Oslo Norway Mission, Called to Serve

Oslo Norway Mission, Called to Serve

Monday, November 16, 2015

Tønsberg, Norway - 9th Week in Norway

Hey everyone!

Thank you for all your love and support. I love you all so much and I'm grateful for your examples to me!

It was another great week in Tønsberg with many great experiences. 

Last Monday Night, we drove to Porsgrunn to stay the night with the Porsgrunn elders because on Tuesday morning we were doing a huge church tour and presentation for the high school. It was awesome and I'm grateful we were able to help with it. There were about 200 highschool students, and they were all about my age. 17 or 18. We split them up into 4 groups that rotated. I was in the big presentation room with Elder Gurr from Porsgrunn. Several members from the Skien ward helped out. The members led the presentations in each of the rooms and the missionaries were here to help teach and answer questions. In my room we explained our basic beliefs and the origin of our church. So we pretty much taught a first lesson, the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a really neat experience. My part in the presentation was Christ's earthly ministry, emphasizing that while he was on the earth, He established His church. In the presentation the member asked me how long I have been here in Norway and when I answered about 2 months the audience gasped and then applauded. Haha it was really encouraging. People are always impressed when they find out how short we have been learning Norwegian and it is always humbling. The only reason I can speak and understand Norwegian is because of Heavenly Father. As we do our part in prayerfully studying and learning He blesses us and helps us. I still have a lot more Norwegian to learn but I know it will come over time. At the end of this big event we had free book of Mormons and Pamphlets for everyone that attended. Maybe about 20 people took Book of Mormons and almost all the pamphlets were gone so i think that it was a huge success. 

After that we had district meeting. In my district, we have the Elders from Porsgrunn and the sisters from Skien. We have district meetings once a week and we usually switch the location every other week. Sometimes it is in Tønsberg and other times in Skien. I love my district! They are awesome! For lunch, we went to a Kebob shop that was super good. Kebob is comparable to a greek gyro. It is super popular in Norway. That evening we went to a member's house and practiced teaching them a lesson. Elder Mckell and I did most of the teaching to practice our Norwegian. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and it was such a great experience.

On Wednesday, I got my Norwegian driving permit. In the next couple months I will need to go to a driving school and take a driving test to get my Norwegian License. Norwegians are safe drivers. There are roundabouts eveywhere and I'm starting to like them a lot. After that we went to a new couple that just moved into the branch. His name is ---, and he is from Brazil. He is a magician and is super talented. He showed us a video of him on Norwegians got talent, (a version of America's got talent.) His wife is not a member and she is about to have a baby. We are really excited to start working with them because they are a young couple that could really help the branch here in Tønsberg. We have planned a day to visit them this week. After that we called a man named ---. We found him while tracting several weeks ago. While we were planning Tuesday night for Wednesday, His name kept popping up in my thoughts so I told the other elders and we planned to call him the next day. We called him and we set up an appointment for later that evening. It was so awesome! God knew that --- would be able to meet Wednesday night so through the Holy Ghost we were inspired to call him. We went to his house and introduced him to the Book of Mormon and invited him to read. He said we could come by another day. 

On Thursday, we visited an older man, ---, who is a member. He currently lives in an assisted living complex. It was such a pleasant visit. He is a really nice man. After that we drove to Sandefjord to visit the --- family again but the mom wasn't home so we talked to the teenage boy for a little bit and then went to street contact in the city.

On Friday, Elder Orr left to Porsgrunn for splits so it was just Elder Mckell and I. We had a lesson with a man named ---. He is a former investigator. We taught him about the Restoration. He accepted our invitation to read Alma 32. Hopefully we can continue to meet with him. That evening we visited a member and Elder Mckell and I practiced our teaching again and taught the Lesson, The Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

On Saturday we were able to do a lot of service. It was awesome! --- called us up and asked us if we could help him move wood for winter. It was so great that --- felt comfortable to call us and ask for help. We spent a couple hours carrying a ton of wood into his storage for the winter. In Norway, a lot of people to wood to heat their homes. After ---, we visited ---. She is a member who has some health Challenges. We helped her clean and organize her kitcken. She is awesome. She has so much faith and never complains. She told us how she has had health challenges since she was a baby and believes that it is all part of God's plan for her. She is inspiring. She invited us over for a Salmon dinner in a week or two which I'm really excited for.

On Sunday we had church. Unfortunately, ---, --- and --- didn't come. --- has been sick so we weren't able to meet with her this week, just service for ---. After church we had planned to visit --- and them because they said they would come to church and that after we could visit them. We called them and said that --- still wasn't feeling well. We prayed about what we should do and decided to go tracting in Barkåker. While tracting we came across a house that is separated into to apartments. We knocked on both doors and both doors said to come back on Wednesday. It was a miracle. One lady said she had met the missionaries several years ago and she even told us there names. That means something. We are going back on wednesday. 

I know that God answers our prayers. He is our loving Heavenly Father and we can communicate with him through prayer. Prayer is two-way communication and so we must take the time to listen. That is something I'm going to focus on more. I encourage all of you to evaluate your prayers and ask yourself if you are just going through the motions? Prayer is a gift from Our Father in Heaven. It is a source of peace and strength. It invites the spirit into our lives. Prayer is also an important aspect of making decisions. Seek the Lord's guidance through prayer. Because when we do the Lord's will everything will work out for the best, guarenteed.

I love you all! Thanks for your prayers. I know the Church is true. Have a great week


Elder Witt



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