Jord's Adventures in Norway

Jord's Adventures in Norway

Monday, March 16, 2015

YES, JESUS DID COME TO THE AMERICA’S!

So this week all sorts of interesting things happened! I apologize that this email is so unorganized!

Først av fremst!! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary!! It is the best thing ever!! I am so grateful that I have this chance to learn, grow, help, and serve others!! Søster House and I were talking the other day about how happy we are and how happy we are with the people we have become since being on our missions!! Missions are the best!!! 
Here is a little – “not so spiritual” info!  This week, Søster House and I were heading to the only member family in the branch, the Reynolds and they are American! We got on the bus and both looked at each other and were like what the heck is that smell!! It smells awful!! We sat down and then looked down after a couple minutes and turns out we had been stepping in dog poop on the bus!!! Come on people!!! It was so disgusting and so gross!! Like who lets their dog poop on a bus and leaves it for servants of the Lord to step in!!! Æsj..... (ugh)

The Reynold Family is the best!! Søster House and I love them!! They have 4 kids and they are so cute!! I love this family!! They are so strong in the church and make the best of the little church we have here in Tromsø!! They are definitely needed here!! One of the little boys is adorable.  When Søster House and I were giving our spiritual thought after Søster House would say something he would say *I knew that!* hahaha it was the funniest thing!

A lady named Janne who has been an investigator for years is the nicest, sweetest lady ever!!! (she is an investigator due to her living situation).  She never misses church and is more active than some of the members!! We meet with her every Friday and she always has juice and cookies for us.  She saved Søster House and I's bacon this week!! So Søster House and I needed to get our hair trimmed, but didn't want to go get our hair cut, cause it is like 50 dollars here to do that!! So insane I know!! Things in Norway are so expensive you have no idea!! So she told us that her daughter could cut our hair for free!!
Literally made Søster House and mine's day!! We were literally about to just cut each other's hair! That would have been a story, considering Søster House can't cut paper straight... haha

Søster House and I decided to make cookies for less active members and some of our investigators and the members..... Having Søster House and I bake together is a treat let me tell you!! If only you could have seen us trying to figure out what Norwegian ingredients to use and trying to convert to grams and use their system here!! So hard!!
However; we were told that they were the best cookies these people have ever eaten!! It also helps that Norwegians don't usually make cookies and their sweets aren't sweet like American ones, and if they do have cookies here they are rock hard and ours were soft!(:

For the first time in about 3 months I was able to run outside!! It was a glorious day for Søster House and I!! The ice is finally melting on the streets and sidewalks and the sun was actually out today!!! Since it is beginning to get light here, when we went out running around 6:30 this morning it looked like it was 11 am!! So crazy!! I hope the weather stays like this!! I am so out of shape it is embarrassing!! Søster House and I are way excited to be able to run because not really being able to do a whole lot of working out in the apartment has been driving us crazy!!
So this week I experienced a real missionary moment.....

Søster House and I were teaching a man in the library and trying to explain to him about the Book of Mormon and how we read it together with the Bible and how we believe that they both support each other. This man was making me very frustrated because he doesn't believe that Christ after he was resurrected came to the American continents!! We totally backed it up with Bible and Book of Mormon scriptures, but because it doesn't say Word for Word specifically in the Bible, he said he doesn't believe it! I mean come on!! Christ loves ALL of His children, so it makes sense that he would visit the people in the American continents as well!! While we were trying to explain this to the man who doesn't speak very good English or Norwegian..... A lady walked up and asked *Is that a Book of Mormon?* Søster House and I happily replied yes!! And Vet du Hva!! The lady turned to the man and said that we are misleading him, part of a Mormon outrage, told him he can come to her Church instead, and basically telling him we are the devil, and all sorts of untrue and not nice things!! I was appalled!! This is probably normal for things like this to happen to missionaries in America, but not here in Norway!! Turns out she is American, so makes sense haha.  She than began to ask Søster House and I questions and was like so you believe this..... right? And we would say no and then she would continue to say, but you believe this and we would continue to say no. Everything she was telling us was not true and then she told us she needed to go home and re read her anti Mormon books!! Like what the heck!! We invited her to sit down and explained many of the false things she knew and set her straight!! We asked her if we could give her a Book of Mormon and she said yes! We have a meeting with her this week!! Søster House and I are way excited to make sure she knows the truth and answer all her questions! So wish us Luck!! She will be a tough cookie that is for sure!

The Book of Mormon is so true!! I just love it!!

Jordan's Tidbits:

- Never take the sun for granted!!

- This is a mask we have on our wall “teancum”.  Søster house hid it in my bed and I laid down right by it and turned to it and screamed and fell off the bed!
- People please have the decency to clean up after your dogs!!! Especially on public transportation!!

- Norwegians don't use C's in their Words usually use K's

- It is so funny because whenever just the tiniest bit of sun comes out, all Norwegians are wearing sunglasses!

- Nothing is more frustrating than people standing us up for appointments!! Just call us people and say you can't come or don't want to meet!!

- Søster House's mom sent us some little kid sticky hands and man are those things the best!! Søster House and I have too much fun with those!
- Søster House and I have gotten pretty good at running to catch buses......

**Mom’s addition to the post: 
This is a picture of the bridge in Tromsø.  Here is some information about it J
The Tromsø Bridge (Norwegian: Tromsøbrua) is a cantilever road bridge in the city of Tromsø, Norway. It crosses the Tromsøysundet strait between Tromsdalen on the mainland and the island of Tromsøya. The 1,036-metre (3,399 ft) long bridge has 58 spans, of which the longest is 80 metres (260 ft) with a maximum clearance to the sea of 38 metres (125 ft).

At the time of its opening, it was the longest bridge in Northern Europe, with a length of 1,036 metres (3,399 ft).  At a cost of NOK 14.5 million, the bridge replaced an inefficient ferry connection between the two sides of the strait, and it helped boost the growth and development of Tromsø.  Due to severe congestion issues, the mainland road connection was later reinforced by the construction of the Tromsøysund Tunnel in the 1990s. Unlike the tunnel, located almost 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) further north, the Tromsø Bridge leads directly to the city centre of Tromsø.

The Tromsø Bridge was the first cantilever bridge to be built in Norway. Since then, many bridges of this type have been built. The bridge is one of the most important landmarks of Tromsø, and forms part of a motif composed of the Arctic Cathedral, the Tromsdalstinden mountain, and the Tromsø Bridge.

***Pray like it's in the Lord's hands, work like it's in your own!!***
***Pray to love your enemies as God loves them***
***Put aside your fears and allow God to work through you!***

Ha en fin uke!! Glad i dere!!!
xoxo
Søster Peterson

check out www.mormon.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

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