July 25, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

Hey everyone!

Thanks for your prayers, love and support. It was a great week here in Tromsø! I'm grateful to be a member of the church. I know that God lives and loves us.

This week we had the exciting opportunity to go on splits with the missionaries in Alta and this time we visited them! We took a plane wednesday morning. The flight is maybe 25 minutes. It was gorgeous. I'll send pictures. It was in a small propeller plane and there were only 3 passengers haha. Me, Elder Braunberger, and some other random guy. Because it was in a small prop plane we were able to see the landscape. We were able to see a part of the lyngen alps in northern norway and saw many glaciers, waterfalls, rivers and fjords. Oh the beauty of this earth. I love Norway, and I'm grateful to be a missionary and have this wonderful opportunity to see many of God's beautiful creations. In Alta, we drove to Hamerfest. It claims to be the Northernmost town in the world. There is a club there called the ancient polar bear society, and you can sign up to be a member of the club, recieve a certificate and get a polar bear pin. It is tradition for missionaries who visit Alta.We While there we visited some members and tried a referral they had gotten. It was great to be with them and an amazing once in a life time opportunity. 

Thursday morning we flew back to Tromsø. Thursday was a busy day. We visited the -- with -- . We are going to start doing some home-teaching with --. That went well and then we met with -- and --. -- is our investigator from a few weeks ago. He was busy and we had lost contact but we were able to finally get another appointment. It went really well. We already have a good teaching relationship with him and he wants to find out if it is true. Our lesson with -- was good. We read the story of Enos and talked about prayer. He is keeping his commitments in reading the Book of Mormon. He also came again to church this week and brought a friend with him! He is going out of town and so we are going to try and meet with him before he goes. In the evening we skyped with --. It is always great to visit with him. He has a strong testimony of the church and he shares it with us every time. 

On Friday, we met with -- and --. We met with them on Monday earlier this week and also on Friday. We now have a schedule where we are going to start meeting two times a week to help them prepare for baptism. We read with them the story of Shadrach, Meschak and Abed-nego in the bible. It is one of my favorite bible stories. It teaches what it means to have faith. In the story, they are thrown into a fiery furnace because they didn't obey the kings orders to worship the golden image. so the king in his pride asks them, "who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? and the following is the response of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. "If it be so, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, o king. But if not, be it known unto thee o king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." The key phrase is "but if not" Not only did They have the faith that God could deliver them, that he has power to deliver them, they explained that they would believe in god, obey god, even if it wasn't the Lord's will for them to live. They would not shrink. They were willing to submit their will to God's by humbling themselves. So we tied this story into -- and -- lives that we must have faith. We talked more about the word of wisdom with them and want to start the 12 step addiction recovery program with them. that is our plan for the week. 

On Saturday, we drove with -- to -- to do service again. As always it was a great day filled with fun and service.

On Sunday, we had -- , his friend, and -- and --  in church. It was a great day. 

I love you all! I'm grateful to be a missionary. I love the gospel. Thanks for your examples, love and friendship. Have a great week. 

Elder Witt

July 18, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

Hey Family!

Thanks for Your love and support. I'm so Grateful for all of you. I'm Grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation and that families can be together for ever.

It was another good week in Tromsø. A lot of great Things are happening in the work. On Tuesday, we had District Meeting as usual. It was on Prayer and personal revelation. Oh how I'm Grateful for prayer. It is a blessing to be able to communicate With Our Father in Heaven. I know he loves us. After District Meeting, we had an open day of finding so we hit the streets! It was awesome. The sky was blue and the sun was out and the People were happy :) It was the first sunny day in a while because all we have had as of late is rain. We were able to talk to lots of different People. We met one guy whose name was -- and got an appointment With him for the next day.

On Wednesday, we decided to try Things a little different and knock on some doors first. We left in the morning, tried a potential and then went knocking. Almost no one was home. In the summer, it is not uncommon for families to leave on vacation for several weeks. They get a lot of vacation time for work. So after that we went back to the city and had lunch at the Pedersen's New Fish and Seafood store. It is awesome. They seem to be having good success and the Food is great. I got a salmon sandwich. It had a mustard With smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Super good and for a good deal too. Then we continued With the street contacting and met With -- the guy we met yesterday. He's got some Challenges in his life and so when we asked him why he wanted to meet With us he said. "I like praying and I think this could help me". we taught him a lesson and at the end, elder Braunberger invited him to be baptized and he Accepted! It was exciting. We got another appointment With him for Saturday.

On Thursday, we had a lesson With a man from Eritrea we met on the street a week or so ago. He has a strong belief in Christ, and was interested in the Book of Mormon. He was going on vacation the next day and so we won't be able to meet again until August 1. He told us that he wants to keep Meeting and that eh would read the book of Mormon. We didn't even need to ask :) After that we did some weekly planning and met With --. It's always Nice to visit With --. He is a good man. Then we visited -- and --. They still want to get baptized and they know the Church is true. -- is struggling With smoking so we will be focusing on that. There still on for their baptism August 20, and we set up appointments so we can meet twice a week now. I love -- and --. They are good People.

On Friday, we continued With the street contacting and did some Family history work. We also visited Lill and she fed us dinner.

On Saturday, we had Our Language class With --. It is always so helpful. Then we had a little Activity at the Church where one of the sisters investigators taught us all how to knit. After that we met With -- again. WE watched the restoration video together and set a date for him to get baptized on the 27 of August.   After that we visited --, then -- came With us to teach -- and --. The lesson went good! They asked us questions about Joseph Smith. They wanted to know more about him and so we read from Joseph Smith history With them.

On Sunday. we had a lot of new People at Church! There was a member Family visiting from Bergen. Also, -- and -- came and so did --. -- came but -- didn't. I played a musical number on the piano. I was way nervous haha but it went well. After Church we visited --, and --!

It was a busy and great week. I'm Grateful for the experiences I'm having. They have helped me come to a Clearer and certain Knowledge that God exists. He is Our gracious, loving, patient, forgiving, kind, just, merciful, full of goodness, and Perfect Father in Heaven. Oh how Grateful I am for that knowledge, and purpose it gives me. I love you all and am Grateful for Your kindness, support, and prayers.

Have a great week!

Elder Witt

July 11, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

Hey Family!

Thanks for your love and support! Things are going great in Tromsø. I'm really enjoying serving with Elder Braunberger. He has a strong desire to do his best. We're both learning as we go and enjoying the journey. It was Elder Braunbergers birthday this week so the -- made us a chocolate pie and we celebrated. That was fun.  

It was a good week! I always love the beginning of a new transfer. It's a time to set goals and recommit to the work. I'm grateful I'm here in Tromsø. I love the members here, love the work and love the city. It is beautiful. To start it off we went through the area book and called a ton of potential investigators and we were able to meet with 2 of them this week! The first is --. I met him on the street maybe 3 months ago and this time when I called him he was interested! He remembered talking about a book that we were giving out and asked for one again. We met with him and got him a Book of Mormon. We were out on the street and Sunday and saw him and said he would meet again. I'll keep you updated. He is a really really nice man. The second is --. We met him my first transfer here and wasn't super positive but hey, we called him 4 months later and he was totally willing to meet. We taught him about the restoration and it was really neat. He was interested and wants to find out if the Book of Mormon is true. He also said we could meet again. We are excited to see where it goes. We are starting to find some more people and we are excited to continuing seeing some more progress. 

We we're able to meet with -- and -- this week. It was a really busy and crazy week for them and the -- family. The -- moved houses and also opened their shop in the city. Because of that we were able to spend a lot of time with the  -- and -- and -- this week helping them move. They are doing good! The -- new shop they just opened is a Fish and seafood shop. You can go there to buy fresh fish but also buy food to eat. It is awesome! 

We had a cool experience Sunday night. We were just coming home from visiting -- and we had planned to do 12 week (a study program for the first 12 weeks of a new missionary) and eat dinner but we just had this feeling that we should go on the street and talk to people. It was illogical at the time because it was later in the evening and raining so not many people were going to be in the city but we decided to go anyway. We are walking down the street and we stop a man. The first man we talked to was interested and we got an appointment with him this week! So we keep going and were able to talk to several more people. It was great! 

My spiritual thought for the week is about the Book of Mormon. The more and more I read the book of Mormon the more I am amazed by the stories and faith of the great prophets. I can picture Abinadi testify before King Noah and his priests. Captain Moroni raising the title of liberty and inspiring his people. Alma and the sons of Mosiah being visited by an angel and changing from the "vilest of sinners" to the greatest missionaries. I know that These stories are real. These people are real. The Gospel is real.  I love the book of Mormon. It testifies of Jesus Christ and his love. I know it is true!

Have a great week!

Elder Witt

July 4, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

Hey Family!

Life is so good!!! Transfers are this week and I found out that I will be staying in Trosmø With Elder Braunberger. I love Tromsø and am excited for the work we can do these NEXT 6 weeks! There is a lot of potential and we are both ready to unlock it!

This past week was really busy.

On Tuesday we taught -- and -- again. It was sooo good! They are the best. They are keeping the Word of wisdom and Reading in the Book of Mormon and coming to Church! For Our lesson we had 3 focuses, the sacrament, the atonement and then fasting. We realized the upcoming Sunday was fast Sunday and it worked out perfectly to invite them to fast With us. After the lesson they were showing us a Fish tank they got and on the wall was a Picture of Joseph Smiths first vision. We had a good laugh about that With them, and -- told us that he really likes Joseph Smith and has watched the Joseph smith Movie again since we last watched it With them. Anyways, they are a joy. I'm so Grateful for this opportunity I have to be here and watch the gospel change them. Their story is one that will be apart of me for the rest of my life.

On Wednesday, we flew down to Oslo again. This time it was for interim training. President hill recently started having New missionaries and their trainers come back to Oslo for training at the end of their first 6 weeks. I think it is a wonderful idea. We arrived in Oslo Wednesday night and had training on Thursday and Friday and flew back Friday afternoon. The training covered all the basics helped us develop more skills. We talked about planning, finding, studying, working With members, what it means to be a successful missionary and many other topics. We had really good discussions and it was an uplifting experience for everyone. I was able to learn a lot of things. We were talking about the Gift of tongues and there is a quote that really stood out to me.

"The gift of tongues is not just about Learning a Language, it is a Journey of loving the People"

That is what it is all about! . As I approach my year mark it has caused me to reflect a lot on my first year as a missionary. It is also very humbling. I'm Grateful that I was able to be apart of this interim training especially at this time in my mission. I feel that it gave me instruction I need to make the most of the NeXT year and i couldn't be more excited.

I'm Grateful for a loving and forgiving Father in Heaven. While we were there are the conference one of the sister missionaries who is about to go home said something that I really liked. She shared the story of a missionary who had a lot of success on his mission. He said there were two Things he focused on. They are to help others know and feel 2 Things.

First, That god loves them, knows the and cares about them.

Second, that God needs them in His Church.

That is a powerful Message to everyone. Everyone is important in the eyes of Our father in Heaven. He needs YOU. We can all be Heaven's instruments we just have to be willing to act and trust in the Promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Later on Friday, we had a branch party. It was at a park and we played volleyball, frisbee, and had Food. It was a lot of fun. -- and -- came With their daughter (she is 7). And -- and -- came too and same With --. We weren't able to be with -- and -- this week but we will this coming week. We met With Alexander and made  lesson plan with him.

Elder Braunberger and I are really excited for this upcoming transfer. To begin applying all the Things we have learned the last 2 weeks, from the kearon Conference and from the interim training.

I know the Church is true! Love you all. Have a great 4th of july!

Eldste Witt

June 27, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

Hey family!

Thanks for all your love and support! I sure appreciate it! Today has been super crazy and that is why I'm emailing later than usual. Arvid needed some help so he called us, and then the sister missionaries were moving to a different apartment and so we helped with that all day and then we needed to run to the mall so Elder Braunberger could buy a bag. It has been a great but busy day. The sun is out and I think it got to 20 degrees celcius! Didn't need coats today, wohoo!

This last week was awesome!! Because of the shortage of time I will give you some highlights! 

On Tuesday, we flew to Oslo for the mission conference with Elder Kearon. Wow, that man is full of love! The conference was on wednesday. President and Sister Hill spoke to us and then Elder Kearon spoke to us. Elder Kearon began by expressing his love for missionaries and for us. His daughter had departed for the MTC in New zealand just 1 day before his meeting with us. His message started focusing on two points, "Don't worry, work hard" and Heavenly Father loves you. He helped us see our potential as missionaries and then gave us encouragement and direction on how to get there. He built off on what President and Sister Hill talked about, "Having a mighty change of heart". In Alma chapter 5 we read,

 13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers,and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.

 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

President Hill asked us the question, Do you have 1 foot on the dock and 1 foot on the boat? We need to be all in, 100% in, and then we will be successful and truly happy missionaries. I think this can apply to everyone. A mighty change of heart requires mighty action. It means continuing conversion. We must turn our backs to the adversary and face God and then proceed daily. When we make mistakes we shouldn't beat ourselves up. Often we can be too hard on ourselves. We need to have faith and keep aligning ourselves to God through repentence. Overall the conference was truly inspiring and a great boost spiritually and mentally. 

We flew home on Thursday and met with Jolanda and Marshall! We taught the word of wisdom and it went really well! Elder Braunberger is a stud and shared a personal experience of how the word of wisdom has blessed his life. It was just what they needed to hear. They both commited and said they would live it. We gave Marshall a blessing after church to help him with smoking. 

On Friday, we met with -- who is a new investigator we found! We have an appointment with him again for next week. We also met with -- and --. So they gave us different reasons for wanting to meet with us. -- said to strengthen each others faiths and -- said if the Book of Mormon is true then we need it in our lives. If it isn't true than you guys don't need it. There biggest thing is that they believe we are saved by faith alone. That is why they don't see a need for ordinances, the book of mormon, the restoration, etc. We will be touching on that next time.

On Saturday, we went to -- and did service and worked there. We took down some stairs and walls in this portable building so they could have some storage. It was a lot of fun. We were with --, the --, the sisters and -- and her husband. 

Church was great on Sunday. -- and -- came. There were also several members from the states who were vacationing. I was able to do some translating for them which was fun. 

Anyway life is good. Thanks for all your love and support. Have a great week!

Ha det godt!

Eldste Witt

June 20, 2016 - Tromsø, Norway

June 20, 2016

Hey everyone!

Thanks for Your love and support. Happy fathers day! I hope you all had a great week.

Things are progressing in Tromsø! This week the Alta elders came for splits which was a lot of fun and also a great success. They flew in on Tuesday and spent the afternoon and evening with us and then spent all day Wednesday with us. We tried to get as many appointments as possible and so we were able to get some and still have time on the streets to find. On Tuesday I was With Eldste Beck. We had several hours so we hit the streets. It was fun and we had some good success as well finding several people who could be interested.

Wednesday we had District Meeting With everyone there. It was on the Lord's Call to open Our mouths. One of the toughest things for me is bus contacting.  Talking to people on the busses because pretty much every bus you go on is silent. It is just not normal to start conversation with people you don't know. More often than not I don't end up doing it. But I do know the Lord blesses his missionaries who have their "Fishing lines in the water".  It was a good reminder and something I need to make more of my daily life. and I think the concept applies to everyone. Many of my most memorable experiences have come from bus contacting and I believe that is because it is something difficult for me. It takes me out of my Comfort zone and shows the Lord that I am willing to put his desires first and not my own. This principle can apply to everyone. Do I put the Lord first and follow his commandments or do I do that only when it is convenient? God loves us and desires for Our success. I recently listened to a talk. It was about the commandments. The speaker described the commandments as this. The "Thou shalt not" commandments are there to protect us from sorrow, misery, and danger. The "Thou shalt" commandments are there for Our happiness. They are Things that when we do them bring joy, Growth, and Learning.

On Wednesday, we also met With --- and --- again, the Family from the Netherlands. We started teaching the commandments and focused on daily prayer and scripture study. we felt that this would really build the Foundation for their faith and Conversion. They are coming to Church and Reading in the book of mormon. It's awesome!

On Thursday we met With ---. We watched a mormon Message on the Saviors atonement and it was powerful. He gave us two referrals of names to contact and told us that he is moving soon to Trondheim. I'll miss him but maybe I'll serve in Trondheim and see him there.

On Friday, we were able to meet with one of the potentials we found with the Alta Elders. His name is --- and he is form Haiti. He is a really honest and good man and I'm looking forward to future Meetings. He said he is busy with work so he never knows his Schedule. Hopefully Things work out! We also were able to skype With ---. It is always one of the Things I look forward to in the week. He bore us his powerful testimony. He lives in Gryllefjord (spelling?) which is a couple hours away and told us that he and a neighbor ask him about the Church. He have him the pamphlets and book of Mormon. Go member missionaries!!!

On Saturday, it was the midnight sun Marathon in Tromsø. There were hundreds of People in the city and a ton of tourist. It is a a huge Marathon that is run during the night. They had booths handing out free smoothies and drinks which was Nice :) That evening we met With --- and ---. --- came again With us. It was a good Meeting. We found out why they are Meeting With us. We are Meeting With them again this week focusing on the restoration.

On Sunday, we had Church and did some finding, planning, and visited ---. He is going to bring a friend to Our branch party coming up in a couple weeks. Go member missionaries!!!!

Have a great week! Love you all! the Church is true.

Elder Witt

June 6 & June 13, 2016

June 6, 2016

Hey Family!

Thanks for all your love and support! We had a great week! It definitely had its ups and Downs but we experienced many special moments. Also the sun doesn't set anymore. It is light 24/7. It is weird but it is cool. It rained a lot this last week and snowed in the Mountains. June in Tromsø :)

First is that --- and ---, the family we are teaching, accepted the invitation to be baptized! There baptism will be August 20. It is truly a tender mercy from the Lord. At the beginning of Our lesson With them we asked them about Church and they said it was "special", and that they loved it. When we asked them about the Book of Mormon, they said, "after we finished Reading the Chapter you assigned us, we wanted more" It is interesting how the spirit Works when we have an open and sincere heart. Like them, often when I feel the spirit, find something New in my gospel study, I get really excited. I just want to tell someone and share it with someone.  The gospel is exciting. There is always something new to be learned, something new to be Applied, and a fountain of lasting love, strength, and Peace to be found.  I'm truly grateful for this opportunity I have to be working With this great family. 

Second, the members in Tromsø are fantastic! --- had us over for dinner. She is a huge help when it comes to Learning Norwegian. She is Our personal tutor. We were able to help --- this week move. He is just moving to another Apartment in the city. --- --- received the Melchezedik priesthood last week which was exciting. One of the members who Works at the grocery store gave us a bunch of Food for free. Anyway I could go on for a long time about the members. They are great.

Our big focus now is just finding New investigators. We spent a lot of time on the streets and knocking on doors and got several potentials and a couple appointments this week so lets just hope for the best.

Working With Elder Braunberger has been great. He is ready and willing to work and learn. He is really talented musically.  We're having a good time.

My thought for the week comes from a mormon Message video "Mountains to Climb". We visited a member sunday night to share the sacrament and the sisters shared this video as their spiritual thought. It really touched me. We all have Our own Mountains to Climb in life. Moments of opposition, Challenges, and doubts that can be really hard but they can also me the times of Our greatest Growth. I heard a quote recently that I really like. "When you're going through hard times and you wondering where is God, just remember; the teacher is always quiet during a test." The teacher however is present in the room, watching over you. I know that as we look for the positive, choose to be happy, and choose to be Grateful that Things will go better!

Have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Witt

June 13, 2016

Hey family!

Thanks for your love and support. I'm sure grateful for all of you. It was another good week in Tromsø. I pulled out my winter coat for the first time in a while. I guess this last week we had strong winds from the north and so the weather was cold and rainy. Other than that We're having fun and making the most of it!

On Tuesday, we met with --- and --- again. They are amazing. We watched the Joseph Smith, prophet of the restoration movie. It went really well, they made the connection that Joseph's life was similar to the Saviors. They told us that the Book of Mormon to them is not like any other book. It carries a power with it. It is amazing to just watch the spirit work in their lives. We also met with --- and ---. We decided to have --- come on the teach with us and it turned out well. It's always good to have a member there who can share personal experiences and testimonies. We are worried that --- and --- view our meetings as more of a sharing of beliefs and views with each other. It helped us uncover some concerns. Next time we meet with them we're going to try to help them understand the basics of our message and our purpose as missionaries and set some expectations.

On Wednesday, we had a day of finding. We went street contacting and Banking. While banking, we tried pack some potentials and didn't have any success so we stopped and said a prayer. We didn't know what we should be doing. After the prayer we both kept thinking that we need to keep knocking on doors. So we kept going and came to a fork in the road. We stopped said a prayer and felt we should go to the right. We said to ourselves that we would keep going until we gave away a book of mormon. Lo and behold on our second house we knocked into this college student. She was really friendly and hadn't heard much about the church. She accepted the book and got her cell number. It was a neat experience to end the day. 

On Thursday, we went to the police station to check Elder Braunberger into the country. After that we went street contacting. While we were out the city was having this big festival so we got some free food and ran into some of the members there. Then we met with --- and after that had skype interviews with the mission president!

On Friday, we started the day with some good old contacting! There was this super friendly woman from southern Norway that was just on a trip, but it was neat talking to her. She had heard about mormons before but only the usual stereotypes. We were able to clear some things up and introduce her to the book of mormon. After that, we went to ---'s and helped him and his brother move some more stuff, then we skyped with ---. 

On Saturday, we had Norwegian with --- again. It's seriously the best. She has helped me understand so much. We went and helped --- finish moving everything. After that we went contacting. We decided this time that we were going to focus on family history. I grabbed my genealogy fan chart to show to people. It was fun. We were able to talk to several people interested in genealogy work. We're trying to mix up our finding techniques and see what we can do!

On Sunday, I gave a talk. I based my talk on the plan of salvation and faith. When we understand our divine nature as Sons and daughters of God along with Gods purpose, which is our success, progress and happiness, it is easier to have faith and show faith when times are tough. We were able to visit with --- and also share the sacrament with ---.

So life is good and I couldn't be happier. I'm confident things will only get better. I know the church is true. The truth has been restored. God continues to give us his word through prophets today. as we follow the prophet we will be lead down the right path. 

Have a fabulous week! 

Elder Witt