Chillin' With My Gnomies in Norway: God IS Love!…Week 52

Hello!

Okay people! I ALWAYS reply to everyone before I write my mass email and then I have NO time to write so I am switching it up this week! I am going to do my mass email first! :) HOLY COW! I am SO grateful for this church. ATTENTION EVERYONE: IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE; COME TO A MORMON CHURCH! Come and see what it is all about! I am so grateful to be a member of this church. I am so grateful for the CONTINUAL happiness I have being a member of this church. There is so much love and support and I find peace in knowing that I am a child of God and so are YOU! He LOVES you!!!! My scripture in the Bible is...John 4:7-11 GUD ER KJÆRLIGHET! (GOD IS LOVE!) I know that is true because I have experienced it! Give God a chance...he will not let you down!

This week has been CRAZY! On Tuesday we drove to Oslo (which is about 1 1/2 hours away from Sarpsborg) and we had a HUGE Pday with about 30 other missionaries. It was SO fun! We went in small groups to get food, played some sports and games, and just got to spend time together at the church. I love being around so many missionaries. They are experiencing all that I am! Its so nice to be with others who really understand you.

The reason we were all in Oslo was because a member of the seventy (he is a leader in the church) was coming down to talk to us missionaries on Wednesday! I learned SO much! Before the conference even started he had us all line up with our companions so he and his wife could greet us personally. FUN FACT: His name is Elder Johnsen and he was a missionary in Norway years ago! It was so cool to be able to speak Norwegian with him! He is actually still very good! :) President and Søster Hill spoke in the conference and it was so nice to hear from our dear President and "first lady" :) I love them so much. You can feel the real love they have for the missionaries. A mission President and his wife have the responsibility to take care of the missionaries and the mission. Just like the mission Presidents before them, they are doing and have done a wonderful job! I love them so much! Elder Johnsen and his wife also spoke. The conference was very focused on our investigators and how we can help them have a continued desire to learn the Gospel and feel the spirit and how it all starts with YOU! We need to have the Spirit to share it!

DONT EVER FORGET TO READ YOUR SCRIPTURES! It is so important! If you would like a Book of Mormon, comment below and my mom will get one to you! In whatever language you need! I know the Book of Mormon comes from God. If you would like to know more click here mormon.org and you can order a free Book of Mormon and Bible. :)

Holy cow! I love being a missionary! It is such hard work but the kind of hard work that makes you sleep really well at night because you are so tired and happy! It’s the best! :) Don't get me wrong, its hard and there are LOTS of tears but there are so many more tears of joy and from laughing so hard then there are from being sad! :)

We have an amazing investigator right now who is a pro soccer player in Europe and he is SO good! He really puts God first which is so cool! He is from Africa so he can only speak English and no Norwegian but he loves coming to church. We translate for him and he has such a desire to learn Norwegian so that he can understand for himself what is being taught in church. #suchagoodguy!

We also have another investigator who has almost been taught by the missionaries for 2 years. He is such an amazing man! We got to meet his WONDERFUL family for the first time last Sunday and it was so special. They are such good people who love to laugh! It was so good to be with them :) So he is getting baptized next week... WAHOO!!!!! We are so excited for him and his choice to be baptized. I know that he is going to feel the most joy he has ever felt and that it will bless him and his wonderful family! We have also been racing to see who can finish the Book of Mormon first and he beat me... by like a lot! Now that I have lost we have to go on a bike ride next p-day. He says it will take 4 hours... UGH! Hahaha I am excited :) He said if he lost he would play Rugby with me and my family next summer! I think that is still going to happen though ;)

We made dinner for a less active at her home and it was so fun. She works A LOT and has not very much time for herself so we came to give her some love and spend some quality time with her. It was so nice to sit there with her and talk about life and laugh about goofy things. She is a great lady with so many good desires! I am so grateful for the good people I have in my life now that I can look up to. :)

We got to visit the Bishops wife and she just had a baby about 3 weeks ago and he is SO cute! It was just Søster Rogers, me, her and her 3 other kids. It was so fun to be together and play with the kids. She has 3 little girls and they LOVE the missionaries! Especially the Elders because the elders are the best! We talked a lot about God and his love (if you have not noticed, that is my FAVORITE thing to talk about! God is LOVE!). We also talked a lot about motherhood and fatherhood. :) Jeg gleder meg! (Looking forward to it!)

The last and most special thing I would love to talk about is my dear friend who was baptized last night. I love this kid! He is 15 years old and such a good person! He is such a sweet kid and has so many good desires. VERY respectful and just good! The Elders have been teaching him and they are so good with him! The are GREAT examples to the young men here! I love seeing the Elders together with him and a few other boys in the ward and just see the love they all have for each other! I LOVE it! :)

Well, darling peeps, I love you all...so much! You are missed and loved not just by me but by a loving Father in Heaven. I know He loves you even if you don’t know it yourself. I hope you all have a wonderful week and remember to keep smiling and share the LOVE!

Gud vær med deg til vi sees igjen!

-Søster Neilson