Can you guess how old I am?
Kjære familie og venner,
The funny story of the week happened while we visited the sisters, Søster Stansfield and Søster Livingstone in Arendal, which is the inspiration for the setting of the movie Frozen! We attended a "language cafe" in the Arendal library, where people come to learn Norwegian. Naturally, as we all practice Norwegian together, we end up talking about the Church and our message. We also visited a member of the branch for dinner. Towards the end of dinner, he cut out four pieces of paper and had us each to write down our guess of how old he was! The closest guesser would get the prize of sewing a button back on to his shirt. ;) I was the closest guesser, guessing 80. He is 82 and still bikes around town! So, I took his button and shirt home and sewed it back on for him. That was super funny! I am always so impressed at the faithfulness and strength of the members of the Church here.
We also are teaching some amazing people. We are teaching a new person, S. She is from Iran and has lived in Norway for a few years. She has gone through so much in her life. Through it all, she recognizes the peace and calm that come from prayer and "looking at pictures of Jesus", which is the Holy Ghost. Our ward members are incredible, wanting to be involved in the missionary work. They've welcomed and embraced S. warmly in church and in lessons!
The Book of Mormon and Bible answer questions of the soul. We taught Ni Chum this week about the Plan of Salvation. He is still trying to understand the concept of living with God in the pre-earth life. He was excited when we gave him Bible references to study on his own (Jeremiah 1:5, John 1 among others). I know that we lived with our Heavenly Father as His spirit sons and daughters before we came to earth. He created us, knows us, and has always loved us. He taught us about His plan and gave us the gift of the freedom to choose. We choose His plan, evidenced that we are here on earth now. I am so grateful for His plan of happiness!
I am grateful for:
Our ward. I cannot say enough how good the members are.
President and Søster Tew. They know how to minister.
Senior couples! Søster and Elder Jensen helped us with our washing machine and are so thoughtful!
Norway. I love Norway, Norwegian, the people we're teaching, and the culture. I love the opportunity to testify of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love my mission!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yvNjUNB4S6eNEHCh9
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Søster Jessica Brimhall
