Tønsberg, Norway - 19th Week in Norway

Hey family! 

It was the start of another transfer here in Tønsberg. Elder Orr left to Drammen and we got a new companion elder Johnson. He is from Pleasant Grove and has been out on his mission for about a year. 

We had a good week here in Tønsberg. 

On Tuesday, we went out and set up fliers for a Norwegian Class we are going to teach. It starts Tuesday, February 2 and will be every Tuesday and Thursday for 6 weeks. It is a way to introduce people to our church by doing service and sharing spiritual thoughts. It has had a lot of success around the mission so I'm excited to get it going! We also stopped by --- and --- so Elder Orr could say goodbye. They are doing better. That night the branch had a farewell party for Elder Orr. We had pizza and had a jolly time together! Elder Orr had been in Tønsberg for 4 and a half months so he did a lot of good. 

Wednesday was transfers day. We dropped off Elder Orr at the train and picked up Elder Johnson. We went street contacting and set up some more fliers for the class! That evening we had a World Wide Missionary Broadcast from the Missionary Leadership of the Church. It was wonderful and so inspiring! The focus of the Broadcast was Teach Repentance and Baptize converts focusing on the Missionary Purpose. It started off with a Talk from Elder Anderson. One thing I loved that he said was, if you are ever unsure of what to say, testify of Jesus Christ. We are called to testify of Jesus Christ. Then there was instruction from Elder Bednar. He was with about 10 missionaries and having a discussion with them. Our job is to be worthy vessels that can carry the Holy Ghost unto the Hearts of the Children of men. and then to help those we teach identify the Holy ghost and how it works with them. Solid discussion. We also received instruction from Elder Waddell, Sister Oscarson, Elder Clayton, and lastly Elder Oaks. He concluded everything with a great talk. 

Thursday, we had district meeting. The Skien area closed, so there are no more sisters in our District. It was just the elders in Porsgrunn and us in Tønsberg. District meeting was great. We talked about the Premortal life and God's purpose for us. We had time to go ponder over our Patriarchal blessings. It is so important that we remember who we are and who we can become. Remember that God is our Loving Heavenly Father. His only interest is for us to succeed and come back to him. We need to trust in His plan for us. It is going to have challenges but it will also work out for the best if we seek him in our life.

Friday, we visited the --- and studied Alma 42 with them. We had a great discussion about the Atonement and the Law of Justice and Mercy. It is up to us how much mercy  and peace we obtain. It requires that we humble ourselves, admit our wrong doings, and have a change of heart. and fully repent. Repentance brings the Peace of Heaven and the joy from the Atonement. We also visited Guilherme and Justine. They are so awesome. I just love visiting them. We ended the day tracting in a neighborhood out by his house. 

Saturday, we spent the day in Sandefjord. We taught --- Norwegian, visited the --- Family, and tried visiting --- from Iceland, and ended visiting ---. It had been a long time since we have been able to visit the Porters. It was great to be there. We read Alma 37:37 together and commited them to prayer. --- unfortunately was asleep and we weren't able to visit him. We tracked around --- house and got some trybacks which was good. Our visit with --- was really nice. She has so much faith and trust in the Lord. She has had health challenges her whole life and always presses on. 

On Sunday, we went to Church! wooh! I gave another talk and this time it was about my way to Church. I shared some experiences that I have had in my life that have strengthened my testimony. It went well. I also played piano in Sacrament meeting because our organist was gone. It was a little rough, should have done some more practicing when I was young :) ---, --- and --- made it to Church which was great! Also, --- came. Unfortunately, their new baby was sick so --- couldn't make it. 

Anyone, thanks for all your love and support! I love being a missionary. I love having the opportunity to study the scriptures and words of our living prophets every day. My testimony and conviction has grown immensely. I know and Testify that God is our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ is God's son. He is our Savior and Redeemer. 

Love you all! Have a fabulous week!

Tønsberg, Norway - 18th Week in Norway

Hey Family!

I'm staying in Tønsberg and staying in a trio. Elder Orr, is leaving to Drammen and we are getting a new missionary Elder Johnson. I'm excited to stay in Tønsberg, because I have absolutely come to love Tønsberg, the members and all the people here.I see so much potential in the work here so  I'm optimistic that it will be a good transfer.

It only snowed a little this week but other than that it has just been really cold. It usually is around -10 to -15 degrees celcius. This morning the thermometer for our car said it was -25 degrees celcius, so really chilly haha. I've been able to stay warm though. I wear a ton of layers, and the boots have been really good!

This week was good! On Tuesday, We went street contacting and stopped by ---s to see how they are doing. They are getting ready to move into the City so it has been a little stressful. They weren't able to make it to church. We will visit them this week. The Branch President has been really good fellowshipping them and he told us at church he was going to visit them again later in the day. Later in the day we visited an older couple in the Branch. They are so full of faith. They are great people. We showed them the video, Called to Testify of all the current Apostles and the First President bearing testimony of Jesus Christ. It is a powerful video. After that we tried a house that said we could try again but unfortunately they weren't interested.

On Wednesday, we went to the Mission home for interviews with President Hill and then a zoneleader training meeting. It was really nice. President shows so much interest and love for the missionaries. As of late he has had a focus on Baptizing. It is something he wants us to focus more on as a mission, that we can baptize in Norway. In the ZLT we talked more about using family history and they intiatiated a plan to start using it. We also talked about prayer and knowing the truth through the Power of The Holy Ghost. One thing that stood out to me was improving our prayers. It is always something I can improve on and be better at. One thing is asking inspired questions. Often we can find ourselves going through the motions, but it is important to really ponder the things we want to say and ask before. Instead of saying, Help me to be a better missionary, ask, What is holding me back? What is something I can focus on to help me be better? What is something I can do TODAY to be better. Heavenly Father knows each of us personaly. He is all knowing, all powerful and all loving. He knows the path that will give us the most joy, growth and success in life. It is so important that we seek his love inspired correction and guidance. After ZLT I went on Splits down in Porsgrunn with Elder Bunnell. He is the District leader. We went to a members house for dinner and they gave us Lutefisk!! It is a old traditional Norwegian meal that has a reputation of being gross. It is fish that is soaked in lye. You can read more about it if you want. It wasn't very good haha. I'm glad I was able to try it though! After that we went to a Norwegian class that the sisters in Skien and Elders in Porsgrunn are teaching together. We are going to start a Norwegian class in Tønsberg this transfer. There are a lot of Immigrants coming to Norway and so a lot of people need to learn Norwegian. In the class, we start and close with a prayer, Teach Norwegian, and then end with a Mormon Message. It has had a lot of success. They got 3 investigators from it. I'm excited to get it going.

On Thursday, We went street contacting and visited an old man who is a member. Then we went to a dinner appointment with some members.  It was fun to be down in Porsgrunn for the day. The ward in Skien is strong.

On Friday, we visited --- and ---. They are doing so well!! They always feed us well and they are way cool. They also both came to church this week which was really good! After that we did some more street contacting and had dinner with the Fyhns.

On Saturday, we had a lesson with this guy named ---. We have taught him several times. He won't take a Book of Mormon because he doesn't like reading books. We'll see where it goes haha. He is a really nice guy.  After that we were invited to dinner with --- and her family. She is Norwegian and her brother is a member of the church and lives in America. She is the same person who invited us over for Thanksgiving and then to a brunch Christmas morning. She is a devoted catholic. She asks us questions about our church but she's not interested in changing her beliefs. They are really nice. They have a pet tarantula that they let us hold. It toook me a while to build up the courage to do it but I'm so glad I did. It was way cool!

On Sunday, we visited this man from Iceland. He is a member of the church and I actually found out about him from Elder Sam Adams. He is not on our member list but he is a member and has a friend in Denmark. Sam knew I was serving in Sandefjord and Sam knew this guys friend and so long story short, he told me about him and gave us his address so we could visit him. It was way cool. This man wants to refind his faith. We had a nice visit with him. He said we can stop by whenever and so it will be cool to work with him as he tries to find God in his life again. He is actually moving to Denmark in a month so we hopefullly we can help him. Then the --- invited us and the missionaries form Skien and Porsgrunn for a little birthday party. One of their daughters turned 3. We had a nice time together.

Also, This morning I took a practice driving test with the driving school. That went really well. I will take the actual driving test in February some time.

I hope you all had a great week!! I sure love all of you and am greatful for all of you. Your support and prayers help me so much. I know the church is true!!

love Elder Witt

Tønsberg, Norway - 17th Week in Norway

January 11, 2016

Hey family!!

Hope you are all doing well! Thanks for all the love and support. I'm sure grateful for all of you. 

We got about 3-4 feet of snow this last week! It is awesome. I love it so much! I've been bundling and layering so I've been able to stay warm. 

We had a good week here in Tønsberg. We spent a lot of time finding and visiting members. 

On Tuesday, we had district meeting in Skien. At District meeting we talked about using the Book of Mormon in Missionary Work. As part of the meeting, we were asked to split up into our Companionships and go to a room and say a prayer together. In the prayer we asked for a reconfirming witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how we can better use it in our areas. It was a neat experience. As we were praying and afterwards, I just had a calm, good feeling. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know it is true. We spent the remainder of the day Contacting and Tracting. We knocked on several doors that invited us to come back another time which was exciting!

On Wednesday, we visited a member family who is going through some hard times. They made us lunch and we shared with them Helaman 5:12. It is one of my Favorite Scriptures. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He invites us to come unto him and he will carry our burdens. When we build our testimony on Christ and center our lives on His gospel, we will be protected from the Adversary. We also visited another member, ---. He is so good and kind. 

On Thursday, we had another meeting as a district. We have a sister missionary companionship whose main focus is using family History work. They started doing this a couple transfers ago sort of as a test run. They came and helped us learn how to use family search, so we can show members, investigators and non members how to create accounts and get started. Over time, we are going to start using it more and more in the work, because many people are interested in Family History work and it is an effective way to introduce them to the church. I'm excited about it! 

On Friday, we had a good day full of appointments! we visited the --- and studied Mosiah 2 with them, After that we visited ---. We then Visited --- and --- and taught the Restoration. They are so cool! They weren't able to make it to church this last sunday but said they would this upcoming sunday. After that, we visited the --- again and they made us dinner, and we started teaching ---, their son, the recent convert lessons. 

On Saturday, Elder Orr was on Splits so it was just Elder Stephens and I. We visited --- and ---. They made us food and we helped shovel all their snow and read in the Book of Mormon. They are going through some rough times and didn't make it to Church. Hopefully things will get better. We did some more tracting in the evening and were able to get another try back. 

On Sunday, we got a new investigator! After Church, we contacted this referral that we received! Her name is ---. She shared with us her story about how prayer saved her life. It was inspiring! We will be meeting with her again. She is from the Phillipines and said that her family was meetng with the missionaries before she left. We also got another referrel that is a family which is really exciting. We will try to contact them this week along with all the trybacks we found whille tracting. 

We weren't able to meet with --- or ---. We have a meeting planned with mustafa on Tuesday, and Hamidreza said he has beeen busy with school again so we will see. Good things to come though! I'm really excited!

I hope you all have a great week! I sure love all of you so much! The church is true!

Elder Witt

Tønsberg, Norway - 16th Week in Norway

January 4, 2016

Hey Family! Thanks for all the love and support. Sure love you all and are grateful for you! 

It was a good week! The missionary work was a little slow during the hollidays but it is picking up already. I love serving here in Tønsberg. The work has so much potential and we are finally starting to see some of it come to pass. 

On Tuesday, we had district meeting. We talked about teaching the restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is one of the points in the first lesson. I love the story of Joseph Smith. The words he uses to describe his experience in the Sacred grove are powerful. Joseph Smith is an example to all of us of humbly seeking answers through prayer. Prayer is so special to me. It is an opportunity where I can express all my thoughts and feelings and desires to the Lord and feel his love. After that we went street contacting and visited an older member couple. That night we drove to Drammen for companion exchanges. 

On Wednesday, Elder Stephens and I were with Elder Hadley. He is a new missionary this transfer. He is really smart in the Language. We spent the day finding and trying potential investigators. We had some success and found a lady who was interested in meeting to learn more. It was a good day. 

On Thursday, New Years eve, we are back in Tønsberg. We spent the day deep cleaning our apartment. It is looking so nice. We cleaned both bathrooms and our kitchen really well. Because the Holidays can be a difficult time to find people to teach we were encouraged to spend time cleaning the apartment, doing service, or visiting members. Later in the afternoon we went over to ---'s house for new years eve. She invited us and also --- and her two daughters for the evening. We had tacos for dinner and other good food. We played some games together. It was fun.We were allowed to stay up until midnight . At around 11:45 we drove to the Bay in Sandefjord to watch the Fireworks. Here in Norway, New Years is all about fireworks. Fireworks are illegal year round exept for a few hours on New Years. So at 11:50 to 12:10 everyone is shooting off fireworks and it is crazy! We says a ton of fireworks and it was really fun.

On Friday, we continued deep cleaning our apartment, and went over to --- and --- later. --- made us traditional Brazilian cheese bread. They have it at Tucanos. We shared with them the New Years mormon message. It talks a little bit about the story of Lot's wife. It is a great lesson to learn. We need to look forward and keep our focus on good things to come. Through the Atonement of Christ and Repentance, we can overcome past mistakes and be filled with peace and strength.

On Saturday, we visited --- and ---. It was great! We taught them the beginning of the First lesson. He showed us some more magic tricks which were incredible! After that we drove to Sandefjord to visit the --- but they were busy, so we did some street contacting and tried some potential investigators. 

Sunday was a great day!! Church attendance was the highest it has been since I've been here. --- came with his parents who are visiting from Portugal. His wife who is not a member stayed at home with their 3 week old baby but she will start coming soon. Testimony meeting was great and the spirit was there. That evening we visited the --- and I was able to give Brother --- a blessing because he was going to the doctors the next day. It was my first full one in Norwegian which was neat.

So we had a good week and I'm excited for the many opportunities and experiences that will come. Many of our investigators will be able to start meeting again.

Thanks for all the love and support. I know the church is true. I know Jesus is the Christ and that He is our savior and Redeemer. He lives. God is our loving Father in Heaven. He is real. I know these things are true with all my heart.

Love you forever!

Elder Witt