting and things on Tuesday, but pretty much we were stuck cleaning our apartment and stuff like that. Elder Bird shipped out of Bergen on Wednesday morning, and I played tour guide for the new missionaries all day Wednesday. Helped them check into the city and stuff. It was weird, for the first time, I was the oldest missionary in the city.
Wednesday night, I finally flew out of Bergen....and to Oslo. I thought I was moving to Trondheim? Yes, that's true. But we had a training meeting for mission leaders on Thursday in Oslo. So I spent the night in Oslo at Elder Perry's new apartment, that was fun. He moved from Bergen to Oslo as a district leader, so we weren't separated for too long =P But, alas, Thursday night came and I got on a flight from Oslo to Trondheim. Two days after transfers started, I was finally in my new area.
First impression: Trondheim is cold. Colder than Bergen at least. The market place is one giant ice skating rink. Not because they made it into an ice skating rink, but because Mother Nature did.
Second impression: I could actually end up liking this place. I had my doubts after spending 4 months in Paradise, (no joke, that's what the suburb of Bergen which I lived in, was called) but the members here are all amazing so far. We're a little low on the investigators right now, actually we've got none haha, so I'm looking forward to getting to know some of the members like we did in Bergen. It seems like the Trondheim branch is really supportive of the missionary work, which is good to see.
Third impression: Being a district leader is harder than it looks. I spend most of my nights on the phone with other members of the district. I never realized how much time Elder Perry actually spent on the phone over there in Bergen. But it's cool, cause I get to know the other missionaries and their investigators really well. So this will be a fun transfer.
Elder Strange is a cool dude. He's from Utah. Surprise =P We'll have a good time, but we've got our work cut out for us if we're gonna see some success this transfer. But I'm excited.
My family goes to all the cool places when I'm not around. I've wanted to go to DisneyWorld my whole life, but I never had the chance. (Disneyland Paris does NOT count. Mickey doesn't know how to speak French, everyone knows that!) Lo and behold, they went to DisneyWorld this week, without me. That's ok, I'm in Norway =)
Have a good week!
Elder Sessions
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