Jord's Adventures in Norway

Jord's Adventures in Norway

Monday, January 26, 2015

And at last I see the LIGHT!!!!

FINALLY!! For the first time in months the sun was out this week!! It was even out for more than an hour!!! It was the best thing ever!! Sadly the sunshine only lasted for a couple days and it is now back to the vanlig rain and overcast, but the sunshine was great while it lasted!!!
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.
Click to teach Gmail this conversation I
This week was a huge confidence booster for me!! The Lord really is mindful of us!!

Onsdag: (Wednesday)
Søster Heywood and I got a media referral!!! That means that someone went online and asked for us to visit him!!! We were so excited!! Media referrals are really rare!! So we called him and went to his house.  He wasn’t available but we talked to his wife and left a Book of Mormon!!! 

On the way home Søster Heywood and I told each other we had to talk to someone on the bus and we couldn't get off until we did.  So I sat by an old man and began to work my magic!! I was nervous because bus contacting scares me, but I did it!! I showed him the Book of Mormon and gave him our number.  He wasn't that interested, but he still talked to me and took my number!! Of course this was all in Norwegian!! Another reason I am not a fan of bus contacting is because if I don't understand them I don't have my companion right next to me, to help see if we can figure out what they are saying!! However this time, I understood basically everything that he said!!! I was so proud of myself!! After we got off the bus Søster Heywood and I went contacting around the pond and we split up so we could talk to more people!! (Just to clarify.. When I say that we split up - we just split up on the side of the sidewalk.  We always have to be within sight or sound of each other.)

We were stopping everyone in sight!! I ended up getting two people's numbers!! You could say that today was a successful and amazing day!!! Really helped me gain a better and positive attitude and more confidence about contacting and talking to people!!

Torsdag: (Thursday)
We ate dinner with familien Olsen og their little kids are the cutest!! Their little boy Nathan has a crush on me and it is so funny!! He always has me read Norwegian little kid books to him and at dinner he held my hand!! hahaha so funny!! 
I was asked to teach the Young Women how to play volleyball!! That was so fun!! The youth group here is very little, but I admire how strong they are in the church!! They are awesome!!! 

Fredag: (Friday)
The AP's came to Stavanger and we had a workshop with them all day!! It was the best ever!! Elder Childs and Halverson are so inspired and great missionaries and examples! We are going to start changing up the way we kontakt and stop people on the street!! I cannot wait to start changing things up!! We practiced kontakting the new way and bus kontakting! Talking to people on the bus honestly I am not a fan of because if they reject you right away you still have to sit by them!! However I was asked to go in front of everyone and practice it in Norwegian with the mission president watching..... yeah I was freaking out hahah, but it helped out a lot!! I really like the new style and approach they want us to start using when we stop people!! I feel like it will be more effective and help out a lot!! Instead of stopping people and saying we are missionaries right away, we wait and say we are missionaries as it comes up in the conversation. Usually though people see our tags and know we are missionaries without us having to say anything and they can tell by the way we are dressed. Now we are trying to stop people by using what they are wearing, or just saying we have a question, or anything we can think of!! It's already made a huge difference!! Usually when people hear we are missionaries right off the get go walk away...It is hard sometimes to remember not to start off by saying we are missionaries because it has been engraved in my brain to do that for the past 4 months! 

Lørdag: (Saturday)
We met with Loui today!!! He is doing great!!! Things are starting to begin to get more positive with him!! He even wants us to meet his girlfriend who he is living with!! That is awesome news!! I am so excited!! He is reading the Book of Mormon and wants to get baptized, but wants to do it with Maria.... So we need to start working on her!!!

After our workshop with the AP's Søster Heywood and I are way more pumped!! They also taught us that if someone on the street smiles at you, you better stop them!! It is pretty uncommon for someone to smile or smile back at you here.... So tonight Søster Heywood and I were walking home and we decided to take a different route home than usual. We saw this guy walking towards us so we smiled at him and not only did he smile back, but he said hi!!! I can't explain how unusual and crazy that is!!! No one ever says hi!!! We both immediately turned towards each other and were like we gotta talk to him!!! He went into a building and so we waited for him to come out hahaha. He came out and we talked to him and he is interested in meeting with us!!! Miracles I tell you!!!

Søndag: (Sunday)
Casper brought another friend to church for oss to meet!!! I am so proud of him!! He is just awesome!! His friend is deaf, but can hear a little so that helps!! I signed and interpreted sacrament for Casper and his friend!! Sometimes I get really nervous about translating for Casper especially for church. I talk and sign with him and interpret for him for everything, but church just makes me nervous!! However the Lord never fails to answer my prayers and helps me be able to translate for Casper!! He even texted me and told me how thankful he was for me helping him!! Made my night!! I am so glad that even though it is difficult sometimes to translate for Casper because I am still learning Norwegian, it has been the biggest blessing to me!! I love translating for him and helping him, I look forward to and it is so worth it!! If I could I would love to stay in Stavanger my whole mission just for Casper!! I know without a doubt we were friends before this life and I was sent here for him!! He has helped me grow and strengthen as a person and my testimony more than he will ever know!

**Miracle story!! When Søster Heywood and I were trying to find our referrals house, we knocked on the wrong door and met a guy named Thomas. He was very hyggelig (nice), but we didn't talk to him about the church or anything.  Thomas and the referral do not live close to where Søster Heywood and I live.  Today while grocery shopping Thomas was at our store!! That was no coincidence!! He could have gone to the one by his house!! There is a grocery store right by his house.  Why would he travel all that way to come to the little one right by our house?? We believe it was God's way of saying you didn't talk to him the first time, so here is another chance!! You bet we talked to him!! He even approached us!! He remembered us!! We were amazed!! The Lord works in mysterious ways!! We got his number and will be in touch with him soon!!!

Jordan's Tidbits:
- Never take sunshine for granted!!
- When you go to bed at night, ask yourself if you did all you could that day and if you did your best

- Every day is a new day!! Make the next better than the day before!! 

-After living here for 3 months you have to give up your license.  I will most likely get a Norwegian Drivers License.  I just have to take the test!
- Perks of bus contacting.... I have been complimented multiple times at how good my Norwegian is for only being here for almost 4 months!!! Definite confidence booster!! Norwegians are really impressed!!!

-Even big kids like to play in the park!



-Some have asked what I do on my P-Day.  Today we went to the Oil Museum.  Stavanger is a big “oil city” which is why so many American Families live here




- I love the members here!! They are like my family!!

- I live in the most beautiful place ever!!!

 
Invitation for the week:
- Talk to and smile to one new person every day!!!
- Continue to read the Book of Mormon!!

I love ya'll!!!! 

Jeg er så takknemlig for muligheten jer har til å væere misjonær!!!! jeg elsker norge og misjonær arbeid!!!!

MVH,
Søster Peterson

Monday, January 19, 2015

Mr. Duncan what can you tell me about Jesus!?

So this week was so awesome!!! 
So many things happened; I don't know where to start!!! 
Important mainly because of the people in the conversation.
Click to teach Gmail this conversation is no
Tuesday:
Casper's deaf friend Ronny that I mentioned last week..... Søster Heywood and I taught him and by the end of the lesson we had a BAPTISMAL DATE!!!!! It was our first lesson with him and it was amazing!!! The spirit was so strong and I had the strongest impression to ask him to be baptized and he said yes!!! We still have to teach him the other lessons and things like that, but he wants to be baptized!!! We set a date for February 15th!  Søster Heywood and I were so excited!!! Casper is so helpful and has such a strong testimony of the gospel!! I am so proud of him!!

Wednesday and Thursday:
Trip to Bergen!!!  Bergen is a bigger city than Stavanger and so pretty!  I love both!!! I am definitely a city girl!!  So we had a two zone mission conference in Bergen!  This included the missionaries from the North Zone and the West Zone.  There were about 40 missionaries there.  (Half the mission)  We flew to Bergen and had our P Day on Wednesday.  I got to meet and make friends with so many awesome missionaries and explore the city of Bergen!! It was a blast!!!  I saw some very interesting things!


We went on a train up to the top of a mountain that overlooks the whole city! 
It was beautiful! 
 Hanging out with other missionaries is so fun!! I also got to see people that were with me from the MTC!! That was a fun little reunion! Dang I just love Norway and my fellow missionaries!!

On Thursday we got to listen and learn from a general authority (a leader in our church). Elder Kopiske and his wife spoke to us.  He is an area 70 from Germany.  Elder Kopiske was amazing!! He helped me so much!! He had us all write down any questions we had and promised us by the end of the day they would be answered in some way.  Well I had written down 5 and you bet they were all answered!! It was so crazy!!! We kept them all private so he wouldn't know who wrote them and it was so cool to see the way my questions were answered!!! A couple things he talked about that touched me the most was to find “the one” person every day that needs us!  I also learned that faith is a principle of action and power, without action faith will never work!!  Hearing from him really motivated me to become an even better and more dedicated missionary!! It was such a cool eye opening experience!! 
Let me just tell you, those two days were the absolute best!!  It went by so fast, but I loved every minute of it!




Thursday night: 
So Thursday night is the reason for my head title of this week’s email.... So Søster Heywood and I, Eldste Duncan, Nilsson, Gingrich, and Gustavson were on the bus from the airport to go back to Stavanger.  Let's just say that was a very interesting bus ride!! Some girls got on and they were totally drunk!! They were coming from a party and were sooo out of it!! One of them is sitting by me and she looked so sick!! One of the girls looks across at Søster Heywood and Eldste Duncan and is trying to sound out their names on their nametags and I was just watching and laughing to myself. Then she yells in perfect English,  “Mr. Duncan what can you tell me about Jesus!?” Eldste Duncan and Søster Heywood began to talk to her and while they were talking to her, I was watching the other girls especially the one that was not looking so good. I just knew she was going to throw up.  Well she told her friends she wasn't feeling good and they were like don't throw up!! And she just looked so sick!! Then she threw up!! Like twice!! All over the bus and me!! The bus is still going and she stands up and walks straight into the doors and I was just dying!! I looked at Eldste Gustavson because he doesn't do throw up and he had his jacket over his head hahaha, Eldste Nilsson went running for the front of the bus, and Søster Heywood looked as white as a ghost!! None of those three handle throw up hahaha. Sadly, my shoes and suitcase got throw up all over them.  I almost stood on the seat when she started to throw up because I knew it was going to go all over the bus!! The smell was horrendous!!! I feel bad because the bus driver has to keep driving with that in the bus all night!!!

Sunday:  So Casper is the best..... He texted the Bishop and asked to give a talk on Sunday.... Umm excuse me?! Who asks to give a talk in church?? Not me!! Yeah and he wanted me to translate for him!!! I about died!! So Casper and I gave his talk together!! He signed and I translated and spoke in NORWEGIAN to the congregation!! Casper's talk was about his faith and testimony in Christ and how it has helped him in his life and how he is grateful to be a member in the church.  Casper is awesome!! His talk was so great!! I was so nervous, but not being up there completely alone helped! 
There is a man that the elders are teaching in Bergen who is deaf. They don't know sign, so we skype and have Casper and I help him and teach him!! Casper is seriously the best ever!! He is so awesome!! I think he is a better missionary than me!! 

Jordan's Tidbits:
- I live in the most beautiful place ever!!!! I am so lucky!!!
- Beware of drunk people on the bus.... Always sit away from the “spray zone”
- Missions are the best thing ever!!
- I am so grateful I get to serve and make friends with so many wonderful people!!!!
- In the course of two days I flew 4 times.....
 
- Norway is the best ever!!!
- Don't drink people!! 
- The gift of hands is a real thing!!! My signing is getting better!
-I love the people in Stavanger!  Love the Bjergas family!
- Translating is tiring!! I did it for like 5 hours straight on Sunday!!
- The buses here... You have to wave down a bus or it doesn't stop... Norwegians do not talk on buses or like to sit by people, no joke the bus rides are silent
- Bergen is so beautiful!! I love the city life!!!
-Love my new CTR ring!

“You are braver than you believe and smarter and stronger than you know!”

Have a great week!! Love ya'll!!!
xoxo
Søster Peterson

Monday, January 12, 2015

Wow!! What a week!!

Well, today I  had barely any time to email because we are having P Day in Bergen this week so they gave us a time limit on our emailing... total bummer!! So I will hopefully be able to get caught back up and email everyone next week!!!  We get to go to Bergen for a missionary conference.  I will be there for two days!  It isn’t far from Stavanger, I think it is a 45 minute flight.  I am excited because a General Authority is coming!!  Elder Kopischke is coming!

So this week I got my new companion Søster Heywood!!!! We were in the MTC together so we already knew each other!  She is so great and such a wonderful missionary!! She is a very hard worker and super flink in Norsk!! (Really good at Norwegian) I am very excited to learn and serve with her!!! We get along really well! I was very nervous considering we have both had the same amount of experience so that can make it kinda difficult with speaking and communicating with people, but we are doing pretty great!!! 
In Stavanger right now things are pretty slow, so we are spending a lot of time outside trying to find new investigators and people to teach. We got three people's numbers the other day so that was pretty exciting!! We are hoping to meet with them sometime this week!!

Now that Gunther and Frampton are gone it is up to me and Elder Duncan and Nilsson to translate for Casper!! I translated Sacrament Meeting for him on Sunday! I was so scared and nervous!! I was praying so hard for help and for me to be able to help Casper get what he needed from the speakers.  Sometimes I still have a hard time understanding what is being said since it is in Norsk. Miracle happened!!! During the meeting Casper totally started to cry!! And I cried as well!! The Spirit was so strong and it was such an amazing thing to experience!!
The talks were about families and the importance that they are and that we need to make them a priority.  I also signed the hymn, I Am a Child of God to him!  AWESOME!!

Casper is the best person ever!! He is already such a great missionary!! We skype in with the Elders in Bergen because they are teaching a deaf guy, but don't know sign, so we skype with Casper and Casper basically teaches him!! It is the coolest thing ever!! Casper is amazing!! He has such a strong testimony!! He is the best!!!! Such a great example to me!!

The members in the ward are amazing!! The dinner calendar this month is the fullest I have ever seen it!! The members are being more active and involved with us and helping us, it is great!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! On Saturday the wind/weather was the worst it had been for years in Norwegian history!! It literally was like a hurricane outside!! Trees were falling down, it was insane!! The wind was crazy!!! I couldn't walk and Søster Heywood and I had to wait outside for a bus for an hour and it was scary!! I literally thought the bus stop that we were standing under was going to collapse on us!! That night it started hailing as well while we were sleeping and I thought it was going to break the window!!!

Something special this week was that I got to translate a blessing in sign from English to Norwegian twice!! It was crazy!!! The saying “With God all things are possible” is real!! I could not be able to do any of this without the Lord's help!!

Casper wants Søster Heywood and I to start teaching him American Sign Language and English! Funny thing... Søster Heywood knows some American sign language as well!! So crazy!! 
Casper has a deaf friend who he brought to us and the elders because he wants us to teach and help him!!! We have met with him once! His name is Ronny! I will for sure keep ya'll updated on his situation!  Exciting!

**Sorry my email this week is so unorganized!!!

Jordan's Tidbits:
- Missionaries are set apart to be weird and awkward!!! So be nice to us! I have to tell myself that every once in a while.  I say this because, let’s face it – sometimes we are awkward and we need to embrace it!! For example when you get on the bus and sit down – you might see someone on the bus that you feel like you should sit by, so you obviously get up and go sit by them... very pinlig!

- If you see missionaries outside say hi!! It will make their day!!!

- This picture reminded me of the “feed the birds” lady from Mary Poppins!  The is in Sentrum in Stavanger
 
- Met a guy on the street who *collects Mormons* he goes around and when he sees missionaries gets their pictures and posts it on facebook!! hahaha so funny!!

- It really frustrates me when people are: close minded, stubborn, read anti-Mormon things, and believe everything they read on the internet is true! 

- Preach My Gospel is not just for missionaries!! It is for everyone!! I encourage families to start to read it all together!! It is so awesome!!!

- Here at church they don't say *Brother Peterson or Sister Glenn* like they do in America, they just go by their first name. Kinda weird!

- I almost yelled in Norwegian at these people who were outside our window from 2- 4 in the morning yelling and screaming!! I mean come on people!! Some of us actually have to wake up early!!

- While contacting on the street the other day Søster Heywood and I stopped an old man and he grabbed me by the shoulders said some things than as he walked away he grabbed and held my hand!!! If only you could have seen Søster Heywood's and my face!! Priceless I'm sure!! 

***We are doing another English Fast this week as a mission!!! Wish me luck!!! Our mission is very young so President wants us to become stronger in the language so we will be having an “English fast week” once every transfer which is 6 weeks!
Have a great week dere!!!
xoxo
Søster Peterson

Monday, January 5, 2015

GODT NYTT ÅR!!! 2015 IS ALREADY STARTING OUT WITH A BANG!!!!

Hei Hei!!!

Cheers to a New Year and my blackout year!! That means that for the whole year of 2015 I will be on my mission!! So it is my blackout year!!!
This week I have so much to say and I feel like I am not going to be able to say it all!! So here it goes!!!

Dec 31st (Wed): New Year’s Eve!!!
New Year's Eve day was kind of like a P-Day.  Søster Frampton and I packed for her to go home the next day!! We also took a nap to prepare for staying up late.  We were allowed to stay up till the New Year tonight!! We ate dinner at the Olsen's house and Søster Frampton and I hung out there for half of the night!  After the Olsen's all the missionaries went to the senior couple's house and partied till the New Year!! It was so fun!!! The senior couple (Brother and Sister Whitaker) are my favorite!! They are so awesome!!! We all went outside when it was almost midnight and to my doing all counted down from 10 and banged pots and pans!! It was so fun!!


Okay so Norway is crazy when it comes to celebrating New Year’s Eve!! There were fireworks going off everywhere!! Right next door and like huge fireworks!!! It literally sounded like the whole city was exploding!! Something I will never forget!!! It was the coolest thing ever!!! I am so grateful I got to spend it with the missionaries and in Norway!! Different than what I was used to, but very cool!! Søster Frampton and I got home around 1:30 am and still had to wake up at 6:30 like usual which was a bummer, but oh well!!

**shout out to my girl Hermana Kenzie Randall who went into the MTC today!!! You are going to rock it!!

January 1st (Thurs):
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Wow! I cannot believe it is 2015!! So crazy!!! Today I dropped Søster Frampton off at the airport.... She is going home!!! I was so sad, but so happy for her!!! I am going to miss her so much!! Until the new transfer moves, which is January 7th I will be with the Sandnes sisters! Today we had an awesome time at the Svannes Family house! They are so awesome and we had yummy pancakes!! They are awesome at being missionaries to their non-member friends! Not even gonna lie - I cried that night because I missed Søster Frampton! 

January 2nd (Fri):
Today when I woke up I wasn't even tired!! Which is a miracle considering every morning when the alarm goes off, I do not want to get out of bed!! I am hoping this is a sign that the New Year is going to be great and I won't struggle anymore in the morning haha.  Today something amazing happened!!! Søster Nielsen, Gates, and I were contacting in Stavanger in the city and on our way home we decided to split up.  Søster Nielsen who has been in Norway for 6 months went by herself and Søster Gates who has been in Norway for a month went with me!  Yeah I was a little nervous you could say.... We stopped this lady and to make a long story short we got her number and she said she would be interested in meeting with us!! I was caught way off guard and totally did not expect her response!! This rarely ever happens!! She doesn't live in Stavanger so we gave her number and information to the Kristansand missionaries and they called her and got an appointment with her!!! I was so happy and just in awe!! Søster Gates and I did that!! AND.. It was all in Norwegian!!! I am coming along!!! So happy!!!

 January 3rd (Sat):
HAPPY 4 MONTHS TO ME!!!! I have been on my mission for four months!!! Today was probably the best day ever!!!
So today we had sport like usual and guess who walks into the church!!! Marita!! She is a deaf convert who is less active in the church!! My mouth dropped to the ground!! I was so happy!!! Also the Elders had two other deaf girls who they are beginning to teach come!!! It was the best!! Later that night we traveled to Sandnes - we were sleeping in Sandnes tonight (I feel like a nomad because we are back and forth between Stavanger and Sandnes) and we had planned to be in the rest of the night. We still had studies and weekly planning to finish.  We had just started making dinner when I got a text from Marita.  Marita never texted me!! I had texted her the previous day to see if we could stop by and like always she said no.... So this was a shock to me!! She had asked me if I was free and I told her I was in Sandnes, etc... well, after a while of going back and forth she asked if her and one of the deaf girls from this morning could meet with us!? I told her we were in Sandnes not Stavanger, could we another day? She said we are getting on the bus now to come to Sandnes!!! (just to remind you – Sandnes is a 45 minute bus ride from Stavanger) I was like umm what!! I asked her if everything was okay?? She said yes, they just wanted to talk about Jesus and the church! I at that point started freaking out!! Søster Frampton was the best at signing and she was gone!! The Sandnes sister’s barely just starting learning and I know more than they do, but because I am still learning Norwegian it is difficult.  So I called Eldste Gunther who was at the same skill level as Søster Frampton to come and help us talk with them.  Well Gunther was across the fjord teaching a new convert family!!! I about died when I heard that!!! So it was us all on our own!!! Then I thought I will text Casper!!! I texted Casper and asked him if he was available and he was!! I told him we were in Sandnes and he said I am on my way!!! I started jumping for joy!!! I was so happy!! So the other sisters and I dropped what we were doing, put our shoes on and ran to the sentrum of Sandnes to meet Marita, Iza, and Casper!! Did I mention it was a snow storm outside?? We met Casper and I was so grateful for him!! It was so nice of him to come on such short notice and to Sandnes to help us!! I thanked him and he said it was no problem!! He said you helped me and I want to help you!! I about died!! He is just the best!!! Casper has an apartment in Sandnes so he asked if we would want to go there and teach the girls there!! Great idea!!! So we did!! Let me tell you the gift of tongues and hands is real!!! I have never prayed so hard or so much in a short amount of time!! I was saying prayers as we were running and in the car in my head!! I really needed Heavenly Father's help and you bet I had the faith he could help me!! I don't know how, but I was able to understand everything Casper was saying and I would translate to the other sisters!! I was able to sign and communicate everything I needed to say!! Let me just tell you Casper is a rock star!! He is seriously the best missionary ever!!! Even though people don't have official tags like I do, you can still be a missionary!! He helped the girls with all their questions, bore hard solid testimony of what he knew to be true, and involved me and the other sisters!! Seriously it was probably the best experience I have ever had!!! I was so happy and amazed and just feeling every emotion!! Casper literally is the best ever!! He is so strong in the church already!!! Best day ever!!! This was a miracle!!
(BTW this whole conversation was either in Norwegian or sign language!!)

January 4th (Sun):
MOVES CALL!!! We got moves call today!! Which means we find out who is serving where and with whom!! Drum roll please.... I am staying in Stavanger and my new companion is.... SØSTER HEYWOOD!!!! We were in the MTC together!!

Today was probably the best fast Sunday and testimony meeting in church I have ever experienced or had in my whole life!! No joke.  As usual I bore my testimony today with Edel and we got another girl to come with us!! Those girls are so awesome!! Edel is amazing and such a great example to me!! So today the spirit was so strong in church!! It was just amazing!! A lady in the ward who I love!!! Johanna Bjerga got up at the very end and said she had two points to share real fast. The last one was to the missionaries.... She had everyone stand up in the congregation who had been converted by the missionaries and more than half of the congregation stood up!! I was in shock and awe!! Then she had them keep standing and asked everyone who had parents or grandparents that were converted stand up and basically 99% of the congregation was standing!! I looked around and was speechless!! Johanna went on talking and basically was like never give up missionaries and lose hope because this is what you can do and what others before you have done!! It was so amazing!! I totally started crying!! It was seriously the best thing ever!! Then after church Eldste Duncan and Nilsson, Søster Nielsen, and a guy in the ward Jørgen came up to me and said they were amazed at my Norwegian and how good I sounded and how far I have come, etc... I was in shock!! I was like are you serious?? I totally thought I sounded bad, etc... They were like no you did amazing!!! I again started crying!! That was something that I needed to hear!! I have been struggling with the language and those comments were exactly what I needed!! We got invited to go to the Sandne Family's house for dinner and it was so good!!! We had a great time there!! That family is so awesome and only speaks Norwegian to us to help us!! It was the best!! Usually I wouldn't like it, but after the comments today I gained so much more confidence and I understand so much more!! We met with Casper tonight and after yesterday I am not worried at all about communicating or signing with him! It is seriously a miracle at how I can talk and understand almost all of what he is saying! Our lesson with him went so good!! AND he had a surprise for me!! Søster Frampton and he had been texting and she had sent him a video for him to show me!! It was the best surprise ever!!! I was freaking out!!!
Eldste Gunther is leaving and Søster Gates, so now I will have to translate for Casper at church and everywhere else!!! Time to step up to the plate!! Challenge accepted!!!

To say the least this week has been amazing!!!! I am so excited for the New Year!! Everything that happened this week was exactly what I needed!!!

I honestly had bittersweet feelings towards my blackout year, but after these past couple of days and the experiences I have had, I wouldn't want to be or doing anything else!! Heavenly Father knew I needed to have these experiences to boost me and get me pumped and help me become a better missionary and it was exactly what I needed!! I am so grateful!! Heavenly Father knew I needed to be a missionary to learn, grow, and help others and I am so glad that I chose to serve a mission!!  This is exactly what I need to be doing!! AH!! I am so excited!!!!

Jordan's Tidbits:
- Nothing is impossible!!
- Never give up!!
- Have faith and trust in the Lord
- Expect miracles!!!
- When the going gets tough, keep going!! You will be surprised by what you can do when put in situations that push you!
- I feel like a kid in kindergarten when they are finally understanding how to read!!
- I think the MTC should teach Norwegian Sign Language

Thank you again for everyone who has sent me mail, letters, and packages!! Even an email is the best!!! I may not be able to respond right away, but I will!!

Quote:
I love this quote and have it hanging on my wall!! It is such a good quote to live by!!

“As we arise each morning let us determine to respond with more love and kindness to whatever might come our way!”

**clearly this week I had a lot to write about.... so if I didn't get to email you, I will next week!!!''''

xox
Søster Peterson

Sunday, January 4, 2015

I NEVER WANT TO EAT AGAIN!!

(This was the letter sent from last week - December 29th)

I can’t start my email this week without saying….THANK YOU, THANK YOU so much for everyone who sent me Christmas letters, emails, and packages!! That meant the world to me!! You are all so sweet!!! I can’t express enough how much it means to me!!!  So thank you so very much!



This week has been the best ever!!! I will break it down day by day with a quick summary!!

Wednesday 24th:
We went to the Norwegian Cathedral in the city with all the missionaries in my area.  There are 8 of us and that was way cool!! Really the only time Norwegians go to church.... It reminded me of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with how everything was decorated and the priest and choir were dressed. Very different, but very neat! We celebrated JuleAften at the Gulbrandsen's!!! We had the traditional Norwegian Christmas food, watched them open presents, watched a Disney movie, and ate desserts, and just hung out and relaxed!!
It was so fun to watch them open their presents and see their faces and how grateful they were! A Christmas miracle happened!!! As we were leaving it started to snow!!! So we got a White Christmas!!! After we got taken home, Søster Frampton, Eldste Gunther, and Gingrich and I played in the snow and on the ice!! It was so fun!! No one was out in the city and it was snowing on Christmas Eve in Norway!! Chances like those only happen once in a lifetime!! It was so fun!!
 
Thursday 25th:
JUL!!!!! The other sisters in my area spent the night because they live kind of far away so we celebrated Christmas together!! My apartment is known as the “Hobbit Hole” because of how little it is! Having four people was so crazy!!!  We woke up and opened presents!!


Then we made Norwegian waffles!! Which by the way are the best in the world!!!
Then we took a nap and kind of relaxed. We got ready to go and for the first time in 4 months I was stressing about what I was going to wear and actually taking time to get fully ready!! I was going to see my family today so I had to look good!!! All the missionaries went to the Glen's for dinner! They are an American family so we had American food!! Hallelujah!! They are amazing cooks!!! It was so good!!
From the Glen's, Søster Frampton and I left to go to the Bjerga's house to skype our families!!! Best Christmas present ever!! I felt like I was on cloud nine!!! It was so great to see them and talk to them!! Feels like I never even left!!
 
Friday 26th:
Boxing Day!!! The Senior Missionary couple planned Boxing Day for us!! All the missionaries got together and we had brunch and dinner and played minute to win it games!! It was so fun!! Eldste Whitaker (the senior couple man) is retired from the military so he has access to the base here in Norway! So for Christmas they gave us a couple of our favorite American foods!! I wanted to cry!! I got my favorite cereal, banana chips, and granola bars!! 
After that we had a dinner appointment with the Redford’s and I literally wanted to die!! We were so full!! It was a miracle how we managed to eat all of their food which was a Swedish Christmas meal!!  I never want to eat again!!

Saturday 27th:
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Today we took a road trip with Eldste Gunther and Gingrich to visit members and a family that live about 2 hours away! On the way I slipped and fell on ice... classic Søster Peterson!  We also stopped and took pictures on a beach!! So pretty!!


We ate dinner with Su and Daniel and she makes the best Burma food!! They are so cute and quirky it kills me! I love road trips with the missionaries!!

Sunday 28th:
It was Søster Frampton's last Sunday today!!! Wow!! I cannot believe she is going home!!! So crazy!! I don't know what I am going to do without that girl!!!
 
Today was also the one year anniversary of my best friends Chris Alder and Darin Thomas' death.  I cannot believe it has been a year!! Seems like just yesterday we were at school hanging out and messing around!! They taught me so much!  They looked out for me!  I know that they are my guardian angels and I have felt them many times since I have been on my mission.  I am so grateful and blessed to be able to have them by my side and because of my beliefs and my church, to know that I will see them again and that death is not end.  I love and miss them so much!! They blessed and impacted my life as well as many others!
 
Jordan's Tidbits:
- If you have the missionaries over to eat, please refrain from making brownies and ice cream!! (okay - actually we love it!)

- I will for sure be taking the Norwegian Christmas traditions back to the United States and to my family when I come home!

 
- I have realized that I like American Christmas food better than Norwegian Christmas food

- Ice and I are bittersweet friends

- I have been having dreams in Norwegian Sign Language!!

- I am so sad that Søster Frampton is going home!!! I don't want her to leave!! She is the best example and role model to me!! I am so grateful I had the opportunity to have her as my trainer (mom) and companion!!

- Enjoy the little things and don't take things for granted!
 
- Enjoy the journey and don't just focus on the end point!!
 
INVITATION:
A brand new year is coming up around the corner!!! This means a fresh new start and new goals!! I invite all of you to make realistic goals and don't make so many that you have too many and they won't all get done.  I invite you to make goals to help you come closer to Christ and to help you become a better person!!

Also starting Jan 1st I will be starting the Book of Mormon again!! ALL are invited to start with me!!  If you need a chart to help keep track, you can print one off here:


Have a great week!!
Jeg er glad i dere!!

xoxo
Søster Peterson