11 days til Norge?!

December 21, 2017

11 days til Norge?!

Yes! There are only 11 days until I leave for Norway! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by these past five weeks! Last week, Søster Rawson and I had the opportunity to skype with actual people from Norway, get to know them, and share a spiritual message. We talked with Lil, a Sister member from Tronheim, and Alan, who served his mission in Norway 40 or something years ago, and was visiting Tronheim for Christmas. Even from halfway across the world, I felt so much love for them. They were so excited to meet us and tell us about themselves and about Norway. There were also other members and some senior missionaries that were there and that popped in a little bit to meet us. Søster Rawson and I focused our message around Christ, how merciful he is, and how he enables us to do things beyond our own capabilities. Alan asked me how I knew that Christ was helping me in my life and that question really made me think. I explained to him that I don't have a perfect knowledge of him helping me in my life, because I have never seen real concrete evidence of him helping me. Rather, I have faith in him and in his atonement because the Holy Ghost has revealed to me the truth of those things. Not only do I have faith in Jesus Christ and his redeeming saving power, but I also have faith that he can and will help me. The Atonement is universal, but it is also so personal. A couple weeks ago, a speaker at a devotional said " If Jesus Christ knew that the Atonement could only save you, he would do it all over again without hesitation." In order to receive Jesus Christ's strength and cleansing power that comes through the Atonement, we must first have faith that he is willing and able to help us, and then humble ourselves enough to ask for and accept his help. Only then, can we truly be what Heavenly Father has planned for us. That is what I have learned to rely on as a missionary, and that is how I know that Christ is helping me. Whenever I speak Norwegian without a second thought, help someone in need in the way that they need help, or teach with the spirit; that is my witness that Christ is helping me. There is no way that I would be able to become the missionary that God needs me to be without his help.

Random things from this week:

one of our teachers taught us a new phrase in Norwegian: "Injen ting tingeling" It directly translates to "nothing tinkerbell". Us Nords have enjoyed using it on the Swedes in our district to tease them.
It snowed yesterday! It is a Christmas miracle! After class, we all went outside and played and took pictures in the snow! Most of the missionaries were out, and it was so funny seeing all of them so excited about snow!
We drew names with the Swedish sisters in our district for secret santa. I am so excited!
I am sure that there are more, but I can't remember them. That's what happens when you don't write stuff down...

The MTC is great at Christmas time. The true spirit of Christmas is so strong here. We will have a special Christmas Devotional with a General Authority in attendance on Christmas Eve, and I can feel the excitement of all of the missionaries grow stronger as that day comes closer. I hope that we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus Christ, and what he has done for us. He can and is more than willing to help you. All you have to do is ask.

God Jul, Søster Starkie