Tromsø, Norway - 32nd Week in Norway

April 25, 2016

Hey Family,

I loved all the photos from the wedding. Congratulations Jeff and Sarah! I'm Grateful for all of you. Also, Happy Birthday Mom. Sure love you! It was another great week here in Tromsø. I'm happy, doing well, and really enjoying this opportunity I have to serve With Elder Osguthorpe.

On Tuesday, we had District Meeting as usual. We focused this time on being the inspired listener. Often we talk about how important it is to focus on the needs of the investigator and ask inspired questions and listening is a big part of that. When we sincerely listen, and don't focus on what we are going to say next, then the Holy Ghost can help us discern the needs and give us what we need to say in the exact moment we need it. It is something I'm going to focus more this week. It is hard not thinking about what you are going to say especially in a Language that you aren't perfect in but I know that listening is really important in all aspects of Our lives. It helps us be better Teachers, friends, and learners. After that we went street contacting. That evening we taught --- and her friend. We spent a lot of time preparing for the lesson but it didn't go super well. We talked about personal revelation and receiving answers. In the lesson, ---'s friend who isn't really open told us that she believes the Book of Mormon isn't true. So we pause a little bit and ask her if she has read in it and she answers "No" so we pause a little again and then ask ---, what do you think? and she said I've got to read it and found out! That was a much better answer. We must read and pray to found out if the Book of Mormon is true. It takes diligence and searching and real intent and everyone can know of its truthfulness. We invited --- to keep Reading and she said she will. She is going out of town so we won't meet with her this coming week but will meet With just her from now on. 

Wednesday was awesome. We went street contacting for several hours and had good success. Then we had a lesson With ---. We had a member come on the teach With us. His name is ---. He is around ---'s age and it went super well. --- explained to us how he feels the spirit and we were able to put a name to that feeling. That was Our goal for the lesson. Help him understand that when we pray, read the scriptures, what we feel is much more than just a feeling. it is the Holy Ghost, a member of the God Head, that teaches and confirms truth. After ---, we visited the ---s. It was the best. Brother ---, performed for us a Sami ritual With his Reindeer skin drum, reindeer Antlers and eagle feather. They are preparing to go to the temple together. They are a huge inspiriation to us all.

Thursday was also great. While street contacting, we met this really awesome woman. She didn't know anything about the Church or the Book of Mormon, and while we talked With her, she loved it. She is really busy With School this coming week but we have an appointment for next week. Can't wait to meet With her again. After that the sisters need us at the Church so we did some prepartation for the Talent Show the next night. After that we skyped Our good friend ---, He is a member who lives far away and skypes in every Sunday.

On Friday we started the day With a good old Power hour. We went street Contacting. After that we met With --- and went to the gym With him. Things are going great With ---. He came to Church again this week and loved it. He is opening up a ton and it's been really fun. After that wen went to the Church to help set up for the Branch party, the talent show. Elder Osguthorpe and I did a skit based off the YouTube video, How animals eat their Food. It went really well and was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, the Sisters, Olsens, and us all went and did some service for the ---s. They will be opening a Fish shop soon and we went in and worked on the building. Sanding walls, washing, floors, Windows and other Things. We also visited --- With the Sisters. It was a really Nice visit With her. Then we did some weekly planning. During weekly planning we called all the numbers we had received in the last little bit and it was awesome! Almost everyone was answering and we got tons of New appointments for this coming week. We are very excited about that.

On Sunday, A counselor in the Mission presidency came to visit Our branch. It was a great Meeting. elder Osguthorpe and I performed a musikal number, Come thou fount of every blessing. I played the piano and he sang. It went really well.

We are really looking forward to this upcoming week and all that will happen. My thought for the week comes from the Book of Mormon.

"But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the Lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him. "

The sentence, "And thus doth the Lord work With his Power in all cases among the children of men" God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He loves us and knows us. As we come unto Christ, humble ourselves, The lord will always bless us. His arm of mercy is always extended towards us, we just need to put Our trust in him. I love you all. Have a great week!

Elder Witt

Tromsø, Norway - 31st Week in Norway

April 18, 2016

Dear Family and Friends!

Thanks for all your love and support. I'm grateful for all of you. This week had its ups and downs but overall it was a good week. The amount of sunlight is crazy. It starts getting dark around 10 and light at around 3 am. It snowed a lot this last week but it melts really fast. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we didn't have many appointments so we spent most of our time on the street finding. We didn't have a ton of success so it was definitely a test of endurance and commitment. I have come to find that as you show your commitment, work hard when it gets tough, the Lord will bless you. Deeping our commitment to the gospel in all aspects of our life is a part of journey. Deepened commitment brings greater rewards. We were also able to meet with ---. We taught the plan of Salvation. --- has hit a little road block. His search isn't as high a priority as we would like. We had planned to meet with him on saturday but he told us that he didn't want to and would rather meet just once a week. He also hasn't made it to church yet.. We are meeting with him this coming week so hopefully we can help him understand the importance of these things. 

We went to this little Asian resturaunt on wednesday and the owners are the coolest. We often will stop by and buy small wontons for 5 kr. a piece and so we have gotten to know them well. This time we went in and they had a special deal for this yellow curry. We bought a meal and they ended up giving us a free meal with 2 free spring rolls and 2 free empanadas. It was so awesome! We ended up saving like 230 kr. They are the best. It was pretty exciting.

Thursday was a busy day. We had district meeting and talked about baptism and helping resolve concerns. It was perfect because resolving concerns and asking inspired questions is very important. After district meeting we went and worked out with ---. Elder O. and I were both super sore after but it was way fun. --- came to church again this week and that is 2 in a row. After that we visited ---. We taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He didn't make it to church so we are going to visit him again this week. After --- we met with ---, a member.

On Friday, we met with a member here with Elder Olsen and talked about patriachal blessings because he is looking to get one when the patriarch comes next month. Later in the day we met with Sandra. This was an amazing experience. We met with ---, her friend, ---, and his friend. and we watched the Joseph Smith movie. --- is apart of this same bible school and --- and is one of the sisters investigators but he just came because he wanted to see the film. Anyways, after this film we just had an open discussion and the spirit was so strong. One of the strongest experiences in my life. At the very end, ---, out of nowhere asks "Do i need to be baptized again to be a member of your church." The cool part is that we didn't even really talk about baptism with them and that's what was in her thoughts. We feel that there is something special about this group of people. We are meeting with them again tomorrow and I'm really excited.

On Saturday, we did weekly planning. After that we went street contacting. Then in the evening we went to a devotional that --- invited us to. We felt that it was a good thing to do to help build our relationship with them. 

On Sunday, we had church. We visited several members and spent some time street contacting again. We ran into this member from Bergen who elder O. knew. It was a great day. 

I definitely looking forward to this coming week and am optimistic about the growth we will see. I know the church is true with all my heart. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior. God is our father in Heaven. The gospel is restored. Joseph Smith is a prophet. I love the joseph smith movie. Everytime I watch it, I'm inspired by the faith of the early saints and especially the prophet joseph smith. He would not have gone through what he did if he didn't know it was true and believe it with all his heart. 

Have a fabulous week! Love, Elder Witt

Tromsø, Norway - 30th Week in Norway

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great week. I'm Grateful for Your love and support.

This week is transfer week. Elder Osguthorpe and I are staying together for another transfer in Tromsø. I'm really excited for this opportunity to continue working With him. I love the Tromsø area. The branch is small but has a big heart.

It was another good week. We were able to meet With ---, and meet some more awesome prepared People!

On Tuesday, we met With ---. It had been a week or so since we met With him last so we were worried about his progress but it ended up going super well. He continues to read in the Book of Mormon and pray but feels like he hasn't gotten an answer yet. So we focused Our lesson on helping him get his answer.  We watched Elder Bednar's patterns of light videos on receiving revelation. It was really powerful. We created a baptismal calendar With him, setting up regular teaching appointments and changed his baptismal date to May 21 because we feel he needs more time. He hasn't been to church yet and that is our goal for him. --- is really awesome, and it has been so neat watching his faith grow. From someone not really believing in God to recognizing the spirit. The Gospel is real and true. That's all I can say. 

On Wednesday, we continued With Our finding. We decided to try this potential we have and her name is ---. She is from the phillipines and just recently married a man from Africa. She believes in Christ and has a lot of faith but just feels like something is missing. We shared With her the Book of Mormon and she is willing to give it a try. She is open to Our Message and so hopefully we are going to visit her and her husband some day this week. That night the --- had us over for dinner. It was super good. They are the senior couple here in Tromsø and are a huge support to the Branch.

On Thursday, we continued With Our finding. We went street contacting and everyone was stopping. it was great fun! We visited ---, the older Norwegian man that came to Conference last week. He gave us his address and said we could come over. We taught him the Restoration. He is realy Nice old man. He also  came to Church yesterday and said he was coming next week too. We will be visiting him again this week on Thursday. While on the street I talked to this Atheist. And I say I because, we often go solo contacting by each other so we can talk to as many People as possible. It was one of the most neat experiences I've had. He told me many problems and concerns he has with faith, religion, and God and Things and the Whole time, I could feel the Holy Ghost bringing Things to my mind., answering his questions and concerns. It was one of the most pleasant conversations and he asked if we could meet again. He is going out of town for 2 weeks but said to Call him when he gets back. I'm really excited to meet With him again. We also taught --- and her friend. She is a potential that we found. She studies that bible and ahs a strong belief. We taught them the restoration and it went pretty well. --- is open to our Message but her friend is not super open.

On Friday, we went street planning and we did some weekly planning. Later we met With ---. who is a member here. He is super cool. We watched Conference With him and then we worked out a deal With him . He has a lot of faith but just doesn't make it to Church. He is going to come to Church and we are going to work out With him once a week at the gym. He is from Africa and super ripped. We're trying to figure out any way we can get him to Church because he would be a huge support if he was active.

On Saturday, we had Norwegian class With --- again. It is great. Then the --- took us out for pizza to celebrate him passing his driving test. Then we went contacting until we met With --- and her friend again. It was an interesting lesson. We talked about the plan of salvation. --- is really open and was interested in hearing Our Conversion stories and testimonies while her friend wanted to Bible bash. We told them how we refused to bash but were just here to invite them to read the Book of Mormon and find out if what we say is true. and while her friend was getting a little heated, --- just turns to her and says, "all they want us to do is read the book of Mormon and pray about it so we can know if it is true" It silenced her friend and Elder Osguthorpe and I just look and each other and smiled. Our investigator just taught the other one.

On Sunday, we had moves Call and found out that we are staying together for another transfer. I'm really looking forward to the New transfer. It will be good. Church was really powerful. It was fast and testimony Meeting and many powerful testimonies were borne. Our good friend --- came to Church and it was the Perfect Meeting. I hope he can start coming again.

I hope you all have a great week. I know the Church is true. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Through him Jesus Christ restored his Church on the Earth. The Book of Mormon is true and is evidence of the restoration of the Gospel.

I love you all!

Elder Witt

Tromsø, Norway - 29th Week in Norway

Monday, April 4, 2015

Hey everyone! 

Thanks for all your love and support. I'm grateful that we had general conference this last weekend. It was uplifting and inspiring. I know that President Monson is a prophet of God. The words that were spoken to us come from God. They are meant for us today and will help us if we apply what we learned and felt. 

It was a great week here in Tromsø. We were able to experience many little miracles. I'm grateful to be a missionary! Just an update, unfortunately we were not able to meet with --- this last week. He told us he was super busy. We did gratefully, run into him on the street and were able to set up an appointment this upcoming week so keep him in your prayers! However this week we were able ot meet some really cool people.

On Tuesday, we spent the day contacting on the street. Sadly, our friend --- who invited us to do the devotional, she canceled our appointment and dropped us. It was a bit disappointing. Also, while we were out we met this guy named ---, who is an older norwegian man, and we invited him to come to conference this weekend and he did! It was exciting.

On Wednesday, we had many little miracles. , We were out street contacting and I saw this guy named ---. I met him on the bus several weeks ago. As I started talkig to him he asked me if we had time to meet now. While I was talking to ---, my compannion contacted a man named --- who was searching for a faith. Anyway, we ended up to the church and teaching both --- and --- right then. After that we continued our street contacting. We weren't having a ton of success and were receiving a lot of rejection so we began to feel like maybe we needed to try doing something else. I asked my companion if we should go banking. We went to the church and said a prayer asking Heavenly Father if we should go banking and where. As we prayed, my companion said all he could think about was this potential we had met about 4 weeks ago while banking. We both felt good about it and got on the bus to this woman's house. Here is just a little back story. Her name is ---, and we met her my first weekend in tromsø. When we banked on her door she was really open and friendly, but we were just never able to get a hold of her since then. Anyway, we get to her house and knock on the door and no one is there. We are waiting out the house, when suddenly, --- comes out the door of a different house to take a smoke. We see her and she calls us over. It turned out that we had written down the wrong house number for her. So for the last several weeks we had been trying back on the wrong house. So she calls us over and we go and talk to her. It turns out that she had read in the book of mormon and done some research about our beliefs. We were able to set up and appointment with her. It was the neatest experience that I'm grateful to be apart of. Every thing fit together perfectly, our traveling, our waiting and she going outside her house. I know that Heavenly Father's hand was apart of it. We were suppose to be there at that time. 

On Thursday, we went contacting and then to the driving school because Elder Osguthorpe had a practice test. He is trying to get his license now. After that we taught ---. The guy we met yesterday. Then we did weekly planning! Unfortunately ---, texted us later in the week and dropped us. 

On Friday, we had zone leader training in Trondheim. We woke up at 4:45 AM, took a bus to the airport and flew to trondheim. It was a really good meeting. It focused on the process of turning a baptismal date into a baptism. After that we flew home to Tromsø. It was a good day.

On Saturday,  we had our norwegian class again with LIll. She is a member here who teaches us norwegian every saturday. It is really helpful. Then we met with --- and then --- who are both members here. We had a dinner party here at the church before conference started. We watched saturday's morning session at 6 pm live.

On Sunday, we had more conference. We watched the priesthood session, then saturday afternoon, and then sunday morning. We watched conference at the church with all the missionaries, the sisters and the olsens and then whichever members that came. As I said earlier, --- came to conference. It was a total surprise. He was someone random off the street that we invited. He said he had been to our church before many years ago so we are going to visit him this upcoming week. 

My thought for the week comes from Elder Hallstrom's talk. Do we really believe what we know? As he shared his story of being in Liberia with the members there, the spirit testified to me strongly of the words he was saying. I know and believe that we are all Children of God. There is a lot of power in knowing our divine nature. I know that God loves us and will provide for us. Let us turn to him in sincere prayer. 

I love you all. Have a great week!

Elder witt