Weekend with the Tews!
Kjære famile og venner,
Friday:
We visited S., 15 years old and baptized 3 years ago. She and her family have been inactive for a while. She told us she wants to be more active and be a missionary when she's old enough! We committed her to take the lessons again and she accepted. She volunteered herself to come to church and to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon each night before she goes to bed. She is incredible! It's amazing to see what someone is capable of when they have someone to believe in them.
Playing soccer with ward members and their friends (member-organized activity). It rained cats and dogs! We played anyway! We got soaked - like we had taken a shower - and our phone got some water damage (don't worry, we got a replacement at Zone Conference). We are building some relationships with the members' friends. Really cool!
Saturday:
Søster Tew came on a lesson with us to teach H. We taught him baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. He had read Alma 7 in preparation for the lesson and told us he especially liked verse 14. He said those are "fine words." It was so natural - we then asked him to be baptized! He said so simply "Yes!" He is preparing to be baptized on 17 November 2018!
After the lesson, Søster Tew, my companion, and I took the bybane to downtown Bergen. We met up with President Tew who had been contacting with the elders. President and Sister Tew took us to eat dessert at Lys Verkeri. They ordered several different desserts and we all ate "family style" - out of the same bowls. The best one was the chocolate mousse. We had a wonderful conversation with the waitress, who showed us the back room "where they make the bread." We gave her a Restoration pamphlet and our phone number. She was very positive!
I love how President and Sister Hill work in the trenches with us.
Sunday:
A. came to church! And stayed for all three hours. Then he came with us (all the missionaries - young missionaries, senior couple, and President and Sister Tew) to the bishop's house. Their family hosts an "Open House" for the missionaries to bring all the people they work with (people being taught, returning members, etc) and eat some food and get to know each other. It was wonderful! A. seemed to feel very welcomed. Veslemøy, the bishop's wife, made killer fish soup!
We spent the whole evening receiving missionaries flying and bussing into Bergen for Zone Conference.
Monday:
Zone Conference! Seriously, a highlight. It was the first time my companions from the MTC and I have all been together! That was such a fun moment! We brainstormed and discussed the following:
The changes to Preach My Gospel, especially Lesson 3
The 5 Year Plan. Setting goals for the next five years.
Consecration. What a consecrated missionary is like.
How to Manage First Impressions.
How to engage children when teaching a lesson.
How to adjust to new areas (working with members in a branch and a ward is quite different)
We went with the elders to visit a woman they teach, who had invited her daughters and nieces to come too. They are from Peru! They committed to come to the Norwegian study group and we hope to start teaching them soon!
Tuesday:
Lydehorn, an awesome hike. One of the famous 7 mountains to hike in Bergen. The view from the top was gorgeous! We hiked it with Jan, a member, and the elders.
This week, I've learned a lot about how everyone just needs a friend, someone to believe in them as they jump over life's hurdles. Our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ work through us to answer their prayers. As we decide to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, and seek revelation to know how to influence them, He will bless others through us.
Have a great week!
Love,
Søster Brimhall
Pics:
1-2. Hiking Lydehorn.
3. Took the train to Voss!
4. Teaching S. & E! They went back to Africa.
5. The MTC trio all together again!
