FALL HAS ARRIVED!!

FALL IS HERE!!! I love fall!!! I sure do miss American fall though! I love Trondheim!! This place describes Norway perfectly! This city is amazing!

Norway just has my heart!! I seriously love this place!! I don't even want to think about leaving this place.....

We had ZLT this week!! Which meant all of the missionaries in our zone got to come to Trondheim!! Which also meant I got to see my peeps and that there were 11 sisters staying in our apartment. Man was that a fun night!!! I got to see my last two companions and Sister House and Sister Boud!! It was the best thing ever!!! 

ZLT was all about member missionary work and I learned a lot!! It is so important to work and use members!! Without members we cannot do this. We need the members and we need to all work together. When we work with the members our work will improve and we will have better success!

So Thursday was so fun!!! We had the sisters here and we all took on Trondheim and went on contacting splits! Man oh man was it miracles on miracles!!! Seriously Heavenly Father does hear and answer prayers. We really needed some new investigators and I said a prayer on the bridge while we looked at the view and he totally came through!!

When we do our part, he will do his. We went and ate at McDonalds and had a ton of laughs and a grand ol time! While Sister Wadley and I were together two miracles happened right after another!! First we stopped a man and got his number and an appointment and then right after we stopped a girl and got her number and appointment!! Funny story.... I thought I had saved her number in my phone and after we started walking away it was gone! So I took off sprinting down the street yelling her name (Isabella) to get her number again!

 

I have the strongest testimony that when you put in your effort, do all you can, and have faith that the Lord will help you, HE WILL HELP YOU!!!!!

So during our big contact session with all the other sisters. Sister Sorensen met a girl named Irene and got an appointment with her and she is so prepared and positive!! I am so excited to meet with her again! She is from the Philippines and is really interested in the Book of Mormon.

Mido, we taught him this week and he came to church!! He is really starting to understand the purpose of God and Jesus Christ and of why we need the Book of Mormon. He really loved the hymns at church.

We visited the cutest old lady and man in the ward who live in a nursing home. We call them Bestamor and Bestafar. Bestafar had us give our spiritual thought and prayer twice because he couldn't remember that we did it already. Bestamor Ingrid is just the cutest thing ever!!!

 Sister Sorensen and Allen and I got stuck on bus for an hour and a half.... typical missionary move.... We had some great bonding time though!!!  These sisters are literally the most genuine people I have ever met. We are going to have lifelong friendships. I am so grateful to the Lord for putting them into my life. I don't know what I would do without them!

I am so grateful for my Mission President. Many people say that missionaries are called to their areas and assigned to their Mission President. I do not doubt that. I am so grateful and blessed to be with President and Sister Hill. They are amazing and remarkable people. I look up to them so much.

So we found a stash of approved church movies we are allowed to watch and went crazy!! So we have been having dinner and a movie the past couple of nights. Let me tell you, these church movies are HILARIOUS!!! We are dying laughing while we watch these! (Especially the ones about missionaries.) They are like spot on with the jokes! We usually take dinner at 8 and then we are in for the night because planning starts at 9 so for dinner and a movie we change into comfy clothes and then for planning just put skirts on over our sweat pants hahaha!

One of our investigators Maybritt literally lives up this forever long straight up hill!! We taught her the plan of salvation with this visual aid and the spirit was so strong and we all taught together and went off of one another so well!!

After visiting a less active Birgit who by the way is hilarious!! She was totally serenading us and singing and dancing to us! She was watching skal vi danse (Shall We Dance) when we came so afterwards, Sister Sorensen taught me how to waltz while we were walking home. Sister Allen was getting a great laugh from that!

(As we were walking out of Birgit's house I totally called her the wrong name and yelled bye Maybritt!! She is kinda old and so funny and was like IM BIRGIT!! hahaha uff da!! I was so embarrassed!! (And then at church I called her Maybritt again!!)

The cute Texan member (she is from Tyler, Texas.  Her husband is Norwegian and not a member) invited us over to her house and OH MY GOSH I about died!! American fall at its finest!! She also has the two cutest little boys and had made us homemade American cookies!! I just love Kristil!! She is so cute!! Made me miss home a lot though!

So I had to renew my visa so I can stay in Norway and it expires in October, but the earliest I could get an appointment was November...... hopefully that doesn't cause a problem...

There is a man here who is a “free spirit” and doesn't care what people think about him that dances around on rollerblades. I really liked the song he was dancing to, so I walked up to him and asked him what it was called…. hahaha He was a way happy dude!

Did another street stand this week!! Those are so fun!! You meet some interesting people that is for sure.

We had two investigators in church this week!!! That was way exciting and a huge answer to prayers!!! Mido and Lars are two of our investigators and Lars came with his wife who is a member and their cute baby!!

The *what are the odds game* has become quite the favor with us three while we are contacting and even at home!! That game is hilarious and definitely makes us step out of our comfort zone!

Sister Sorensen and I may have accidentally made Sister Allen throw up.... ooops!!! She lost to what are the odds and had to do the cinnamon challenge and she threw up!! Sister Sorensen and I were in the kitchen after we had videoed her and it had been awhile and we opened the bathroom door and Sister Allen was head first in the toilet throwing up.....

I FINISHED THE NEW TESTAMENT!!!! I started it from the beginning to end!!!

Due to the time difference with conference this weekend we (the missionaries) are going to stay up til midnight Sunday night to watch conference!!! PJ party!!! I am so excited!! It is so crazy to think that this time last year I was in the MTC watching conference!! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by! I am so so excited for conference this week and for the guidance and council from the prophet and his apostles!

Jordan's Tidbits:

- I can't believe this week it hits Oktober!!! NO WAY!!!!

-Some people have asked me what my apartment looks like.  So here are some pictures.  We live right across from the church!  That is awesome!

- So one of my companions Sister Allen says *hot poop* Sister Sorensen and I died when she said that!! She was so confused as to why we thought that phrase was so weird! Apparently she says it whenever something is cool or awesome or along those lines. We told her that it was not a normal phrase and she said oh... maybe it's just a family thing hahahaha

- Since there are three of us and it is fall, we were trying to find a former (investigator) and the neighborhood he lived in looked exactly like a Halloween neighborhood!! It was so cool!! So of course we had to do the Hocus Pocus walk down the street hahah man I love these girls!!!

- We called ourselves the Power Puff Girls and of course my blondness kicked in and on our board in our apartment I wrote *Powdered Puff Jenter* (jenter means girls) I didn't even notice that I had written it wrong until they started dying laughing.....

- I have converted Sister Sorensen to saying ya'll!!!!!

- Sister Sorensen judged Sister Allen and I for having certain things we need to sleep with every night hahaha

- Sister Allen taught me a phrase I had never heard before *YOMO* It means; YOU ONLY MISSION ONCE

- My companions are the best and so awesome and hilarious and I love them!

 

Random pics from the week:

 The cutest bicycle shop!

 Gotta love it!!

 11 girls sharing a bathroom!!  Yikes!!

 Love this town!!!

 Outside of the Art Museum

 Mailbox... hint hint... write me :)

 Forever Friends!!

Trondheim at night

Åndelig Tanker:

**Turn your heart to the Lord: Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to your Heavenly Father what you are feeling. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ's name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice. Ask that your eyes may be opened, that you may see his light!**

*Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace.

*Lift up your hearts in praise to God, let your rejoicings never cease. Though tribulations rage abroad, Christ says *In me ye shall have peace!*

*In Doctrine and Covenants section 82 verse 10, We are taught that if we do things the Lord's way, He is bound to bless us and we have claim to His promises; and if not His way, we have no promise!

INVITATION:

So General Conference is this weekend!! I would invite ALL of you reading this; members or non-members to check it out!!(: You can go to lds.org and watch it online or ask a Mormon and you can watch it at their house!! We are going to hear from the prophet and apostles!!! This is something you don't want to miss out on trust me!!!

ha en fin uke!!!

xoxo

Søster Jordan Peterson

check out my mission presidents wife’s blog: thehillsinnorway.com

VELKOMMEN TIL TRØNDELAG (Welcome to Trondheim)

Okay so saying bye to Tromsø was way sad!!! Those people and that city will forever have a piece of my heart.....

Mandag:

- packed, said goodbye to people and watched Brother Bear(:

 So glad I got to say goodbye to Dingaan

Love these two!!

Tirsdag:

- My last day in Tromsø was the greatest and nicest weather I have had!!! It was sunshine and short sleeve shirts and I wasn't even chilly at all, which was a first. We took a boat to visit our investigator Cedric who lives in on an island called Finnsnes and to contact there and get a change of scenery. It was so fun!!!

Than that night I said goodbye to a couple more people and finished packing which was a nightmare...... Seriously flying for transfers is so stressful!!! So our teach with Cedric was AWESOME!!! We taught him about the word of wisdom and law of chastity..... and lots of other things since when we usually teach him it is over skype or when he gets the chance to come into town. He is doing so awesome and I am so proud of him!! I am going to miss teaching him!! He is helping manage this restaurant and gave us free food for dinner so that was way nice of him!! With our extra time, we banked and didn't have much success, but it was nice to have a change of scenery to contact and talk to different people.

Onsdag:

- Transfer day is always stressful, but fun! After arriving in Trondheim, I met one of my companions Sister Allen who was on the same plane as me. I wish all of you could have seen us with our luggage trying to get to the train station....... man was I sweating!! It took us so many trips and to go back and forth to get all of our luggage, it was a sight for sore eyes that is for sure hahaha.

When we finally got to the train station we had to wait an hour and then it was like an hour train ride to the city where Sister Sorensen our other companion and two of the elders were waiting for us to help us walk our bags to the apartment. Of course one of my wheels on my suitcase was broken so I was like dragging my suitcase throughout the city hahaha. It was a workout let me tell ya! I felt really bad for the elder who had to drag my other suitcases...... The Trondheim apartment is right across the street from the church so that is way nice and the apartment is so cute!!! I will send pics next week. We ate dinner with the elders and got kebabs and ate by the water! Seeing greenies fresh from the MTC is always so funny! We had an appointment with a guy in his early 20's named Andreas and he was way nice, but so quiet so it was basically us three missionaries talking the whole time.

Torsdag:

- We had weekly planning which is always long.................... but you gotta get a weekly planning snack so we did that and I had musli and biola! Man I love that stuff!! And we had Institute!! It is so weird to have church activities to go to!! It is way nice!! We got served dinner and then had a lesson. Sister Rappleye and Elder Rappleye (the senior couple) are way awesome!! She is an amazing cook too!! I love them already!!

Fredag:

- Taught a man and I won't give much details other than he literally drained all of us and we were so exhausted after teaching him because he wouldn't listen and wanted to kinda bible bash

- We had a dinner appointment with a member and her less active son who is way chill! We are trying to get him involved in the YSA activities so hopefully that will help! She made us the most delicious meal I have had and it was Philippine food! It was seriously to die for!! We had this salad, and purple rice, meatballs, meat and sauce, chicken, and spring rolls. Dang was it good!!! After we shared a spiritual thought, we checked the time and had 5 minutes to get to the bus which was not close..... So we had to literally SPRINT to make the bus or we would have been stranded for 45 minutes..... It was pouring rain and my stomach was not happy with me.... BUT we made it to the bus stop just as the bus rounded the corner!!! Heavenly Father loves us. We looked like wet dogs, actually, out of breath wet dogs when we got on the bus hahaha. Than that night we went out to contact and see if a less active was home and it was pouring!!!! We were so wet!!! I learned to bring an umbrella with me every time I leave the house and a scarf.....

Lørdag:

-THEY HAVE SPORT HERE!!!! But it got canceled, but we have sport here!! So that is way exciting! They play soccer! We visited Hell (a city here) and met with an investigator and of course I fell asleep on the car ride back to the city (the Rappleyes drove us)

- We visited an investigator who doesn't speak much English or Norwegian so that is kinda hard, but we have a member from Stavanger who skypes in and translates Burmese for us so that is way nice!!

****Man do I LOVE Trondheim!! The city is so big! Sister Allen and I both came from small towns with branches, so we feel like country girls moving to New York City!! Man have I missed the city life!! It is so weird, but awesome to have a real church building, more than 20 members, activities to go to the church, lots of missionaries, and not having to contact all day everyday

Jordan's Tidbits:

- There are the cutest babies here and I CAN’T HOLD THEM!!! It is driving me nuts!!!

- I love love love Trios!! These girls are so awesome!

- The streets here at nighttime are literally dead.... so that makes contacting a little difficult, but we like to play what are the odds, so that makes contacting fun and interesting!!

- I love love love the city!! I have missed it!

-There is a really beautiful cathedral here.

**insert from Mom:  here is some information on the Cathedral. 

Nidaros Cathedral

The cathedral in Trondheim is the national sanctuary of Norway, built over the grave of St. Olav. Work began in 1070, but the oldest parts still in existence date from the middle of the 12th century. In 1869 extensive restorations started, and more than a century later, Nidaros Cathedral is yet to be completed.

-A family from Stavanger who I LOVE surprised called me yesterday and oh it made my day!!! I love the Gulbrandsen family!!!!

- Started to get sick this week...... being sick as a missionary is probably the worst.... but oh well sånn er livet!!

1 John 5:14: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us!

- Humility does not mean weakness!! Humility is the recognition of our dependence upon a higher power, a constant need for the Lord's support in his work!

**There is a great talk by Jeffrey R. Holland called, “Lord, I Believe”.  He starts it by saying:  “Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.”

You can go to this link to read the rest of the talk.  It is wonderful!!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng

ha en fin uke!!!

xoxo

Søster Peterson

Tromsø Trio has come to an end..... BUT the Trondheim Trio has begun!!

Transfers are here and..... I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED TO TRONDHEIM!!!!!!!

I am way excited to go to Trondheim, because I have always wanted to serve there, but also very sad to be leaving Tromsø! I have been here for 6 months! I love this branch and the people here so much!! I will be leaving a part of my heart with them that is for sure!  I loved my time here in Tromsø and serving with these wonderful missionaries!

 

MY NEW ADDRESS:

Søster Jordan Peterson

Eirik Jarls Gate 4

7030 Trondheim

Norway

We have an uneven amount of sisters in the mission which means there has to be a trio and guess what!!! The trio is moving to Trondheim!! I will be serving with Sister Sorensen (who was in the MTC with me) and Sister Allen who came out 2 transfers after me! I am so excited to be serving with them!! We have 6 Elders serving in Trondheim with us and that is a lot and two of them will be greenies. We got 14 new Elders this transfer and 14 last transfer!!! That is insane! Most of the Elders in the mission are training right now.... You could say our mission is really small - we have around 80 or 90 missionaries total. However I love having a small mission! You get really close!

SEPTEMBER 10 MARK THE DAY!!! THE NORTHERN LIGHTS CAME OUT AND THEY WERE SPECTACULAR!!!!!! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! We were on our balcony jumping up and down and screaming hahaha! The Northern Lights were dancing!!! We felt like we were in Brother Bear! I am so glad I got to see them before I leave! They usually don't come out till October, so we were lucky!

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in Tromsø for 4 transfers. I have bittersweet feelings about leaving. This place changed me and will always hold a special place in my heart. The people, investigators, and Gren (name of branch) have blown  me away and have influenced me in a way they will never know. Saying my goodbyes to everyone here and this beautiful city has been tough, but it isn't a goodbye, just a see you later! These people are my family and I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I never got to serve here.


 Jackson

 Janne

 Lill

 Petter

Zardasht



The Elders asked me to cut their hair this week because I jokingly told them I could cut hair..... well…. Next thing I know I am holding clippers and they realized I literally had no idea what I was doing.... BUT it turned out great!! I could start a business or something!

CEDRIC BELIEVES IN GOD!!!!!!! This is truly amazing!! A month ago he didn't care and didn't believe and now we asked him and he said *God and I are buds*!!!! I WANTED TO CRY!! His whole countenance has changed and it is amazing to see how far he has come from when I first stopped him on the street.

Contacting across the bridges has become a weekly thing. It sure is good exercise let me tell you!

We were banking on the other island and this lady let us in!!! We were so surprised and didn't know what to do.... That has never happened to me or us before! She was so nice, not positive, but very nice!

I really don't like when people cancel........ Seriously if you are aren't going to come then TELL US!!! This is just a life tip I have learned… to never be late and to hold to my plans I make with people.

This transfer really helped my whole mindset about contacting. I went from not being excited about it and basically dreading it, to loving it and letting it just be a part of my day. I owe that to Sister Nielsen. She is such a hard worker and go getter that she really helped me become the missionary I want to become and helped me learn to work harder than I ever have before! I am so thankful for her and Sister Wadley! I loved loved loved being in a trio with them and am so grateful for their examples to me. They have impacted me in ways they will never know!

We had a YSA night which is basically the whole Gren (branch) and it was so much fun! Kelly even came!! We had a spiritual lesson by Elder Crabtree and then game night!! It was so much fun to hang out with the members.

We went to visit Arnt and Bianca and when we sat down they were so excited!! Kelly their daughter started to mark and read in her scriptures and she hadn't touched them since we had given her, her own pair after she got baptized!! Literally I wanted to cry!! They told us they know we have had an influence on her and helping her by meeting with her and it literally made me feel so good! I am so grateful I had the chance to get to know this wonderful family and work with Kelly especially!

Arnt and Bianca

Jordan's Tidbits:

- If you want to check out my Mission President’s blog it is: www.thehillsinnorway.com (I’m on there a couple times)

- One of our less actives who has become active since I got here is John.  He used to rap and he showed us one of his songs and he rapped with Jeremiah!! (He is a famous rapper)

- Kelly told me I was her best friend and I almost cried.

- A guy I was teaching in Bergen that got baptized after I left blessed the sacrament a couple weeks ago and is preparing to go to the temple!!!

- The gospel is so true!!!!

- Decide today to choose to not be or get offended in any situation, even if the person is offending you on purpose.... It helps you be a happier person and helps you think and become more positive especially in sticky situations.

Åndelig Tanker:

So I had a really good spiritual thought this week and then I left my journal at home.... so to be continued until next week!

- Elder and Sister Crabtree gave us life advice and I loved it!!! Some things they said that really stuck out to me were;  *you need to become the person you want to marry. If you want your future husband to have a certain quality, etc... you should have that quality as well. You can't expect him to have something if you aren't that way as well.* Another thing that I loved was how they said to *work with your children and lead by example. Do the chores with them and work with them* The Crabtrees are going home in a week and I cannot believe it!! I was with them for 6 months and they are family to me! I am so grateful for them and all they have done for me and taught me!

- A goal not written Down is just a dream

- “Let obedience come naturally; don't let it be a burden.” I have really come to love this quote especially since I am a missionary. Being a missionary we have a lot of rules and are always told to be exactly obedient, etc..... to be honest in the beginning I hated when people said that, but now I understand why. We are obedient because we want to be and because we want to show our Mission President and the Lord that we love and respect them. I have found that when we learn to want to be obedient it comes more naturally and you have a greater desire to be obedient

GLAD I DERE!!!

ha en fin uke!!!

xoxoxox

Søster Peterson

 

**Though from Jordan’s Mom:

I just have to add a few words here.  Søster Peterson is 6 months away from coming home!  In one year I have seen her grow in so many ways.  She is learning to love the Lord more than she ever believed possible, she has such a strong testimony and she is learning so much about herself!  I had heard missions do this to these young adults, but until I saw it with my own eyes, it was hard to believe.  I could not be more proud of Søster Peterson.  Going on a mission was not an easy decision.  Being on a mission is hard.  BUT – she has faith, is obedient, and loves her Father in Heaven!!  She tells me over and over again, serving a mission was the best decision she has ever made.  I miss Søster Peterson more than words can say, but I also wouldn’t want her to be anywhere else!  It felt like my heart broke into a million pieces on the day we said goodbye one year ago!  I know it was just me knowing I would miss her more than I could imagine.  Now, one year later, I still miss her more than words can say, but my heart has grown with more love than I thought possible with her being gone.  I have grown to love the beautiful country of Norway and the Norwegian people from afar!  I cannot wait to visit there and see with my own eyes what Søster Peterson writes about in her letters.  I look forward to the end of 6 months when we see her again and we will say:  WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!