Jord's Adventures in Norway: 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!!!

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