Chillin' With My Gnomies in Norway: An African Miracle in Trondheim!…WEEK 8

Sometimes we can catch Soster Neilson online and we can instant email. Kind of like instant messaging. I usually leave my notification sounds on and hope I wake up to an incoming email. Last week that was at 2:30AM. This week it was at 3:45AM. It's wonderful to talk to her in "live" time!

This morning she said she wasn't sure if she'd have time to send the mass email because she was trying to catch up to every one's personal emails. I figured I'd just share a story that she shared with me. Let me explain the back story first. Haylee has always felt a pull to Africa. We used to tease her that she'd serve her mission in Africa and never come home because she'd be too busy in an orphanage, rocking little babies. :) Another component to this story came the week before she entered the MTC. Haylee was catching up on the news and was reading about ISIS and the Christians being terrorized in the Middle East. She was in tears and said, "Mom, what can I do to help? I feel guilty going to Norway when people are starving and being tortured for their belief in Christ in the Middle East." She was so upset! So…this is the email I received from her this morning…

"So we had a lesson with this couple, Rawa (the wife) and Askmeh (the husband). They also have a friend named Samhar, who lives with them. They are all from North Africa. They are here in Norway as refugees because of the evil that was in their village in Africa. The horrific things these people have had to endure is unimaganiable…I can't even talk about it…horrible horrible things! They escaped from Africa into the Middle East only to find themselves again being persecuted by ISIS for being Christians. So many lost their lives. In spite of it all, their faith is SO strong! As they were telling me their story, I could see how similar it is to Lehi's story of rejection and wandering in the wilderness. By the end of our lesson on the Book of Mormon, all three of them were in tears and Samhar was kneeling at our feet in awe…she is a precious soul...the Lord is SO amazing! We invited them to be baptized and they all said YES! You see, Askmeh (the husband) was a prisoner of war. He was tortured and has scars all over his face and hands. He is a very serious man, and when I invited him to be baptized, he had tears in his eyes and he said, "Yes. Yes…I am ready!". He always talks about how all he wants is peace and how much he loves our message! SUCH amazing people! HOLY COW!!! Mom, I wanted to help the Christians in the Middle East and THEY ARE HERE IN NORWAY…well three are! AND THEY ARE ALL BEING BAPTIZED!!! THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST IS TRUE! :)"
-Soster Neilson