We came, we tried, and we... have bruises to show for it

Hei hei alle sammen! Another week full of craziness has flown by. This past week has been somewhat of a struggle in regards to meeting with the people that we are teaching. We had several appointments fall through, but in turn, we had a lot of free time to hit the streets and find the people that are ready to learn more that Heavenly Father put in our way. 

One of the most memorable people from this past week was a man and his family that was waiting at the buss stop with us. He had helped us with the changed buss schedule and the conversation eventually led to us talking about why we were here and the Book of Mormon. He said that he and his family were just muslim on paper and that they are willing to learn more about Jesus Christ. He asked us for our number and we look forward to meeting with him.

We were also able to meet with the girl from Syria that I met on the buss about a week ago. That was a very big tender mercy, because I couldn't remember her name in the phone and so we couldn't contact her to meet. Luckily, she texted us this week asking if we could meet and teach her more about Christ. Her heart is so pure and she is so eager to learn. After we met with her we took her out to get her FIRST donut at a festival that was going on down by the river. 

Because the festival was going on all weekend, there was a lot of partying going on and as a result a lot of drunk people. There was one drunk man sitting at a picnic table next to our buss stop preaching to a group of teenagers about God and Jesus Christ. He was being very loud and it was a little hard not to laugh at him. I couldn't get the thought out of my head to go and talk to him and give him a pass along card. He took the card, told the teenagers about our church, and then tried to use the card as a buss pass. The group of teenagers actually were intruigued by what they had heard and we were able to talk to them about our church and give them cards as well. Who knows what will come of it, but it was cool seeing how Heavenly Father can help us share the gospel even in the weirdest of situations. 

Some out of the normal things that happened this week:

• We met an American named Ryan on the way back to the church! He was building a smoker out in his yard and gave us some of his homemade green chili for lunch. He has a lot of friends that are Mormon and wouldn't take a Book of Mormon, but he was very nice. We met him right after søster ogletree told me that she didn't bring a lunch.
• A man gave us free belguim waffles from his waffle truck! His wife is a member in Moss and he said that he has a mission to serve the missionaries whenever he meets them. Sorry these are all about food. Haha! 
• We had a missionary team in the annual Drammen Stake tournament! Haha we lost every game, but we only lost by two goals against the best team there! We all got destroyed and have many bruises to show for it, but we were still smiling at the end and gained a lot of respect from the members. 
• I gave a talk on Sunday and the General Authority over Europe and Elder Johnson and his wife were there. No Stress! haha! My talk was on "behold the man" by Dieter F Uchdorf and I encourage all of you to read it and think about how Jesus Christ can be more a part of your daily lives. 

I have grown so close to the Savior while on my mission. I read a scripture from Paul the other day that reads  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  I am so grateful for all of the experiences that I have had that have helped me to grow closer to christ. Missions truly are the best! 

I hope that you all have a great week! I love you all! 

Love, Søster Starkie