Ah I'm Gonna Miss this Place

Jessica's Homecoming: 

 May 29, 2016.  9 am 

at the Hidden Valley 4th Ward Building 

1440 E. Raddon Drive in Sandy.

Please come and support Jessica at church 

and then come over to our house after for treats. 

We live right across from the church 

on 12008 Hidden Valley Rd.!   

She would love the support!

This week was one my favorites in Drammen. It was very spiritual. It all started on Monday when we decided to go visit this older lady in the ward. I had no idea what to share with her, but as I opened Mormon Bok I turned to my favorite scripture, Ether 12:27. I read it and started crying. I have read that scripture a million times and that time it just really hit me. 

Wednesday was probably the best day ever in Drammen. 

First of all it was Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you) and we had a wonderful visit with a member. After that we had another appointment with a former investigator at the library. On the way to the appointment I taught a lady on a the bus about the restoration and the book of mormon. It was a scary thing to do for me, but I felt God's help as I was doing it. 

Anyways, we made it to our appointment and didn't really know what we were going to say or do because this guy had been taught all the lessons before. We definitely needed the spirit to help us and I was able to commit this guy to baptism. He has a strong desire, but he needs to act on it. So we will see, but I will never forget that lesson. 

The love that God has for His children!! His love is soo strong! After that we had an appointment with a recent convert in the ward and she has been going through a lot of difficulties. We had no idea what to do. Sister Crenshaw said, "I think we need to all kneel and pray." 

Woah.. it was so powerful. 

The day ended with playing card games with the young womens for the mutual activity.

Thursday was Zone Conference in Oslo and I gave my "last testimony." 

It was easier than I thought it was going to be because all of the missionaries in that chapel know what it is like to serve a Norway mission. Ah man, I am going to miss this place!!

We found out that a sister in an area close to us will be with us for my last two weeks. 

Her companion extended and will be going home this week. So we will be in charge of two areas. It will be interesting, busy and fun! 

This weekend we helped our neighbors garden and we spent time with some members. 

weeding is fun

I got to skype home for mother's day. My last time! 

Glad i dere! Ha en fin uke!

Love,

Søster Allen

Pictures:

My last zone conference! Good times! I gave my last testimony in Norway to all my fellow missionary friends. :)

Christmas Highlights

God Jul!!

Highlights of the week:

-Frosting cookies with the YSA and delivering them to people!

-Christmas Conference!! 

We had the north zone come to Trondheim! 

We had a talent show and me and Sister Peterson sang "The First Noel."

Then... the Trondheim District sang "La Den Gå" (Let it Go from Frozen in Norwegian). 

It was Legendary and everyone sang along even the Mission president and his wife! 

-Dinner at Majken and Aaron's (members) 

and shared a spiritual thought about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

-Visited with good people!! Felt really grateful for the people I have met in Trondheim.

-Hot Chocolate with Majken, weekly planning, and then taught an investigator. 

-Street Stand! 

It was so crowded and we gave out all of our #enfrelsererfødt (a savior is born) cards. 

-Christmas Dinner with Målfri! 

Classy dinner - Ate some traditional Norwegian Christmas food!

-Dinner with Stian and all the missionaries 

(ate some more traditional norwegian christmas food 

which is Pinnekjøtt (racks of lamb) or Ribbe (pork ribs). 

I am so grateful for my mission. 

I am grateful for the opportunity I have 

to represent Jesus Christ and be witness of Him. 

I really get to celebrate Christmas everyday as a missionary. 

This time of year to celebrate is for Him. 

He came as a child. 

He accomplished the Atonement. 

He went through it all, so He would know how to help us. 

He did it because He loves us. 

He was the perfect example. 

I love my Savior and I know that He lives. 

He is truly the Light and Hope of the World!!

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who creigneth, who was, and is from all deternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a etabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty fmiracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the gblind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. And he shall cast out adevils, or the bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning. 

(Mosiah 3:5-8)

Merry Christmas!!!

Love,

Søster Allen

christmas presents under our tree

Remember You Are Talking to Your Loving Father in Heaven.

Wow! I don't think I have ever been this busy my whole mission! 

Trondheim is hopping! 

We had so many members come on teaches with us last week! 

It was the most I have had my whole mission. 

I am so grateful for good members. 

If there is one I have learned on my mission it is that 

the members in Norway are solid faithful members. 

They have to be. I love them. 

You know the group of Africans we stopped last Sunday?

 well one of them is a new investigator. 

We met with him this past week and he is super cool. 

He got into Anti stuff before meeting, but we cleared a lot of things up with him. 

I am sick and tired of this Anti business. 

People go to the right source for knowledge! 

We also met up with two french guys and they are very interested in what we believe and our culture. It is nice to hear people say they like seeing good Christian girls. 

It is not so common in this world today. 

Lots of good things happened. 

I definitely learned a lot this week. 

Something that helped me this week was 

the knowledge of believing in a LOVING Heavenly Father. 

We had an investigator ask us this week why we believed in what we did 

and not in other religions.  

and How do you know it true? 

There are so many different reasons why I believe what I do 

and there is the simple answer to how you can know it is true.. 

Moroni 10:3-5, 

but I am grateful that I know that God is loving. 

I could see people not wanting to join a religion because 

the pressure of rules and maybe thinking God is scary. 

I guess what I am trying to get at is that God is not scary. 

He is our Father. 

He love us and knows us better than we know ourselves. 

He wants the best for us. 

We should not think he is scary. 

There is hope in his promises. 

He gives us commandments because he loves us. 

He wants us to be happy. 

You can't know the blessings that come from keeping the commandments 

if you don't try keeping them. 

There is so much wisdom, hope, and peace 

that comes from knowing that God is loving. 

So when you kneel down to pray tonight, 

remember that you are talking to your loving Father in Heaven.

Love,

Søster Allen

Sweet Sister Peterson and I

Trondheim Colors and lights

best purchase ever!

Teach Fearlessly.

Wasn't General Conference the best?!
I love general conference, especially as a missionary. Shout out to Pres. Russell M. Nelson's talk about women. How empowering! There were so many good talks. I am really excited to study them for the next 6 months.

Interesting things that happened this week:
We did a question and answer at a children's school with the soon-to-be teachers. Afterwards we "accidentally" left a Book of Mormon and one of them came running out to us and said, "Mormons! You left your Bible!" haha It was funny.

We had a cool contact with a lady on the street that day. She was so excited to receive a Book of Mormon for free. Unfortunately, she doesn't live in Trondheim, so we referred her to the missionaries in her area. It was way cool though. Heavenly Father really leads us to those that are prepared and willing to listen.

One day we had the sister training leaders with us and it was a blast. I love it when they come!

Me and Sister House had a cool contact with this boy on the street. We helped answer his question, "If there is a God than why do children die of cancer?" I could see a satisfied look in this boy's face as we testified of the purpose of live and how God has a plan for all of His children.

On Friday we had an appointment with a girl Sister Sorensen and Sister Peterson met on the street. We were late because we missed our bus stop and the girl was not there. :( We were way upset, so we walked swiftly into the city to try and find her. We didn't see her. We decided to say a prayer in the middle of city and ask Heavenly Father to help us find her, so that we could give her a Book of Mormon. After we said the prayer we turned the corner and guess who was there.. the girl! Heavenly Father had answered our prayer.

I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time. I am so grateful for prophets and apostles to help lead and guide us. The heavens are open and the world is preparing for the 2nd coming of Christ. It is our time to step forward. Be covenant keeping saints. Speak with power and authority. Make things happen with our faith. Teach fearlessly. Express our belief with confidence.

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the ONLY way to true and everlasting happiness.

Love,
Søster Allen  

We got caught in a rain\wind storm!

Women's Conference Session

We were the only ones who showed up.. 

We had a potluck afterwards and the best cake!

Trondheim District

Should Sister Peterson go brunette?

I laughed so hard when I saw this picture. haha

BELIEVE IT

We have a New investigator! 

It was Nice to finally teach a real lesson after two weeks. It has been rough. 

We spent sometime With some less actives and members this week. It was Nice and we had a game night on Thursday! It was a blast! 

We visited Harda "bestemor" and had a lovely time singing hymns. She showed us her tiger stuffed animal. So cute. 

This is sweet Harda. She has Alzheimers and is a member of the church. She kills me! She named her tiger, "Tiger Gutt" (tiger boy). haha

Me and Sister Hudson taught the New Testament lesson yesterday in Church in Norwegian. It went well! We also had like 5 members show up for Church so everyone had the opportunity to bear their testimony. 

Bodø is difficult, but this week I really felt my testimony grow.  I feel the Power of God and it is an amazing feeling. This Church is Jesus Christ's Church. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored back to the Earth. I know it because I have seen the blessings of living it. I feel the spirit. It is a wonderful feeling. I want others to feel it too and I want them to know how to feel it more often in their lives. There are a lot of People that do not believe it. It is hard to believe if you look for all the reasons not to believe, but when you look for all the reasons to believe... it changes you. So I choose to believe it. Life is sooo much better when I choose to believe it. My faith grows even stronger and I am able to recognize the promptings of the spirit more in my life. I am also able to feel God and know that I am His daughter. So I Guess what I am trying to say is that is soo much better to believe!  

BELIEVE IT! 

Believe in God. Believe that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. Believe that the Book of Mormon is true and comes from God. Believe that this life isn't the end and there is more to hope for! I am Grateful for the Choice I have to believe. 

Love,

Søster Allen

This Place man... I Won't Forget It

I swear the last week of the transfer is always the best. So we got a summer day on Tuesday! We have only had 3 summer days this Whole summer! Wahoo.

We prayed the night before that we would find a service opportunity and we did. :) God answers prayers. Our neighbors are doing some work on their house and they asked us to help! It was so Nice to get to know them better. The guy said, "now I can tell People that 2 mormon missionaries from USA helped build Our house." haha It was funny.

After that we took the bikes out for the first time to go to Løpsmarka, which is on the other side of the mountain. It was sure an adventure. I think Dad would be proud of me. We were able to teach a ton of lessons this week. We had the sister training leaders over on Thursday and when they come miracles happen!

Here is an amazing story: So one of the Sister Training Leaders- Sister Larsen served up here in Bodø the beginning of this year. She had contacted this guy on the street in January and wanted to meet up With him. He never could meet up, so she called him for the last time and he said he would like to meet but he couldn't because he was going to prison the Next day. Sister Larsen told him she had a book for him. She met him at the Train station before he was off to prison and said, "that this book will change your life and you have a lot of time to read." So....a few weeks ago we get this text from this guy! But don't know the story behind him. He says that he is out of prison and wants to meet up. We happened to get an appointment With him on Thurday.... the same day Sister Larsen would be here in Bodø. That doesn't just happen! Me and Sister Larsen skyped him on Thursday (because he was visiting his sister in Oslo). He read the WHOLE BOOK OF MORMON in prison. He has totally changed, mended relationships With his Family, and had a desire to believe in God. He said that while he was Reading the Book of the Mormon in prison he showed it to the other inmates. By the end of the lesson he said he would never give up on finding God and that we made a huge impact on him. MIRACLE.

I loved having Sister House and Sister Larsen With us on Thursday. It's great to get to know other sisters and learn and grow from them. It has been a great week and we have had some really great contacts. Last night, we stopped this girl and were suprised that she believed in God, as she was about to leave Sister Peterson lays Down the restoration and recites the First Vision på norsk. The spirit was so strong. It was the first time I saw a Norwegian cry because of hearing the 1st vision. She was so touched. I am so Grateful for these experiences.

This work is the Lord's work. The spirit is the only way we can accomplish this work. Heavenly Father loves his children and has a plan for each of us. He is in the details of Our lives. I am blown away by this and my faith grows, but it takes Work. It is not easy to believe in God. It takes effort on Our part. When we have a desire to believe we have to be willing to work for it and work at every day of Our lives! This is how we grow and become more Christlike.

Sister Peterson is leaving on Wednesday to Kristiansand and Sister Hudson is coming to Bodø With me. Remember Sister Hudson from Oslo! We were split buddies! So I already know how to work With her! Wahoo!

Happy August!
Love,
Søster Allen

Pictures: 

Yesterday contacting by the shore. :)

Contacting in the rain. No one was outside, 

so I decided to contact a fire hydrant.

Visited a member family in Rognan! 

Gabriel-Nicest guy of my life!

I love Bodø.

I love Pears

This Place man... 

I won't forget it.

This is What Missionary Work Looks Like

Where to even begin.. my love for Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel increases every week as a missionary in Norway. Even though we face a lot of opposition every day it is a priviledge to suffer, serve, and testify of Jesus Christ. The rejection can be hard, but it is during those times that I truly think about why I am out here on a mission. I can't imagine myself not wearing a name tag anymore.. It is life changing to be a missionary.

It has been a very Cold, windy, rainy week and it is June. haha It is all part of the Northern Norway experience. ;) It is awesome. Me and Søster Peterson used Our umbrellas as Shields towards the Wind. and it was quite the treat contacting in the rain. We were completely drenched and while asking People if they believed in God Our umbrellas would go inside out. It was cool though. I think People found us peculiar. :)

This was what missionary work was like this week! haha so funny! 

Me and Søster Peterson laughed so hard.

We taught a ton of lessons this week and I learned the importance of extending a baptismal commitment on the first lesson. It really helps in the long run and the investigator is able to explain their reason for truly Meeting With us. It also establishes Our purpose and role as missionaries. To help People truly come unto Christ they need to be baptized and we help them understand that and provide spiritual experiences. We were able to give a baptismal date to this guy yesterday and he accepted, so we will help him prepare for his baptism and make sure it is for the right reasons.

We get to go to Trondheim this Tuesday for a Zone Leader Training and say goodbye to President and Søster Evans. So that is exciting! I will get to see other missionaries including Søster Leland from the MTC! Yay! I am so Grateful I was sent here to Bodø. It is something I will never forget.

-Søster Allen



Beautiful Bodø!

Spending p-day With the Storheims last week. It was freezing!

Boldly Testify

Another great week in Bodø!

It started off pretty weird like With some crazy contacts.. like this drunk lady who told us that her boyfriend was murdered last week... I am no sure if we should Call her back... "the life of a missionary" It amazes me how much People open up to missionaries. They see us as People of God and feel they can tell us anything.

We found this other guy from Latvia in the park and we invited him to Our gospel principles class that night and he showed up! It was a miracle. Nice guy.. he doesn't know how long he will be here though.

We had an intense lesson With one of Our investigators who  strongly believes in the Trinity and believe it is one God. We showed her and explained how the Godhead are Three separate beings. We agreed to disagree pretty much. She said that she doesn't believe in the Book of Mormon. But she hasn't even read it. But we still love her. I Guess all we can do now is just testify of the Book of Mormon.

The Next day we had an amazing day. We taught Three muslims the plan of salvation and also learned about their religion. They totally felt the spirit and want to meet again. After we taught them.. we taught 6 teenagers around the age of 17! They are the teenagers from last week, but 2 more came. We felt like we were teaching a seminary class. Most of them are atheists. We taught the Restoration and they kept bringing up reasons as to why God does not exist. The spirit was working so strongly through me and Sister Peterson. I remember hearing a voice saying that I was not alone. I was able to boldy testify of  the existence of God and that He lives. It was probably one of my most favorite experince thus far on my mission. I think their hearts were softened a little after that. They all want to meet again. This week I learned how important it is to bear testimony.

Yesterday, we had the privilege of hearing from Elder Holland through a broadcast for all of Northern Europe. He boldly testified of the Book of Mormon. I cried.  I wish I could find it online because EVERYONE needs to watch it. It was probably the most powerful talk I have ever heard. He also made a shout out to all the sister missionaries around the world. We are changing the world! Whoot! Whoot! Sista Power!

Jesus is coming! The work is hastening! It is time to believe! It is time to be doers of the Word. Pray always and not faint. Break through the veil and testify that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. If you feel that Your faith is turning into doubt. Stop it and go read the Book of Mormon. There is Power in that Holy Book. Read it everyday and you will not be able to doubt Your faith. Love People and stand for Truth and righteousness. I believe in angels, I believe in miracles, I believe in Christ, and I believe that there is life after Death and we are eternal daughters and sons of God.

Jeg er så glad i dokker!
Love,
Sister Allen

Weekly planning with oven mitts 

because I am a weirdo and I needed to remind myself that cookies were in the oven.

We had hedgehodges in Our backyard. Sister Peterson was thrilled.

We got to go to a members wedding on saturday. We ate salmon. Yum!

Søster Storheim and Anne Farstad wearing their bunads for the wedding.