MTC Week 5

Wow, I can't believe my time here at the MTC is coming to a close. It went by so fast! I absolutely love the MTC. It was a time of much growth for me. All the devotionals, classroom lessons, choir practices, Sunday meetings, personal study time. I learned a lot, and I can't wait to learn more!! My favorite thing about the MTC is choir and the devotionals. You get to see so many missionaries and the spirit is always present and strong. 

Soooo, we got our flight plans last week! I'm so pumped to go to Norway but also nervous haha. It will be a new but good adventure. We leave the MTC at 8:30 A.m. on Sept 14. Our flight leaves SLC at 1:40 Pm. We fly to Dallas, then to London, then to Oslo. We should arrive in Oslo in the evening of sept 15. We are all excited!

We ended up not skyping this last week which made me sad. Because we moved classrooms, we were automatically taken off the system so they didn't have us scheduled. We should be skyping tomorrow though, so that will be good.

Having all the Norwegians together in one classroom has been so fun. I absolutely love all of them. WE are all so different but we get along well.  I'll send a picture and tell you more about them.

Norwegian is coming along better, but there is still much to learn. 

The devotionals this week were fabulous!

On Sunday, the speaker was Alan C. Ashton. He is the Provo temple president. He talked about opening your mouth and teaching by the spirit. The Lord pours out his spirit more abundantly before us if we act, and work diligently. His wife shared something that I really liked. She talked about the Savior. How when he was in the deepest struggle, in the Garden of Gethsemane, a scripture says: And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly." Our father in Heaven is one prayer away. He loves us

After Sunday Night devotional, we went to the video, "open your mouth" by Elder Holland. It was powerful. He talked briefly about Ephesians 6:11-16, the armor of God. He said the armor of God is not just for defense. The armor includes the "sword of the spirit". So when you go out each day, put on the defensive armor to protect you from the world, but also remember to have the spirit with you and be anxiously engaged in a good cause. Elder Holland applied it to opening your mouth as missionaries. We should be talking to everyone we can and following promptings of the spirit and serving everyone.

On Tuesday, the speaker was Bishop Causse, from the presiding bishopric. His talk was awesome!! His wife shared some touching remarks. She explained how when her husband was called to be a general authority, it was hard for her. She didn't want to leave her family in France and move to Utah. She asked us the question, Why are you leaving everything for 2 years? She had to ask herself the same question when her Husband was called to leave France. She said, ultimately, It's because of My Savior, Jesus Christ. I love my Savior more than anything and I would give up everything to feel my Savior's love. She said, "Never decide to quit without turning your heart to your Savior. Never give up without giving Heavenly Father a chance to answer your fervent prayer." If there is anything I've learned while being here at the MTC it is this. With My heavenly Father, and Savior Jesus Christ, I am nothing and I have nothing. But with them I can do all things, because THEY can do all things. Relying on the Lord is including him in everything you do, not just when you need help. Bishop Causse shared many awesome experiences and stories. I enjoy hearing him speak in Conference.

So when I learn Norwegian on my own I like listening to conference talks with Norwegian and English side by side. This week I listened to President Monson's talk "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee".  I encourage you all to listen to it.

Here is a snippet I like from it. 

Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve,

 and when we may be tested to our limits.However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.

I love you all! Thanks for you prayers and support. Jeg er takknemlig for dere. Jeg vet at Gud elsker oss. Gjennom Jesu Kristi forsoning, kan vi føle styrke. Jeg elsker misjonærarbeid. Tusen Takk.

Love, Eldste Witt. 

Norwegian District