March 13 - Romerike

Hey everyone!

They posted moves this morning.  I'll be staying another transfer in Romerike with Elder Richardson. It will only be a 5 week transfer and then the next one will be 7 weeks. I'm excited to be here for a another one in Romerike. We are starting to see some progress in the area and It will be fun to keep getting to know the members better and work more with them.

Here are some highlights of the week!

On Monday, for P day we visited Kongsvinger with the sisters and the Recent Convert who lives out there. We visited the old church and fortress. It was cool to visit the site and visit another place where some of our ancestors are from. We also had FHE and a birthday party for Sister Bennett. 

On Tuesday night, we joined some ward members, mostly Young adults, at the church to play indebandy. It is floor hockey. Way fun and a popular sport in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden.

On Wednesday, We had our district meeting in Hamar. Usually the Hamar elders travel down to be with us but we are going to start going up there once a transfer. We also had a really really nice visit with a member family and had dinner with them. We shared 3 Nephi 17:21 which says, "And when he (Jesus) had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them." I love the idea presented and it teaches us a lot of Christ's ministry. He ministers to the multitude but also the individual at the same time. He feeds five thousand but teaches the woman at the well. His Kingdom is full of ones and is built one at a time. We can all follow the savior and help the one's in our life serve them. Then we had interviews with President. I love the Hills. They are dedicated and full of love! 

On Thursday, we had a lesson with --. She is doing awesome! It was a cool lesson and we were able to see all the progress she has made in the last 5 weeks. At first it was hard for her to accept the idea of prophets and now she is reading the book of mormon and accepted our soft invitation to be baptized. She said she would be baptized when she finds out it is true. Also on Thursday we visited Young mens, and talked about our missions. They were doing a mission prep activity.

On Friday, we had a cool experience. We were weekly planning and had a random thought to try back a woman that we gave a book of mormon at the beginning of the transfer. She lived nearby so we went and knocked on her house. Her husband answered and was way nice! They both like mormons a lot but are active christians in their own church. They have twins, and are a young norwegian family. They also have family prayer each night. Real solid, good and nice people. They told us they aren't looking to "change" but they asked if we could come back a different day. So that was cool.

On Saturday, we were on splits with the Oslo elders. I was with Elder Killpack, We got a call from the member in the woods who needed service so we went and helped him, and then visited --, the new convert in Kongsvinger. Elder Killpack was the one who baptized her so it was a happy reunion. We are currently going through the stories of Christ in the New testament with her. She is amazing and a great missionary. Her best friend, who lives in Arendal, was visiting and came to church with her.

On Sunday, it was testimony meeting and we had a good day in church. We taught primary to the 7 and 8 years and taught about baptism. It was pretty funny, They were so energetic and would not sit still. After church we knocked doors in Fjellhamar and an old man let us in. We had a nice visit with him but he isn't interested. 

My thought for the week is from a member who bore her testimony in church. She shared an experience she had this last week. She explained how recently she changed the way she prayed and start to ask something a long the lines of this. "I pray that I may have the courage and strength I need to be a good example and bless the lives of those around me and help them." It teaches a principle of agency. I know that we will be blessed with greater spiritual strength as we pray for the strength and courage to be agents and not objects and thus be instruments in the Hands of God to bless his children. 

I know the church is true! Hope you have a good week! 

March 6 - Romerike

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for your love and support. It was a good week here. On Monday and Tuesday we were booked with appointments and we counted and had taught the plan of salvation 3 times within 24 hours. That was fun for us. One of the lessons was with the family we are teaching. They are a solid family. We got a message from the father that he had read already to 2nd Nephi. He is way into Biblical history and loves the idea of the book of mormon. They told us that they aren't looking to change churches but are interested in learning about our message. They show signs of preparation. And I just pray that things will work out. 

On Wednesday, we had district meeting with Hamar. It was on the christlike attributes of Faith and Humility, and then on introducing the book of mormon.  It was interesting to study Faith and humitlity together. I've come to recognize that christlike attributes are all related. Striving to obtain one will help us developed another. I like to think of Humility as the great catylyst. It is necessary to spritual progression. After that we went to Kløfta and tried some people there and then joined the Elders quorum for a ward activity in the evening.

The highlight of the week though was definitely being able to go to Hamar for splits. A small line of my ancestors come from the Hamar area. I took a train to Hamar Thursday evening to spend Friday there. While in Hamar, we stopped by the Vang church and also the old Kay farm (where my ancestors are from) The farm is now gone and is now instead a garden store. However the old farm house from the 1800's still stands but has just been built on and renovated. We stopped by the garden store and I was able to talk with to Kay family members, I explained my relation to the kays. i was able to get some good information about the kay farm and history of the Kays. They also told me that they will send me more information via email if they find anything out. It was just a really exciting experience. The spirit of Elijah is real.  

On Saturday, we tried back a potential who let us in and we were able to have a lesson. He invited us back in a couple weeks.. That was exciting. 

On Sunday, there was a special stake conference broadcast. It was broadcasted from Salt Lake and for the Stakes in Northern Europe. The speakers were Elder Clayton, Sister Reeves, Elder Dykes, and Elder ballard. It was a powerful conference with good messages from all of them. 

My thought for the week comes from when I was on Splits with Elder Dawes. He shared with me an experience he had before his mission when he and some friends read the book of mormon in a day 24 hours. They took turns reading, listening to audio recordings, and playing basketball to keep them awake and alive, but they were able to do it. He told me how it helped the scriptures come alive and he saw connections and themes that he hadnever recognized before. It reminded me of Elder Bednar's talk "A Reservoir of Living Water". Elder Bednar asks "Are you and I daily reading, studying, and searching the scriptures in a way that enables us to hold fast to the rod of iron—or are you and I merely clinging? Are you and I pressing forward toward the fountain of living waters—relying upon the word of God? These are important questions for each of us to ponder prayerfully." I know that as we make efforts to connect ourselves with the source of living Water, Christ our savior, that we will be happier and feel the spirit more abundently. 

Ha det bra!

Elder Witt

Februrary 27 - Romerike

Hey everyone! 

Thanks for your love and support. We woke up this week to beautiful blue skies and a fresh layer of snow. The weather this last week was great. I'm grateful for the sun and sunshine. One good thing is that we were able to get in contact with some people we have been trying for a couple weeks. 

On Tuesday we met with an investigator that I met on my first day in Romerike. He ended up moving away for 3 months and then finally came back.. While he was away we gave him to other missionaries and he went to church a couple times and showed progress. He has some challenges but we are hoping we can start meeting with him and working with him. Also on Tuesday we were knocked on the door of a woman who Elder Carver and I taught 4 weeks ago. She explained how she has been super busy but really liked our message and was interested and so she told us to come back not this week but next week. And also in the area we knocked into another guy. He is from Eritrea and has studied theology for 4 years and invited us right in. WE are going back this week. We were excited about that. 

On Wednesday we met with --. We read Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon with her in hopes to help her become more comfortable with it. We will be meeting her tomorrow. 

On Thursday we had Zone conference in Oslo. It was awesome! Sister Hill talked about "recharging our batteries" each day by exercise, healthy eating, and personal scripture study. Then President Hill went through segments from the worldwide missionary broadcast. We practiced inviting people to be baptized in the context of the plan of salvation. I was able to see Elder Dial and Braunberger again so that was fun. The mission office couple has been serving here for almost 2 years and will be going home soon and they shared some touching remarks. They are so funny and great. They gave a great tribute to President and Sister Hill and the love they have for us missionaries. I'm really grateful to be serving here with President and Sister Hill. 

On Friday, we tried people around the church and in a place called Fjellhamar and also met with -- the recent convert. We knocked on the house of a mom who invited us back next Sunday. She was way cool! 

On Saturday, we had an open day so we took the train and bus to a small place called Lørenfallet and tried a former investigator there. They weren't interested but we met an American who has a family here and was really nice. We invited him to church and he said that sounded interested so maybe he will come in the future sometime. you never know. 

On Sunday, we had a great day at church and then met with --, a recent convert. She is just amazing! A huge example to me of faithfulness. She drives over an hour to church every week and is the only member in her family. 

My thought this week is from the talk Grateful in Any Circumstances by president Ucthdorf. As part of this mortal life, we all experience trials, challenges, fears, doubts, or adversity in our life. In those moments it can be difficult to understand why it is happening..Often it can feel like a mountain to climb and you are only at the base. This week I was reminded of the power of gratitude. an Attitude of Gratitude in our circumstances has the power to heal and change hearts. President Uchtdorf said,

"When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace."

It is something I have felt. I know the gospel is true. Keep going and keep smiling!

Love, Elder Witt

Februrary 20 - Romerike

Hey family!!

It was a good week. I'm so grateful to be a missionary. The experiences you have and the lessons you learn as a missionary are priceless. I know God is real and has a plan for each of us. 

I don't have a ton of time to write so here are the highlights!

Monday for P-day we went ice skating in Oslo. Some of the missionaries there joined us along with the elders from Hamar. I'll send pics. The Hamar elders stayed with us Monday night for splits and then district meeting tuesday morning. On Monday night I was with Elder Dawes. We went to a nearby area to knock some doors. After finishing a row of houses it was getting late so we decided to just go to the downtown and talk to people on the street. After 30 minutes or so we were about to stop because there was almost no one on the street so we were just going to do something else but we talked to one more person. It was this young guy who lived with some mormons in Florida and knew a bunch there. He had a bunch of questions and we stood there talking to him in a little over 30 minutes and taught him shortly the restoration and plan of salvation. He was way cool. He was hesitant give us his information and meet in the future so we just invited him to church and gave him our card. I would not be surprised if he meets the missionaries in the future and then gets baptized. It was really just such a joyful experience. And to go with that, the same night, elder Richardson and Elder Hall visited a woman that we knocked into on my birthday and it turns out that it is a whole family. So they taught the mom and dad and they have a young boy who is way friendly and cool. We are way excited about this family. They are positive. 

-- our investigator came to the relief society party and loved it. We also taught a different woman we met on the street at the library. IT was a good lesson but she doesn't want to go forward with it. She has her own personal questions and concerns about God and wasn't interested in going forward. maybe in the future. 

We also went on splits with the Fredrikstad elders. That was fun. This week we have zone conference in Oslo so that will be good.

My spiritual thought comes from the lesson from Priesthood and Relief society on the pioneers. They are great examples of people who made sacrifices. And because of the sacrifices they made are we blessed today.  Sometimes we are required to make sacrifices. In one of the churches hymns it says, “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.” Elder Oaks said, "Our lives of service and sacrifice are the most appropriate expressions of our commitment to serve the Master and our fellowmen." Sometimes we are called on to make sacrifices for the gospel. Sacrifices of time or maybe our desires. Our sacrifice then becomes a process in refining us and changing us. As we learn to make sacrifices with willing, loving and obedient heart, we will come to realize that the sacrifice we gave actually gave us more in return. I know the gospel is true. I'm grateful for the pioneers and for their example of faith and sacrifice.

Have a good week!!

Elder Witt

Februrary 13 - Romerike

Hey everyone!

First, It was mother's day for Norway yesterday so happy Mother's day to the moms we know. Thank you for blessing our lives!

It was a good week! Definitely a positive learning week for me. Here are some of the highlights of the week!

So it snowed last week! so for Pday we grabbed some black garbage bags and went to a nearby hill and went sledding haha it was way fun! Other exciting news is that the sun is staying up longer now. It is rising earlier and setting later and so I'm grateful for that.

We also went on splits this week with the AP's. I was with Elder Mitchell who is from England. He is a solid guy. We had a lesson with --. It went well. She had several questions and concerns but it was cool because she even said herself that it will take time and patience for her to come to understand our message and find out if it is true. It is a little difficult for her to grasp everything because she has been studying in different bible classes and has learned some different things but she is willing and interested. She didn't make it to church this last week because of previous plans but she will be going to the relief society party this week with --, a recent convert!

Unfortunately, I got some food poisoning this week and it wrecked me so I was out of commission on Friday but then back on Saturday!

On Saturday, my birthday, we were able to help a wonderful member family here move. Several other men form the ward were there so it was fun to get to know some of them better. We also had an appointment with a Former investigator. It was a little funny because we were going to meet him in the city and find a place to meet. There isn't a library close and our church is far away so there aren't many options. We go to the cafes and they are all just packed and so he's like how about here and it happens to be an empty restaurant/bar. It was like 2 in the afternoon so it was empty thankfully. We just got some soda and talked. So the first time I've taught  the restoration in a bar and probably the last! Later in the day we knocked some doors in lillestrøm. We haven't spent to much time knocking doors here but we decided we would give it a try and it turned to be a good success! We knocked into a woman. Her brother passed away a couple years ago and happened to a be an active member here in the ward. She invited us back this week! And to finish off the day we got some awesome burgers at this local burger place. It is a new shop in the area. I feel like Norway is starting to step up their burgers.

As I said this week was definitely a learning one for me. One thing that is difficult for me is that I can worry about things that don't need to be worried about and can be anxious about things that are out of my control and these things more often than not can be burdonsome. Christ offers us the solution

27 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

His invitation is for us to come unto him. One way is to have faith in Christ. As we strive to have faith, believe, and excersise our faith then our doubts and fears will be replaced with peace. This lesson goes in perfectly with the one we had in Church on Sunday from President Hinckley about devoloping a attitude of happiness and a spirit of Optimism. Our faith will be put into action and become a part of us as we strive to be positive, be loving, be forgiving, and by being grateful. I know the church is true.

Have a great week!

Elder Witt

Februrary 6 - Romerike

Hey everyone! 

Thanks for your love and support! We had transfers this last week and I got a new companion, elder Richardson. He comes from the small town of fillmore, Utah. He is a stud and has a lot of passion for the gospel and missionary work so I'm looking forward to the coming transfers! 

He arrived wednesday afternoon and after we dropped off his bags and had lunch we took a train with our ward mission leader to a Recent Converts house. She is amazing! She got baptized in July and has already gone through the book of mormon a couple times. Since she was atheist before she met the church we are going through the gospels in the new testament to learn of the Savior and his mortal ministry. She is also a ward missionary. so after our lesson we had our weekly ward missionary meeting and had pasta, then we took a train home.

On Thursday, we had district meeting with our new district. Half of the district changed so it was fun to meet everyone. This transfer will be focused on effective studies. After that we went and did service for a member who is moving into the ward, and then we took a train and bus to our new investigators house for a lesson. She studies at a bible school and was interested in our message. We taught her about prophets. 

On Friday, we had MLC in Oslo. We went over some of the changes from the world missionary broadcast and discussed how  to implement them in our mission. President Hill shared some experiences from his life and about his father who recently passed away. He taught how our examples and actions and who we are speak louder than our words. It was his father's example that had the biggest impact on him. In the evening we taught another recent convert. We went in a plan to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ but ended up focusing on faith the whole time and read the story of shadrach meshac and abednego. It was a great discussion. 

On Saturday, we went to a members for lunch and afterwards we planned for the upcoming week and did some plans for the transfer and then went and contacted people on the street. 

On Sunday, it was fast and testimony meeting at church. One of members had a baby blessing and so there were relatives all over norway visiting and I was able to see a member from Arendal again. That was fun. Our investigator -- also came to church! She stayed for all 3 hours and enjoyed it.  After church we tried back several potential and former investigators and knocked doors in the area. 

In priesthood meeting yesterday at church the lesson was on Charity or the pure love of Christ. Charity is in essence the Character of Christ. Charity is a spiritual gift we should all strive to develop. It is a love that forgives, a love that is selfless, a love that listens, and a love that serves. I know that Christ is our savior, our great shepherd, our servant leader, who's path is the path to happiness.

have a fabulous week! Stå på!

Elder Witt  

January 30 - Romerike

Hey everyone! 

Thanks for your love and support! It is transfers this week and I found out that I will be staying in Romerike. Elder Carver is moving to Stavanger and my new companion will be Elder Richardson. He is from elder Carver's group and is a solid guy. I've met him a couple times at zone conferences  I'm looking forward to the next transfer. This week was really exciting and a lot happen. We were invited in on three separate occasions while just finding and knocking on doors. So that was a record for me! 

Tuesday was a tender mercy. We had district meeting in the morning and then after that we had an appointment in Kløfta. Now this appointment was originally at 5 pm but we changed it to 4 because we thought that a member wanted us to come over for dinner on Tuesday but later we found out it was for Monday so we decided to keep the changed appointment time anyway. Our appointment in Kløfta was with --. He was an investigator who randomly dropped us and so we asked if we could just stop by and talk about it so we did and it went really well. Elder Carver bore his testimony of us being led to him on that christmasy day and the spirit was strong. We taught him about prayer and explained our purpose and invited him to write down the questions he had meet again with us. He was open to it so Im hoping we don't lose him. Because we had extra time we went to Skedsmokorset to try back with a potential. She let us right in and we taught her about the restoration and it was so good! Then we had an appointment with our investigator Jørgen in Fjerdingby. We arrived around 6:30 and our appointment was at 7. we realized we had forgotten to confirm the appointment so we gave Jørgen a call and he asked if we could come at 8 instead of 7.  we said sure and quickly informed the member who was going to be with us on the teach that the appointment was moved to 8. The member told us it worked fine.  We had some extra time so we decided to try back a potential we had in the area. It was the mom we talked to a couple weeks ago who said we could come back. She is the one we talked about family home evening with. We knocked on her door and she let us right in! We taught her the plan of salvation and once again it was awesome. She said we could come back in two weeks. Then after her we had some time so we just knocked on a few doors before we met with Jørgen. It was literally the best day. All of these appointment time changes made it possible for us to meet with new people and it was a lot of fun to be apart of it. 

On Wednesday, we went to an older members house in the morning. She invited us and the sisters over for lunch. Elder Carver is really smart with computers so she asked us if we could come over and help her with some family history work by scanning old pictures she had on to the computer. We imported several pictures for her and she was way happy. She shared with us some cool stories about family history that her deceased husband and parents did. It was neat. There is real power in family history work.  Then we went to Fetsund to try a former and knocked doors in the area. Then we had the worldwide missionary training broadcast. It was so good!  We were able to participate in a "council" that was done by the missionary executive committees. Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, and Elder Anderson are apart of the committee. They discussed the doctrine of christ and our purpose as missionaries. They also made big policy changes in our daily schedule and key indicators. The whole purpose was to help us be agents unto our selves and use our time more productive. We no longer have set companionship and language study times. They also got rid of nightly planning and instead we plan in the morning. The changes are great and many many people will benefit from them. They also simplified key indicators where we now only report. Baptisms and confirmations, baptismal dates, investigators in church and new investigators. This was  a big change and a needed change to help us focus on our purpose and the doctrine of christ. 

On Thursday, we we did some service in the day and then had our ward mission leader meeting and had a lesson with the new convert. 

On Friday, we had a mission wide video conference to discuss the changes in the new schedule. Then we went to a new area, blystadlia where we had some try backs and while there we knocked into another person who let us in. We taught her the restoration and it went well. She will be busy with school and her new job but said we could try in a month or two.

On Saturday we had splits with the missionaries in Oslo. We went to Strømmen and contacted people on the street and tried back people in the area. One was a woman who we got an apointment with this week who is way positive. Overall a solid day. 

'

On Sunday,  I performed a musical number with Sister Gagon. She played the violin while i played the piano. The song was a poor wayfaring man of grief. I was wayyyyyy nervous. but thankfully it went well. 

Those were some of the highlights of this week.  I have a testimony of this church. It is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that as we focus on the Savior, have faith in Him, and Follow his example we will find true hope and peace. Have a great week!

Elder Witt