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