December 19 - Romerike

Merry Christmas!! 

Thank you all for your love and support. 

This last week, several exciting things happened in our area! So here is an update on --, she is a new investigator that I told you all about last week. We met with her Monday night and it was a miracle. She is the one that contacted us after we had talked to a former on the phone while going through the area book. It turns out there is more to the story :) So we were going through the area book and called a former investigator. He wasn't interested and so we said goodbye and hung up but then a minute later he called us back and ended up giving the phone to this woman, Irene. She asked about who we are wanted to meet! and so we got an appointment. Then on Monday night we brought a member with us and visited her. It turned out that this same exact day we called her friend she was having thoughts about coming back to church (christianity) and to go with that she told us about how her great grandfather's house flooded one time and the only thing that survived was his bible. She now has that bible and showed it to us. She then expressed to us how she wants to change her life and how she believes that God's hand was in us meeting her. It was amazing and a tender mercy. We taught her the restoration and she was determined to read the Book of Mormon. We were even texting her later in the week and she told us how she had gotten color pencils and that she was ready to begin. :)

On Tuesday, we met with a recent convert in the area. We also taught a former investigator we contacted, finally met with Sofie, and then ended the day knocking on doors! It had been weeks since we met with --. She is 100% sure yet on what she wants to do. She has 2 churches she is deciding between. Our lesson focused on the savior and the importance of prayer, scripture study and coming to church as we seek answers. 

Another cool thing that happened this week was on Wednesday. Some students from the high-school in Bjørkelangen contacted us and wanted help on a presentation they were doing on mormons. They were there when we gave a presentation at their school and they thought mormonism sounded interesting so on Wednesday we went with a member, and answered their questions they had prepared for their presentation. 

On Thursday, we visited -- to try back some potentials, and then we came back to Lillestrøm for weekly planning. After planning we worked in Lillestrøm to try back another former but he had moved. But as we were walking there we talked with this awesome person! she was at first super skeptic about who we were but after clarifying things she left with a better view of us.

On Friday, we had district meeting and then worked around the church for a little bit. We got in contact with one former who said we could come after new years. and then we went with the sisters to visit some members who live farther away for dinner. 

oN Saturday, we had an open day and worked in Skedsmokorset, the area where the church is. We would go from former to former working in the different areas and finished the day talking to his awesome guy who was interested in meeting! 

On Sunday, we had wonderful church meetings. The members here in Romerike are stellar. One thing that stood out to me was an invitation from one of the talks in sacrament meeting to take time for peace and reflection. It is so important that we take time to pray, think, and ponder over the scriptures in silence. Even if it is just 5 minutes where you can go to your room and close the door. We need time like this to grow spiritually.

I love you all. I hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy new year. :)

Elder Witt

December 12 - Romerike

Hey Everyone! 

So just some quick exciting news. This morning, with the sisters we visited an older widow in the ward. We helped her carry some Christmas decorations from the storage to her apartment and as a treat she made Carmelitas!! She told us she makes them every Christmas and loves them. One time she was in the States and had them at someones house and then had to get the recipe. I never thought I would get carmelitas from people in Norway. The carmelita love is spreading around the world :)  

but, Thank you all for your love and support. I'm happy, healthy( besides the cold I got this last week), and enjoying it here in Romerike.  It is marvelous to be apart of this great work and to see God's blessings and miracles in the lives of his children. 

On Tuesday, we took a train to Fetsund. A small beautiful town in the country side. We went there to try visiting an inactive member and some potentials and also knocked some doors. Then we took the train back to Lillestrøm, grabbed some food and then drove to our appointment in the evening. It was with a less active. He is really positive towards the church and so we are excited to work with him. A really nice and smart guy. 

on Wednesday, because Elder carver and I both weren't feeling good we took some time to stay in and organize an old area book which turned out to be a big success. Then we went to Strømmen a nearby city to try some former investigators and knock some doors. After that it was the relief society Christmas dinner and we helped serve the food with some other men in the ward. :)

On Thursday, we had our Christmas zone conference!! it was so amazingly inspiring and fun and just a good time. For the first block we had a conference with president, sister hill and the assistants. President asked us to read the talk "what lack i yet" and come prepared to talk about that. His remarks focused on "what lack we yet" as a mission and how we can continually improve and be better. His commitments were to identify one or two things to be more obedient, to prioritize 1 to 2 hours for finding each day and to study in preach my gospel daily. Really good ideas and i think exactly what we needed. Sister hill talked about music and using it. hymns are so powerful and really are prayers from the heart. Hymns can invite the spirit into our lives.The other block of zone conference was a talent show. Elder Carver and I played jingle bells on the piano. It was a fun boogie duet. They also had several fun videos and slideshows of missionaries opening their calls and so on.  After that we had a lesson with the new convert here. 

On Friday, we visited a city called Flateby. There we tried a former investigator who let us in! We shared with him the Christmas message. He loves mormon tabernacle choir and turned it on while we were there. He is pretty positive so we are hoping things can go forward with him. Also on Friday, we met with --. We taught her the plan of salvation and it went well!! She committed to pray. We followed up the next day and she totally prayed! and she said she would pray every night this week! so we were excited about that. She also came to the relief society dinner which was huge.

On Saturday, we did weekly planning, ran some errands in the sentrum, and then visited a member for dinner. Overall good day.

On Sunday, it was moves call! kind of crazy the transfer is coming to an end. Because Christmas is so soon, this last transfer was only 5 weeks and the next one will be 7 weeks. so Elder Carver and I will continue being companions here in Romerike :)  Then we had a good day at church. After that we took a train to Kløfte to work in the area there. We felt like we should go there and it turned out to be a huge success. We found an old potential investigator list and found a woman who has a family and who was interested 2 or 3 years ago. There wasn't any follow up info so we decided to visit her. We knocked on her door and her husband answered. He let us in and get his wife. She was really happy to see us and we ended up chatting with her, sharing her the Christmas message and explaining to her our purpose and she wants us back to teach her the lessons! She has lots of young kids and wants to teach them about Jesus. So we testified how we were grateful to be raised in the church and to have the knowledge and testimonies we have today. Really cool. 

And to go with that here is another cool miracle story. After having gone through the area book. We called some of the records. One was this older Norwegian man. He answered and was very friendly but wasn't interested. Then after we hung up he called us back all of a sudden. And this time there was a women who was visiting him at the time we called. She asked us who were are and what we do and She was super interested in meeting and learning about the message and so she gave us her address and number and we will be meeting with her tonight! 

So this upcoming week we got several possibilities opening up for us. We are really excited. My thoughts this week are about the Book of Mormon. On Lds.org it had some news about Elder Christoffersen speaking at the library of congress on the book of mormon. It was really interesting so I listened to his speech. in the speech he lists several names or titles given to the book such as "another testament of Jesus Christ, A safety for the soul, the mormon bible, the most correct of any book, the word of god, the iron rod, and so on. I would just like to add my testimony that I know the Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of God. The more and more I read i come to understand how complex and beautiful the record really is. The prophets of the book of mormon are real people. They walked on the earth as we do. They poured their hearts into their writings knowing that it would be of great worth some they. It is a safety for the soul.

Have a great week. Love you all

Elder Witt :)

December 5 - Romerike

Hey everyone! Happy December. Tis the season to be jolly. Thanks for all your love and support. Here are some highlights of the week! 

First is that we were able to hold a presentation at a local highschool. A member here who's calling is the church's public relations coordinator is awesome and she has gotten us several gigs at different highschools. This time however the presentation was 45 minutes instead of an hour and a half which we did last time so we had to cut it down and do some planning. It consisted of a short slide show where we gave some basic facts about the church and then we gave them a short and clear version of the life of Jesus Christ to the apostacy to the restoration of the gospel. Then we asked them Why is this important and what does it mean to us. and then we continued to give them a short outline of the plan of salvation and answered their questions using the plan. Once again the questions were good and I think it was a good experience for everyone. And now we got ideas on how we can improve it for next time. :)

Another thing that happened this week is that I was able to go back to my starting area on splits. It is weird to think that it had been over a year since I had lived there. But it was good to be back and brought back many sweet memories. While there we tried with some potentials that Elder Nelson and I knocked into and one showed interested in meeting in the future so that was exciting. We also had dinner at bishops house and so it was fun to see and be with the family. 

Third is that this last sunday they had the annual Jul i Toner concert. It is a huge local christmas concert that members aroudn the oslo fjord create and organize. It is a great opportunity for members, families, neighbors to come and share the gospel with others through music. It was held at the Romerike church building so there were a lot of people here this week!

As for our investigators. We once again weren't able to meet with -- or --. -- canceled on us this week and -- was still under the weather. Then we had another investigator Hans randomly text us saying he would be in town and so he was planning on coming to Jul I toner but canceled last minute. It was a little disappointing but what can you do. For this upcoming week we have 2 new appointments with potentials that we are looking forward to so It is going to be a great week! 

My spiritual thought/encouragement this week is to keep an eternal perspective. Much of the grief, hardache, doubts, and burdens we have can be eased as we slow down and look at our life with a greater perspective. We are first spiritual beings having a mortal experience on earth. In that mortal experience is oppositition. I believe when we remember who we are, Children of a loving and all knowing father in heaven, and why we are here, To experience mortal life, progress and be tested, then we find greater happiness and purpose in life. Our Heavenly Father has a plan and knows what will bring us happiness and success in our life. As we obey his plan we will gain understanding and peace. With this greater understanding we can develop the faith and hope to overcome our trials. And all of this is made possible and meaningful because of our Savior. :)

Have a great week!!! Love ya!

Elder Witt

November 28 - Romerike

Hey everyone!

Thanks for your love and support. I'm grateful to be a missionary and I'm grateful to be here in beautiful Norway. I always look forward to the christmas season. I love the christmas cheer, the gifts, the snow, family, friends, and all the many festivities. I have also come to learn how to make all of the above more meaningful and that is when we include christ in christmas. We can share christ's light and love as we give of ourselves and worry about others and not ourselves as we go through the christmas season.  it is a time and good opportunity to know the savior by following his example. And this year the church has done another initiative called #lighttheworld It is on Mormon.org and is wonderful. I suggest all of you to go check it out and share it with others! 

We had a good week here in Romerike. On tuesday, we had district meeting in the morning and after that I went up with elder burgoyne to Hamar for splits. It was awesome. Hamar is beautiful and actually close the area where some of my ancesters come from. While up in Hamar, we tried contacting former investigators and actually got in contact with all 3 of them we tried. We had some extra time and went knocking on doors in the different areas. One house was an older woman who talked with us about family history for a while. she was really nice and friendly and help us with our norwegian. 

On Wednesday, I came back to romerike and we met with a member here to plan for another highschool presentation we are doing. It is going to be this thursday at the lillestrøm vidergående skole. I think it will be good. Later in the day we had a meeting with our ward mission leader and then tried a less active and knocked on doors in the area.  

On Thursday, it was thanksgiving! We had a lesson with a recent convert,  Then, we tried a former investigator and he let us in. It had been several years since missionaries had tried to make contact.  He has his own church and didn't want to change but we did give him a new book of mormon. He  had the old translation which is really really hard to understand because it uses really old norwegian. He said that was why he never got into reading the book of mormon because he never could understand it so hopefully this new one helps. Then we went to a member family's house for thanksgiving dinner. the dad is an american and so we had a real american thanksgiving. It was delicious. Good turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, vegetebles and even pumpkin pie to finish. After that we took a train to oslo to trade for splits with the AP's.

On friday, I was in Oslo with elder daly. It was an awesome day. To kick off the christmas initiative all the oslo missionaries put together a street stand for carl johans gate. The famous street through oslo downtown where thousands of people go everyday. We had book of mormons wrapped, an ipad to play the video and a christmas tree decoarated with lights. We were there for several hours and It was a success. Several new investigators came from it. 

on Saturday, we met with --. She was super nice and made us norwegian waffles and we ended up reading in the book of mormon with her. It turned out good. Praying and reading scriptures is a new concept to her so it is something we will have to work on but that is okay! After that we took a train back to lillestrøm and had some time so we went contacting in the city. Then we went with the sisters to a member family that lives far away for dinner. And afterwards we randomly tried another member to lives out there and she let us in. She is an older woman and was very very grateful that we came by. 

On sunday, I gave a talk in church. It was on spiritual gifts and went well. The ward is so kind here. After that we did some planning for the week :) Sadly, we weren't able to meet with sophie marie this week. She was super sick and didn't come to church either. -- had plans and wasn't able to make it to church. We are still working on finding new people.

It has been a lot of fun sharing the christmas message with people. It is a very easy message to share with people because the majority celebrate christmas. Our focus this week will be to invite people to church so I hope that goes well. Anyway, I know that the work we are apart of is our Savior's work. The church has been restored. It is a living church, led by revelation and a living prophet. God lives and he still speaks today. I know that is true. I love you all and wish you a good week! 

Elder Witt

November 21 - Romerike

Hey family. Happy thanksgiving! I'm grateful for all of you and love you all so much. Thanks for your continual support and  encouragement. 

So I don't have a ton of time this week. We are having a turkey bowl in Oslo with other missionaries in the zone and so we will be needing to a take a train here soon. (one awesomething about this area is that public transport is super cheap! We buy a monthly card and we have unlimited trains and busses around the oslo area so we get to take a lot of trains! )  

But it was a good week! Things are really picking up here.

We met with -- this week and she is doing pretty good. we taught word of wisdom and she has no problems with that. And we also talked about baptism and she wants to change the date and so we could be having a baptism on New Years eve! Unfortunately she didn't come to church. We had talked with her and she was planning on coming but she told us last minute she wasn't. But other than that she is a really good person and is progressing slowly but surely. 

On Wednesday, we had Mission leadership council. It was really fun to see Elder Osguthorpe again and the other missionaries. I love president and sister hill. They are amazing leaders. We talked about many different things, including our mission's culture, the mission's training plan, and also the new christmas initiative that starts this week. Many interesting ideas were brought up. We watched training from the new mission presidents training with Elder Andersen. 

One of the things president Hill is focusing on again is our call as missionaries to teach repentance and baptize. And with that finding. I've been thinking a lot about the importance of faith in the work we do. Whether that is church callings, service, daily life. Faith is so important. especially when finding in missionary work. We must trust that God is preparing his children and then have faith that as we work hard we will find those that are prepared and with that we should expect miracles as we trust the spirit. And this weekend we saw a TON of miracles. It was incredible. 

One in particular is a woman named --. I was with Elder MItchell on splits as we were in a town called Aurskog. Our focus was to find along the way. So talking with as many people as possible. And after we had tried back some formers and less actives in the area we were on our way to the bus stop and boom there is this woman. We talk with her and get an appointment for the next day. So the next day we meet with her and we brought a member with us on the teach and then she wants to come to church. So the member volunteered to drive her to church. It was perfect and we will be meeting with her again this week. 

I'm grateful for the savior and fr his love, example, and goodness. I'm grateful for his atonement. I know it is real.

Have a good thanksgiving. Love you!

Elder Witt

November 14 - Romerike

Hey everyone!

It was a successful first week here in Romerike! I'm already loving it here and looking forward to being here. 

So I took a plane from Kristiansand to  Oslo wednesday morning and then took a train from oslo to Lillestrøm. And when I got off the train we went straight to work. On Wednesday and thursday I was in a trio with Elders Gurr and Carver. They are just amazing people and it was a lot of fun. After dropping off my bags at home we drove straight to an investigators house. His name is -- and started investigating a month or two ago. He is an older Norwegian man who is struggling. He told us how he loves our visits and can feel the goodness and the spirit but when we leave he can't manage to keep his commitments. He has a good heart so we are going to keep working with him and see how we can help him with his commitments :) Then we went straight from his house to a recent Convert --. -- is amazing. Her story is incredible. After several coindences, miracles, she was led to the church and was baptized on the fourth of july this last summer. She went from an atheist preaching atheism to a member of the church. Her influence has seriously changed the heart of this ward and the members. 

Thursday morning we went over to a members house to prep for a highschool presentation we were going to give. That is why Elder Gurr stayed the extra day in romerike before he was transfered. In the highschools here in Norway for one of their class options is a world religions class. And so one of the members here got us signed up at this highschool. The way the presentation is layed out is actually really cool. It starts off with a few basic facts and statistics of the church and then there is a video. The video is off a member interviewing random people on the main street in Oslo. Very similar to the beginning of Meet the mormons. She asks these people what they have heard of mormons and other questions. And so many of the basic misconceptions and other beliefs come out such as the word of wisdom and law of chastity. Then the presentation goes into the WHY. Why do 15 million members do the things we do. It is because of "Lykke" which means happiness. So then we explain the plan of salvation, including the restoration very short. and then it is opened for questions. The presentation went great! Good honest questions were asked. The member with us is also a really good presenter which helped. And so after that we dropped elder Gurr at the airport. 

On Friday we had district meeting and then we had a lot of planning, shopping and cleaning we needed to do 

On Saturday, we visited a member for lunch. He lives in the middle of nowhere in the woods haha which was awesome. Later in the day we went to a town to try back a potential. We knocked on his door and he was just about to have a party with a bunch of family and friends for dinner but he invited us in anyway. He is from Eritrea in Africa and invited us to try some aritreisk food! It was really different food. You eat with your hands. It was like a spongy pancake that you eat with meat purrees with spicy sauces. They were super nice and we were able talk to quite a bit of people. We got his phone number and he said we can come back again. 

On Sunday, we had church and it was the primary program! The children did a great job and it was a special meeting. It was first time I've had official 3 hour church for over a year which was weird. The branches that I served in usually only went for 2 hours. And then in the evening we had a big open house at the church.  We worked with the Oslo missionaries in planning it. It's focus was on new converts and their conversion stories and we hoped to get all the investigators and members there we could. It turned out to be a success. One of our investigators sofie marie brought 2 friends who are both now interested. The oslo missioanreis also invited several members from oslo and investigators.

The work here in Romerike is way different than my other areas. Because the area is so large and we have a big ward we do a lot of visiting. Lillestrøm does not have a big down town city so street contacting isn't very effective and so what we are encouraged to do is plan formers, less actives and members, and then just visit people throughout the week and then find on the way. so find while you are walking, taking trains and busses and so on and then tracting in the areas you visit that day. We share a car with sisters so we switch with them often. 

I'm looking forward to being here. There comes a point in one's life where they must decide for themselves what they want in their lives starting with the basic question. Do they want to believe in God? That is what happen to me. Even though I grew up a member I still had to decide whether I wanted this in mylife and so I did what everyone must do. I searched. I started going to seminary to learn for myself, I started praying and reading the scriptures, I went to church searching. And sure enough I found the answers. I was surrounded by hundreds of people who had lived the miracle of the savior in their life. I had seen brothers and family go on missions and return changed. We can see the evidence of God's light in our daily lives and in the lives of those around us. I know it is true and real. God is real and I know that his light is real. 

Have a good week. love you all :)

Elder Witt

November 7 - Arendal

Hey everyone! 

Thank you for your love and support. It was transfer call this last week and I received the assignment to be a zone leader.  I'm moving to Romerike.  The city is Lillestrøm. It is very close to Oslo. I'll be companions with Elder Carver. I'm super nervous but also really excited! Romerike is one of Norway's biggest wards which will be a lot different than all the branches I've served in. Elder Carver is a really really good guy and It will be awesome to work with him. 

Because it is transfers I don't have very much time to email but here are some highlights of the week. 

On monday, our ward mission leader had a halloween party at their house. It was an open house and they invited some members, neighbors and friends to come. We were able to meet several new people. One in particular was this young couple from Great Britain. It rained and snowed a TON this weekend. And on Sunday this couple from Great britain had flooding in their house and a lot of shoveling to do so our ward mission leader's family invited us to come with them to help them.. A tractor ended up coming to move the snow and so they didn't need our help but we were able to go in and meet the whole family and leave a spiritual thought and a Book of Mormon for them. It was really awesome!

We were also able to meet with -- and -- this week and went over the plan of salvation with thme. This quote from Elder Oaks I believe summarizes -- and -- situation very well. 

"We need to remember “that people learn when they’re ready to learn, not when we’re ready to teach them.” What we are interested in, like the important additional doctrinal teachings in the restored Church, usually isn’t what others are interested in. Others typically want the results of the doctrine, not the doctrine. As they observe or experience the effects of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, they feel the Spirit and begin to be interested in the doctrine. They may also be interested when they are seeking more happiness,closeness to God, or a better understanding of the purpose of life" 

They both aren't religious but as we have visited them and done service for them they see how our faith makes us happy. They expressed in this last visit how they are envious of us. They envy the joy, the purpose, and the church community that we have. So as we try to share the gospel with those around us remember that it is not always the doctrine that sparks interest at first. The majority of people are interested in the fruits of the gospel. Strong families, increased purpose and satisfaction in life and increased happieness and hope. A great way to share the gospel with those around you is just to bare your testimony and explain the WHY. Why you are a member and why you do the things you do. 

We weren't able to meet with -- . She got a job this last week and has been busy. But after we taught Judy this week we knocked on her door and she was super upbeat and happy and we were able to give her the next pamphlet for the next lesson which will be good!

Also, this weeek the zone leaders from Stavanger came on splits. It was a lot of fun. They came Wednesday night and were with us all day thursday. We all did service in the morning for some members and then I went with Elder Steed to go try with -- and --. They were busy so we went banking and were able to talk to several  great people! 

My thought for the week is that Christ's Atonement is continuous. Jesus taught "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which isin heaven is perfect.” Perfection is the goal. We are here to learn and grow and we will continue to learn and grow after we die. Because of that Christ's antonement is continuous. and will be there to continually help us as we continually strive to be better. Christ's atoning sacrafice and love for us will continually lift us, heal us, change us, comfort us for as long as the process to perfection takes. I testify that God and Jesus Christ will NEVER give up on you so don't give up on yourself. Their love is a perfect love, a love that can change us. 

I love you all.

Elder Witt

October 31 - Arendal

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween! Hope you have a good week and get to eat lots of candy! Thanks for your love and support. 

Halloween has not always been a traditional holiday in Norway but over the years it has adopted it from the states. Every year more and more people celebrate halloween and it is not uncommon to see trick or treaters. Other good news is that the weather has been much better and the sun is finally out! We have been enjoying that. 

It was a slower week but a good one nonetheless. On Tuesday we were finally able to meet with --! She is so awesome. Several weeks ago she came to church. She told us that as she sat down in Relief society and sacrament meeting all of her stress, troubles and challenges just went away and she felt good the whole time. And she told us that she feels that as she meets with us to. definitely a tender mercy! We taught her the plan of Salvation. On Wednesday, -- needed some more help so we did some service for him. We watched the Hope of God's light. One of my favorite mormon messages. It teaches us several points. That God's light is real and can illuminate our lives but it takes an act of faith to immerse ourselves in His light. On Wednesday we also had dinner with -- and --, a less active couple were working with. On Thursday, we had district meeting. This week it was on guiding our investigators through the repentance process by giving commitments. As missionaries our call is to teach repentance and baptize converts. Repentance is change. The word repentance in Norwegian is Omvendelse which literally means to turn around. When we repent we make changes in our lives that turn us towards God. It is a blessing. So by giving commitments we invite people to make changes to help them repent. After district meeting we tried visiting a youth in the branch from the Phillipines. His family isn't active and he is the only young men in the branch so we're going to try to befriend him and see where it goes! He was super nice and let us right in. Then one of the greatest people I know invited us over to dinner. She is a member here and she lives the message of the gospel and is always a burst of energy and happiness and always there to lend a hand and serve. On Friday, we went early to the university to see if there would be people to talk to. In the past we usually go to the university in the afternoon and we noticed we started seeing the same people. Unfortunately I think the morning is a little to early because there wasn't anyone out and so instead we walked Grimstad to contact. Also on Friday, some members took us out to dinner which was super nice of them! The members are just so good! One beautiful thing about the gospel is that where ever you are in the world the church is the same. That night we took a bus to Kristiansand for splits! Saturday I was in Kristiansand on splits. We spent most of the time finding and actually were able to talk to a couple really nice people! Then we had dinner with some of the new convert members who are also the YSA in the ward and then we took a bus back to Arendal in the night to finish off splits. 

This upcoming Sunday is moves call so it will be interesting to see what will happen and who is moving. This week I read an article on LDS.org that really inspired me. It was titled "The Perfect Lie" The author shares several interesting and insights from her own life. The idea is that Satans lie is that "Me + More = Christlike". While Christ's truth is "Me + Christ = More" I think the key is that we put our confidence and trust in Christ. We are all imperfect and because of that we all can be better and we all have a lot of work to do. Christ takes broken things and people and makes them whole. We don't have to become something before we can be healed or before we can have Christ's help in our life. He will take us where we are now and transform us into something better. We just have to be willing to make sacrifices and put in work. I find it helpful to remember who we are and where we came from. We are glorious sons and daughters of almighty God. Him who knows all things. he knows what will make you happy and what will make your life meaningful. We can give ourselves to Christ by yielding to the enticings of the holy spirit and by being willing to sacrifice your will to his.   I'm so grateful to be here and to be having the experiences I'm having and learning that I'm learning. I know this work is true!!!

Have a good week. Love you all! 

Elder Witt 

October 24 - Arendal

Hey family! 

Thanks for all your love and support. This week we went to Stavanger! 

On Tuesday, we took a bus to Kristiansand and then took the train with the rest of the district to Stavanger. It is about a 4-5 hour trip from Arendal to Stavanger. Stavanger is one of the big cities on the west coast of Norway. It has been raining so much in Arendal it was nice to go to Stavanger to see some sun. On Wednesday we had the conference. It was really good. The zone leaders focused on how we can help our investigators progress by commitments. focusing first on our personal preparation and then on our invitations. They asked us to reflect on our "whys" Why we are a missionary. Why you have a testimony Why you love the gospel. Because people don't buy what you do they buy why you do it. After the conference we took a train back to Kristiansand stayed the night there and then took a bus early to Arendal on Thursday.

On Thursday, we met with some Jehova's Witness who contacted us the week before. It actually went great! They shared with us some things they believe and then we shared with them some things we believed and they asked us questions and we were able to ask them some questions. I'm grateful we were able to meet because it helped me understand them better. Even though we have different beliefs it was cool to build on common ground and gain understanding. After that we went to area to knock on doors and try some try backs and then we visited a member who lived in the area.

On Friday, we visited a less active couple in the branch. They have some challenges in their life and it is always so neat to visit them because they love having us there. They treat us as if we are angels. They are some of the best people and are working to make changes in their lives. Then we took a bus to Eydehavn and tried back some potentials. Many many weeks ago we knocked on the door of a woman and had a great conversation with her and gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet. She told us we could come back and talk about it and so We have tried and tried back but she hasn't been home. This time she was home and we had another really great conversation and gave her a restoration pamphlet and she invited us back again. Then we visited -- and --. They invited us in again and this time we taught them the restoration. -- isn't so interested and just likes to be apart of the conversation. Gerd is interested but in just learning about our beliefs. She told us again that she won't become mormon but that we are always welcome for a visit. However last time she expressed some doubts she has and so we are hoping to make our lesson more personal next time and see how it goes.

On Saturday, we visited -- and it went good! His wife is totally interested in what we have to say and joined in this time. After that we went to --. It was another good lesson with Judy and she is keeping her commitments so we will see what happens. Sadly, -- canceled her appointment we had with her on Saturday because of a job she had. but we have one this upcoming week so we will keep our fingers crossed. 

On Sunday, I gave a talk in Church. I based it on Elder Hollands talk Lord I believe. It is one of my favorites on overcoming doubts and strengthening our faith. after church the branch president invited us over for dinner. We created a spreadsheet so that we can track the less active work in the branch. should be good.

Anyway love you all. I know the church is true. Sister Cheryl Esplin said "It is the love of god and neighbor that gives meaning to life"

Have a good week!

Elder Witt

October 17 - Arendal

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Thank you for your love and support! It was another exciting week in the Arendal area. 

On Tuesday, we had district meeting in Kristiansand. This time the meeting was divided into 2 sections. 1) relying on the spirit and then 2) asking questions and using the scriptures in teaching. We had time to share with each other experiences we've had where we have felt the Lord's direction in our life. It was cool to hear other's stories. I know the Savior leads His church and His work on the earth. After that we tried by some potentials, went banking and visited --!

On Wednesday, we went to the tax office in the morning to check Elder Hadley into the city and while Elder Hadley was filling out forms and stuff I was sitting by this guy from Africa. He was super nice and had lived in Norway for a while so he spoke good Norwegian. We talked for a while and then he asked about me and my stay in Norway and then we talked about the gospel for like 30 minutes! He had been apart of a church and then left it because he didn't think it was right and so he joined another one. I told him about the book of mormon and we're going to meet in about a week to give him one in his other language. Later in the day we went to Eydehavn to bank a little and also visit -- and -- again. They are the older couple that let us in last week. We knocked on their door and they let us right in again. We ended up talking about the plan of salvation because she had many questions. They are really really nice and so friendly to us. Hopefully something can come of it. They are very skeptik. 

Thursday was a learning day for me. I woke up feeling like,  today I want to focus on serving and so in my prayer I asked for opportunities to serve. We had an appointment in the morning that canceled so we had some time in the city. We were just walking around talking to people when we noticed this woman who was working at this chocolate shop caring in large bags of chocolate to the store. We went over and asked her if we could help and she said yes. So we spent like 10 minutes caring these bags of chocolate for her from outside into the shop. After we were done she insisted on giving us some chocolate as a thank you. Part of me was like yeah why not, that would be good. Fresh chocolate is good haha. but my companion was like no thanks we just wanted to do some service and so we left and afterwards I just had the warmest feeling! Sometimes we never know what our small acts of kindness will do for others but that isn't the issue. Service that comes from the heart doesn't need to know the results or accomplishments one makes. Service from the heart is rewarded with the priceless gift of love of our savior that fills all gaps. So we left and continued with our day. We ended up visiting another member and he told us about a a little yard work he would be doing and we offered our help. Finally he accepted and he invited us to come help and to have dinner with him. And so from the day we were able to find many little opportunities of service. I know that as we look for opportunities and pray for opportunities we will get them. We can be on the Lord's errand.

Friday, we visited a less active couple in the branch. We had been trying for months to get an appointment with them and finally did. It was awesome and they want us to come more often. They also came to church on Sunday which was sweet! Later in the day we visited the member form yesterday and did some service! and we finished the night knocking on doors!

On Saturday, we had a lesson with Judy. and it was awesome! best lesson we have had with her. It boosted both Elder Hadley and I to try to make all of our lessons more like that and more effective. Also just a little follow up from last week...The guy that came to our street stand we have an appoinntment with him this thursday. And also another exciting news.. we were contacted by this american who is a Jehova's witness who talks with the missionaries in arendal maybe a year or two ago and she wanted to learn more about our church so she invited us over to meet with her and her husband! Sweeeeet. 

Sunday, we had church. Now one last cool miracle story. Several several weeks ago we had a lesson with a woman named --. She is from Romania. The lesson was really cool and she expressed to us the desire to make a new chapter in her life and how she thought the book of mormon could be a new start for her. Anyway for weeks and weeks we tried to get an appointment with her and it would either cancel or we would lose contact BUT. After our lesson with -- we knocked on her door and she answered. She told us that -- invited her to church and that she was coming. So the next day at church she came with --! It was testimony meeting and it was very powerful. Some members had just barely gotten back from the Stockholm temple. 

That was a huge blessing and miracle. Judy our investigator brought another investigator to church and made all the arangments. It was perfect!

My thought of the week comes from President Howard w. Hunters lesson Walking the Savior's path of charity. It was the lesson for priesthood and we were asked to teach it. President hunter says that Loving others is “a more excellent way.” Charity never faileth! when in doubt be kind, loving and genuine in all we do. 

Hope you have a great week! We are going to stavanger tomorrow for a zone meeting. Love you all!

Elder Witt

October 10 - Arendal

Hey family and friends!

Thanks for your love and support! To start off I want to share a quote off a sign I saw while we were out knocking on doors. It says"

Tenk positive tanker

Si positive ord

Gjør positive handlinger

Og det positive gror.

It was a good week here in Arendal. We were able to have many neat experiences! On Tuesday, we had district meeting down in Kristiansand. District meeting is split into 2 parts. There is a doctrine part and a skills part. The doctrine was on the doctrine of christ: teaching repentance and baptizing converts and the skills part was on listening and teaching to needs. Listening is super important and one of my old companions shared with me a quote i have liked. It is paraphrased as: One of the biggest communication problems of today is that we listen to reply rather than to understand. After district meeting we stopped in Grimstad and did a little street contacting there and then visited -- and -- who are two less active members.

On Wednesday, we went to the police station so I could renew my visa, and then we went and did service for a contact we have. We go over every other week or so to mow her lawn and do some yard work. She is preparing to sell her house. Then we finishing the day by going tracting!

On Thursday, we met with -- and --. It didn't go too well. They looked up quite a bit of anti church material and just tried to convince us the whole time that we are wrong. We are going to meet one more time and invite them to read the book of mormon but we will most likely be dropping them. It was a little disappointing. After that, -- sent us a text and asked if we had some time to go help him again with some service. We rode our bikes to our house and helped him. I really like --. We watched meet the mormons with him and his wife on Monday and it went well. He doesn't believe in God and is very skeptic but  he asks good questions and we have good conversations. He is super nice and we'll continue to pray it goes somewhere :) after that we visited a member who we've started teaching the missionary lessons to. 

Friday, was an experimental zone wide finding day. It's purpose was to experiment in finding and trying new things that we've never done to find people and make it fun. It turned out to be a big success. The elders in Bergen took the church's ping pong table to the city square and got games going. If they won they could teach the person a short message. Here in Arendal, we did a street stand and it turned out to go better than I'd thought. we had a couple people come up and talk to us. One was this man who investigated for about 2 years ago. He came up to us and asked some questions and then said I'll think about it and come back to the stand later in the day. He never ended up coming back so we didn't think to much of it. Then the next day, we were out in the city and were in this area of the city where we usually don't contact. and then all of a sudden we see this man and we stop him and it turns out to be the same guy that came to the street stand. It was a miracle. We talked to him more and he expressed his desire to quit smoking and we told him we have a little program we could work with him and he said yes and gave us his number freely without asking. I'm grateful for the Lord's guidance in finding this man. Later in this experimental finding day we were out knocking on doors. and we took with us all sorts of different materials. We trind handing out dvds, pamphlets and such. We decided to knock on doors in this certain area where we had a try back potential who was Lithuanian. We had a Lithuanian book of mormon and pamphlets. We knocked on her door and she was busy so we gave her the book of mormon and left. We continued banking on doors in the area and met another Lithuanian. we talked and gave him the pamphlets in Lithuanian and he loved them and was excited to read something in his language. We are going to visit him again.  It was another miracle that we so happen had with us the pamphlets in that language. 

On Saturday the next day we had another exciting story. We were knocking on doors and an older couple answered the door. They were extremely nice and friendly and we talked about their faith on their door step for a little bit and then asked if we could share a message about the book of mormon and they let us in! We sat down and talked with them and they gave us apple cake and soda and it was super awesome! they accepted the book of mormon and said we could come back! 

This weekend was stake conference in Drammen and so we watched that. It was good! I'm grateful for the gospel. It is the greatest news we could ever hear. I'm grateful for general conference. For me often the ideals presented and challenges given to us members can be big and intimidating. But As Elder Holland so testified 6 months ago that we get credit for trying. Success in gospel living comes as we strive to do the will of the father. Simply put much of that is simply improvement. We don't need to be perfect but if we set small goals we can improve and then act in faith knowing that we are on the right path and repentance is the key to getting back on the path. I love you all! Thanks for your support!

Elder Witt

October 3 - Arendal

Hey friends and family!

Thank you for your love and support! I'm so grateful it was general conference this last weekend. I love hearing from the prophet and other leaders of the church. It is indeed a spiritual feast full of instruction on how we can better apply the doctrine of Christ in our life and follow the principles of the gospel. 

It was another good week in Arendal. It was transfers this week so I said goodbye to Eldste Dial and said hello to Eldste Hadley. Eldste Hadley is from Las Vegas. He is a really friendly guy. He has served in Drammen and Bergen. He has a good heart and I'm looking forward to the experiences we will have! On Tuesday, we visited several different members before transfers. One visit was the legend -- and his wife. -- is an older man who worked as a captain for large cargo ships. He has traveled all over the world for his work and he is a great example to us all. He is amazing and comes to church every week in his walker and slowly one step at a time climbs the flight of stairs to the church. He also has a special handshake to great all the members and missionaries. He touches the hearts of all the members here. You never know how much good you do. On Tuesday night the elders from skien drove down and picked up elder dial so I took a bus to Kristiansand to stay the night down there with them until Elder Hadley's plane arrived the next day.

After Elder Hadley and I arrived back in Arendal, we visited a less active member. In the last Zone Conference President Hill challenged us to begin involving the members more by going in their homes and teaching them the missionary lesson. It was a great reminder and I'm excited to start doing it more. After the appointment we went banking in the area and actually got a couple houses that said we could come back which was good!

On Thursday, we had district meeting with the district. this transfer of district meetings is on teaching skills. After that we met with --. She is from Brazil and is a former investigator. We also met with -- again! His friend didn't come this time but it was a great meeting. Meetings with -- remind me of meeting with -- and -- when I was in Tromsø. -- had done a lot of research on the church but this time instead of trying to prove us wrong he sincerely wanted to find out if it is right. I'm excited to see where it goes. 

On Friday, we visited -- and did some service for him. We helped him move a bunch of tiles for his roof. It was good to be there with him and develop a stronger relationship. Him and his wife invited us over for dinner tonight and we will be watching meet the mormons with them. We also met with a man named --. He is from the middle east and brought with him 3 of his friends. We introduced our message and gave them a Book of Mormon in Arabic and then they shared with us some of their beliefs. It was a neat experience. He wanted so strongly to build on common beliefs and we talked a lot about peace and understanding each other. 

On Saturday, it was conference! Because of the time difference we went banking in the afternoon until it was time to watch conference. We had conference shown at the church Saturday at 6pm , Sunday at 11 am, 2 pm and 6 pm. We still haven't seen the Sunday afternoon session but Elder Hadley and I are going to watch that today. 

I loved all the different talks. There were great talks on Prayer, the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, repentance, God's love and mercy. As we all strive to live the gospel, become disciples, and be more like the savior it is important to remember to not compare ourselves to others. We cannot let thoughts of discouragement stop us from trying. Remember that God loves us. It isn't a love that justifies laziness or sin but it is love that will lift us, change us and transform us if we are willing to improve and try. We are all at different points in our path of life. God just wants us to move in the right direction, which is towards him. I know that he loves us. I hope you have a great week!

Love, Eldste Witt

September 26 - Arendal

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all your love and support! It was moves call on Sunday and I found out that I will be staying in Arendal however I will be getting a new companion. I will miss working with Elder Dial. He has been a great companion and we've done well together but it is time for him to go bless another area! My new companion is going to be Elder Hadley, he has been in the field almost a year and I'm excited to be with him! 

It was a great last week of the transfer. On Tuesday, I stayed down in Kristiansand after district meeting to go on splits with Elder Hall. He was in the same MTC group as me so it was fun to be with him. We also had a really successful day which was awesome. We were out on the street to contact people and the first guy we talked to turned out to be a christian college student interested in the book of mormon and so now the elders down there have contact with him. After that we were just walking around and 2 other college students stopped us and asked if we could be apart of a project they were doing and they interviewed us and asked questions about our beliefs and our experience in Norway. It was first official time I've been interviewed in Norway with a big camera and microphone. It was cool! After that we went and met with one of their investigators. And to finish out the day we were out banking and it was getting time to catch the bus but we had decided to do one more house and so we hurried and knocked on the last house and it was a woman who was interested in the book of Mormon and we gave her one! it always turns out to be the last house haha but it was sweet. 

On Wednesday, we spent the day in Grimstad finding. We went to the university and talked with people around there and also knocked on doors!

Thursday was a busy day. We met with our ward mission leader to finish some last minute plans for the baptism. Then we went with -- to a members house and had a lesson about the blessings of being a member and it turned into a small testimony meeting. Then we went to the Library and met with -- again, and then we visited Judy and had a lesson with her, and because -- lives right next to the beach where -- was baptized we spent some time to go scope it out and then we finishing knocking on some doors! 

On Friday, we went back to Grimstad to continue finding down there. I had to check into the city at the tax office and we finished some things with the baptism program. 

On Saturday, -- was baptized!!! It turned out to be a fabulous day! The sun came out right as she walked into the water. There were a lot of people at the baptism, including most of her family which was awesome. --, our investigator came and had a good time. We had another investigator that was planning on coming but she couldn't at the last minute. It was too bad. And on Sunday, she was confirmed by Elder Dial and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It turned out to be a wonderful weekend. :)

As for some of our other investigators. -- had to cancel this week because of work. -- -- also canceled on us because she was sick and -- and -- come back from Fredrikstad today and we have an appointment with them on Thursday. So we should be meeting with all of them again this week. 

I'm excited this weekend for general conference! I love conference because it is a source of spiritual strength and direction in our life. I know that President Monson is a prophet. As we follow the counsel of the leaders of the church we will be safely guided through today's trials. 

Love you all!!

Eldste Witt

September 19 - Arendal

Hey everyone! 

Thanks for all your love and support. I pray for your safety and happiness and hope everything is going well. Trust in God and draw near unto him and everything will work out! It was another great week! A lot of things are happening and the work is moving forward. 

First, -- is getting baptized this week on Saturday! We went with her down to Kristiansand on Friday for her baptismal interview with a zone leader. Everything went well and so now we are just finishing up plans for her baptism. Since we don't have a baptismal font, It is going to be at a beach on a fjord in a town called Fevik. We are really excited. It is a beautiful area. It is very close to where --, -- and -- live so we are hoping it will help get more of our investigators there. A lot of members have said they are coming. 

This week we were also able to meet with --. We rode our bikes to his house and he let us in. He told us that he was talking with his mom the other day and when he was just a baby, the missionaries would visit his mom. He is a really friendly and nice guy and open to talk. We mainly focused on talking about families and that God is our Heavenly Father and the book of mormon. He believes in a higher energy but isn't sure what or who God is. This next time we are going to watch meet the mormons with him. 

We also met with two new investigators, -- and --. We met -- on the bus about 3 weeks ago and finally got an appointment with him. We ended up meeting with him and his friend two days this week both on Wednesday and Thursday. They are both in their 20's, newly religious and very passionate about their beliefs. They are going out of town this week but we gave them both book of mormons and will be meeting when they come back. 

Another new person we were able to meet with is --, he was a former investigator who got busy and lost contact. We met him in the library and talked about the Book of Mormon. He is active in his own congregation but is open to try reading. 

So a lot of new exciting things have started happening and so we will see where it goes. I'm optimistic. We also had a really cool experience while out tracting on Saturday. We knocked into the house of this woman and her family. We had a long conversation on her door step about the plan of salvation and the hope we can find in God. She was interested in our message but was hesitant in meeting with us so thankfully we had a plan of salvation pamphlet that she gladly accepted and said she would read it. We asked her if we could come back and follow up on if she read and she said of course. It was a really great conversation and I know the spirit was there. I'm really excited on trying back with her in a week. Right after that we had another cool experience. This week in District meeting we were talking about finding and one of the members of the district said that his trainer (he was an AP that recently went home) went tracting he would always use Family History as a conversation starter for older people. So as we approached this house on Saturday, there was an elderly couple outside and so my thought process was was, "District meeting, elderly people, family history, go fight win!"  We tell the man that we are out to talk with people about family history work and his answer, "You are talking with the right man, come on in boys" Yesssss, jackpock! Family history for the win! He invited us in and we ended up talking with him about family history and the church for about a half hour. He said he has been doing family history for 11 years and uses the churches family search program often. We explained a little about the WHY we do family history and he thought it was interesting. He told us if we are ever in the area that we can come back and say hi. It was a testimony builder to me of the promptings of the spirit and taught me more about how the spirit works. The spirit didn't just say in my head, "It's the spirit, talk about family history work," It could have done that but that is more rare than common. Instead it brought back to my memory the experience I had in district meeting, where one missionary would approach elderly with family history, and gave me the idea to do the same. That is why feasting upon the word, and treasuring up the word is so important. The spirit commonly brings things to our remembrance and so we need to have a source where the spirit can do that. 

I love you all and am grateful for your love support and prayers. I know Heavenly lives and loves us. We are his children. Jesus is our Savior and redeemer. Have a great week!

Elder Witt

September 12 - Arendal

Hey everyone!

It was another great week here in Southern Norway. We were able to learn a lot at zone conference, and had many other neat experiences. Life is good and I'm grateful to be here in Norway. It is crazy to think that we are almost half way done with the month of September. Fall is in on its way.  

On Tuesday, after studies in the morning we took a bus to tried back this potential we had. she said we could come on Tuesdays and Thursdays but no one is home to we will keep trying. After that we grabbed all our stuff and walked to the train station and took a 5 hour train to Stavanger! Woo! It was fun to be with our district and also see the beautiful scenery. 

On Wednesday, we had the conference. It was on working with members and also teaching skills. It was focused on gaining the members trust, and working with the ward mission leader. Both good things to know. President Hill shared with us a training video from Elder Bednar. Elder Bednar shared the idea of serving the  "one"s in our wards, branches, communities. That the work of God goes forth by ones. We are all individuals and children of God. We can carry forth the work by looking for the "one" around us who needs a little extra encouragement today. We can find those ones who are searching for the truth. And then it works like a chain reaction. They will then go forth to bless the lives of those around them. The other half was focused on teaching skills. president explained that effective missionaries have 4 things.  1) faith 2) obedience 3) work hard 4) skills and so he has made a big push for the mission to focus on our district meetings, companionship studies and make sure we are practicing and developing skills. I think it is a great idea. After the conference Wednesday night we went on splits with the zone leaders. I went out tracting with Elder Steed and we knocked on the door of this really cool man. As we were talking with him you could tell he was having an inside battle. You could tell deep down he is searching for something in life. We kept talking to him and gave him a plan of salvation pamphlet which he gladly took and said we could come back in a week after he had read it. It was awesome and I really hope things work out for him.

On Thursday, we continued splits with the zone leaders. We went street contacting in the city and met this other cool guy who works as a chef at a nearby restaurant. We then took a train in the after noon back to Kristiansand where we switched to a bus and went to Arendal. On the bus we saw --, our really cool friend with the many dogs. We had a good chat with him and he asked us some more questions. We have an appointment with him this week on Wednesday.

On Friday, we went to the university to contact. Going to the university has proved successful. The majority of people stop to talk to us and are willing to listen. After that we did some planning for the next week and made a ton of appointments with all of our potentials from last week. It is awesome. This week is looking just wonderful. 

On Saturday, we met with our investigator --, who is getting baptized in two weeks! Just a little background on that. She met the missionaries about 2 years ago and has been meeting with them on and off since. When I first arrived to Arendal she was meeting with the Kristiansand sisters but we would occasionally meet with her when she was in Arendal. Anyway, she wants to be baptized and she wants to be baptized in Arendal, because she will be moving here soon, and it is where she has gone to church the most. (she lives in a city halfway between Kristiansand and Arendal) She is awesome, and bore her testimony in church last fast and testimony meeting. 

Now a word for the wise. Wear your helmets. We were biking home from our appointment with her when I made a really stupid mistake. We were biking down a hill and I clutched the left brake which stops the front tire and flew over my handlebars. I'm okay, and survived thanks to my helmet. Also thank you for your prayers :)

But heres the best for last! We were able to meet with -- neighbor from Romania. Wow, is it a miracle. She explained to us the trials she has been having, and how much she wants to change her life and it was the sweetest experience to testify to her that Jesus Christ, her savior, could heal her. We met with her and she accepted the invitation to read the book of mormon and we will be meeting with her again on Friday.  Also later Saturday, night we had a devotional broadcasted from Oslo. President Uchtdorf did a question answer with the saints in Oslo. He is a good man. 

President Uchtdorf's main message was to be a disciple. Don't be afraid to share your beliefs with others. He also said, Keep the commandments, and trust in the lord. I know the church is true. This is his work and I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. 

Have a great week, 

Love you all

Elder Witt

September 5 - Arendal

Hey Family! 

So we went to the zoo this morning with our district and so I don't have a ton of time today to email so I will give you the highlights. I'll be sure to send a lot of pictures instead. It was an awesome week!! Just incredible. There are some great things happening and I'm grateful to be apart of it. 

I'm loving and loving Arendal more each day. I'm starting to get to know and meet more of the members which is nice. We were able to have many great member dinners. We will be going to Stavanger this week for zone conference. We take a five-hour train ride on Tuesday, we will have the conference on Wednesday, and then after the conference we will be doing splits with the zone leaders on Thursday and come back Thursday night. The zone conference is going to be on Member work which will be helpful. It will be a big trip but I'm excited. I've also heard the train ride is gorgeous :) Also, other exciting news, President Uchtdorf is visiting Norway on Saturday!! There will be a broadcast Saturday night across Norway for us to watch. It is not often that a member of the first presidency visits Norway so we are excited. 

This week, we went on splits with the elders in Kristiansand. I was with Elder Norman in Ksand and my companion and the other missionary were in Arendal. It was a good time. We did mostly finding and were able to talk to this guy who has never heard of mormons before and was interested in our message so that's a plus!

here are some highlights of the things that happened in Arendal this week:

1) Follow up on --, the man we met on the bus last week. He gave us his address and told us to come by on Wednesday so we did. First, this guy is way cool. He has 3 or 4 massive huskies. Every day he hooks them up to his push-scooter and they pull him around on the road. Second, we met his wife and she was super nice! They were on their way to the dentist so we weren't able to meet with him but we got an appointment with them next week. 

2) We were visiting -- this week and while we were leaving her neighbors who live below her in the same house were outside. (-- referred us to them and we gave them a book of mormon about two weeks ago) As we were leaving the mom said thanks for the book of mormon and said she read in it and wants to learn more about our church and meet. She also said that she wants to bring her sister and her daughter to church with her. Awesome!

3) We were leaving the library one day and a former investigator stopped us saying she wants to meet again! sounds good to us

4) We met this week with another woman . She is a young mother and is very best friends with a recent convert from the Romerike ward. The story about her and her friend is a long but great story. In Short, the both submitted themselves on mormon.org as referrals for the missionaries and as a result 1 of them was baptized but, the other one got busy and is still investigating. The missionaries here have been trying for months to get an appointment with her and finally this last week we were able to meet with her and her best friend (the recent convert) who was visiting Arendal for the weekend. 

We went to the zoo today and it was a lot of fun. We saw them feed the Lions and also the "Norwegian wilderness predators" There were wolves, foxes, wolverines, and lynxes. We had a lot of fun watching the monkeys. They were joking with each other and swinging all over the ropes. It was a high quality zoo.

I've studied a lot this week on the topic of hope. Hope is an anchor of the soul and can sustain us through good times and bad times. I've come to learn that hope is trust and an expression of Confidence. It is trusting in the Lord and his promises to you. When we have hope we can believe that everything will work out, always, if our desires and actions are in line with Savior and his teachings. And with all other attributes, Hope is a gift of God and comes through prayer and experience. As we live the gospel and strive to apply hope i our life, we can developed it and it will be anchor for us. I know the church is true. I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Witt