“Jeg er glad I dere.”

Dear Sisters

One of the highlights of my mission (and I know I speak for Sister Evans), was receiving the Seventeen Miracles.  What a blessing you have been to this Mission and to Norway.  I remember your arrival like yesterday, and now most of you are preparing to leave.  Where did the time go?

Even though all of your bags arrived with you, we did not start out auspiciously.   One of you locked yourself in our bathroom at home, and then a day later we lost Sister Hodgkiss at the train station in Larvik.  There have been ups and downs since, but from my vantage point they have mostly been “ups.”  You have consistently found, taught, baptized, and strengthened the members where you have served.  How blessed we have been to have you.

I honestly wish that you were staying until June so that we could go home together.  Your departure will put a real gap in the Mission.  But we will look forward to being together in a year at our first reunion.

In Norwegian, we say, “Jeg er glad I dere.” and I am.  In America, we say I love you.  And I do!

Sincerely

President Evans

Hellos and Goodbyes

How grateful I am to my Heavenly Father that in His plan there are no true endings, only everlasting beginnings. -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Tonje was baptized!!!

In July I went on splits with the sisters in Oslo and they surprised me by scheduling a meeting with Tonje-- it was the first time she had met with missionaries in a while.

Right before we met with her we planned to read Moroni 7 (sort of random, but we knew she liked to read and knew it is a good chapter).  She came, and ended up wanting to talk about how you could know the difference between good and evil.

Moroni 7:19 says, 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ

We talked about how you become a child of Christ through knowing the difference between good and evil and deliberately making a choice to choose the good and follow Him by obeying His commandments.

Tonje started changing.

Something happened and she began to understand how she could choose good over evil and receive protection, strength, and ultimately happiness from fully keeping the commandments.  She started reading 2 chapters from the Book of Mormon every day and she read more carefully. 

I would talk with her on the phone as she continued to meet with the sisters in Oslo and prepare for baptism.  One night she said, I feel good. I feel softer and we talked about how that was because she was doing what God wanted her to do.  A few nights before the end of my mission, she said, I'm ready.

Tonje got baptized the last day of my mission, and I was able to be there with my family and all the missionaries that had taught her.

After she was baptized and stepped out of the font, she stayed wrapped in her towel for a few minutes just crying happy tears because finally she had applied her heart to understanding and felt pure happiness that comes from keeping God's commandments.

Because she decided to prioritize God in her life she was never happier or had more strength.  Remember-- Tonje had never experienced happiness like this until she decided to obey the commandments full heartedly-- and that was the difference for her.

It was beautiful.

I know.

Sometimes I wonder what all of these cloudy days and so many hours of working are going to do. Being a missionary has become a beautiful thing, and most of the time I'm living outside the boundaries of my comfort zone. Everything else has been stripped away and it's just me and the gospel about to face everything I don't know about yet. I know so well how to give the gospel to other people now. I know how to explain to people the healing power of the Atonement and the sweet peace of personal revelation from their Heavenly Father. I know how to say things that can't be expressed in words. I know miracles are real. I know that God hears prayers. But these things can only go so far. There's a point when eternal progression depends on ability to apply. I feel like the brother of Jared. The Lord asked him to build barges-- he did it. The Lord asked me to go on a mission-- I did it. And I presented my ideas and did my best and offered Him these 16 small stones. I'm about to carry them to the top of the mountain and say what the brother of Jared said, "O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with they finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared that we may have light while we shall cross the sea." Even though this sea is almost crossed, there's a bigger one. I know that there have been people that needed me to explain the gospel to them. But what Heavenly Father wanted me to know from all this is that He loves me. And He loved me enough to prepare me and then tell me to go even though I didn't know how to do any of the things I know how to do now. He makes great efforts to express His love to each child. This week has been a lot of things. A lot of reflecting, a lot of worrying, a lot of fighting to trust and be calm. I'm really scared. I'm really excited. I'm really grateful. But there's power in application that overtakes and erases everything else. Generalities of God's love don't change anything. Personal application comes when you believe He loves you. And you give yourself full permission to accept His love. That's why living the gospel changes lives. I've seen it over and over again. It's true. I know that it's true. I love my mission. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't wait to be with you guys again. I love you the very most.

Love,

Søster Pyne

Heavenly Father is blessing us with crazy miracles.

Hey guys!

I officially learned how to knit this week and I'm obsessed! Everyone knits here. I think it's the cutest thing because it's just a part of their culture. They are so cool! I got some alpaka yarn and some knitting needles and it calms me right on down before I got to sleep at night. Haha.

Sara told us she had a friend that wanted to meet us this week! Her name is Nadia and she had been reading about different religions and came across "the Mormons" and wanted to know more and Sara said, "Actually, I know some! Come and meet them!" We told her a little bit more and plan to meet with her again this next week. It's amazing the difference it makes when people invite their friends to learn more. I know that's how the Lord's work is going to speed forward.

Sara didn't come to church yesterday and we were really worried. She sent a text that said, "I'm not coming today, I'll explain later." But then right before sacrament started she sent another one that said, "I'm coming. Save me a seat." She told us that she decided to see if she wanted to come to church to see us or if she really wanted to come and she said she slept through the first meetings and then woke up and said, "I have to go to church." She told us she was really sad that she missed young womens too. I was so happy to hear that! We're helping her apply to BYU this week too. Good things are happening!

Remember Heidi from the restaraunt? We met her this week and showed her "Because of Him" at the church. She got tears in her eyes and told us all about what she believes. Everything she believes in is doctrine. We were talking about how the Holy Ghost confirms the truth and how you can have a belief in God because of it and she stopped and said, "No. I don't believe God is there. I know that God is there. And I'm so excited to meet Him." It was a really neat lesson. I love those ones.

Saturday night we visited Torild. She brought pizza, we brought apple cake, and we taught her the most significant message in the world. She got tears in her eyes as we explained Joseph Smith's experience and said, "Oh if there was a prophet today I would listen to him." I just grinned and told her there is and he's talking to us next weekend. Come and see!! 

I'm loving teaching all these girls right now. It's refreshing and Heavenly Father is blessing us with crazy miracles. I know that He knows me and what I need.

I love you! Think of good questions and get answers from conference!

Love,

Søster Pyne

Hey hey! I got some things to tell you from the 3724.

We have been trying to spend time with lots of different members so they feel comfortable with us and we aren't just "another missionary" to them. So... what we're really trying to do is win over their hearts. Haha but this week we had family home evening with this cute little Norwegian family. We put pieces of paper on the floor that said different parts of the Plan of Salvation and then had them stand on them as a family and then take turns hopping to the next one. When they got to the Celestial Kingdom we gave them cookies and told them to enjoy them with their family. I hope that's what the Celestial Kingdom is like. :) Then we talked about how their friends don't know about this plan and their little seven-year-old said, "I need to give a Book of Mormon to my teacher." And his parents asked him who had told him to do that and he said, "No one. I just need to do it." So we told him we would get him one at the activity on Thursday and he walked in the church that night and went straight to Sister Olsen and said, "Where's the book?" We were so proud of him! We are going to help these Norwegian members understand the importance of doing missionary work through the example of their children and youth. 

On Tuesday night we got to visit another family in the ward that lives on a little island called Sandøya. It's right by the ocean. We drove and then took a ferry across the water. I LOVE BOATS. Their view was incredible and they fed us fresh fish and told us their conversion stories. The wife is Finnish and the husband is Norwegian and they both have very individual and personal conversion stories. Heavenly Father loves His children and He prepares them for years and years. The husband didn't even believe in God and was a rough sea man living on boats and then he fell and broke his back and a man in the hospital gave him a little New Testament. He put it away and didn't think anything of it until lots of years later when he heard a voice that said, "Read that book." He didn't do it, and it told him again a different time. It's so amazing to me how that works. It was dark when we took the ferry back to our car and the stars were out and I could smell the ocean and we were the only people on it so we stood by the edge and took it all in. It made my heart so happy to have the ocean and a boat and the stars all in one place.

ferrrryyyy

Thursday night at the ward activity the Bishop came up to me and said, "I have a friend here named Torill. We're going to go in my office and teach her. I don't know exactly how this is going to go." Haha I was so scared! But we watched "Mountains to Climb" and then talked about how our message is to help with anything and everything in life. She told us that she had had a dream where the sentence, "God has a plan for you" kept going through her mind. Then she said, "But I don't know what that plan is!" Sister Olsen told her that the night before she had prayed to be led to someone that was prepared and tears rolled down Torill's cheeks. We testified to her that she has a loving Heavenly Father and she said she felt so relieved and calm. It was one of the most powerful lessons I have been a part of on my mission. 

We've spent a lot of time with Sara again this week. I'm going to miss her so much. This morning she called us and said, "Can you guys come over tomorrow and help me look at BYU's website? I want to apply." WHAT? YES! We got to eat dinner with her family twice this past week. Her dad is an incredible cook-- we ate fresh salmon one night and then last night it was fresh lamb and mushrooms that he literally said, "I went to the forrest earlier today and picked them." It was incredible! Although her dad and two brothers are Atheist, we talked about families around the dinner table and I can see that these are the beginnings of the Lord starting to weave the Gospel into their lives. Sara told us last night that she wants to discuss baptism again at our meeting on Friday. She's coming. :)

All week I've been trying to study desires and how the desires of our hearts work with God's will. I feel like I don't understand that very well at all. I was reading in the Old Testament this morning and I was thinking about how neat it is that in God's plan, ultimately we receive our greatest desires. We act in accordance to the things that we want most. That's why Heavenly Father looks on our hearts because our actions may not always portray what other people think our desires are even though we may be trying our best to act in accordance with what we desire most. Also keeping your heart soft means experiencing pain because your heart is vulnerable. But that is the only way we can grow in understanding of each other, the Gospel, and ourselves. It's how our relationships with each other and Heavenly Father become something bigger. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives and I know that the Gospel is true. I've thought a lot about what my greatest desire is-- and it's what everyone else's greatest desire is too-- to be a sealed family in the Celestial Kingdom. All the little details before that are taken care of through living the Gospel. 

check out this pup! he's a norwegian fox and
his name is "Nasty" haha
except you don't say it like that in Norwegian

You guys mean the world to me. I love you. We're gonna make it. 

Love,

Søster Pyne