Kjære alle sammen,
Oh my. Do I have some things to tell you!
First of all, every baptism I am involved in seems to not go so well. Hahah
Tonje didn't get baptized on Saturday. She still will, don't worry, but she
called us at 10 the night before and said she wasn't ready. And then Sister
Pitts and I layed (laid?) in our beds and just laughed and said, "Heavenly
Father? What do you want us to do?"
We met with our ward mission leader and we thought we were going to plan
the baptism, but instead, he told us that he and the bishop didn't think she was
ready and they had all these concerns. Oslo ward and missionaries have had a not
so good relationship in the past and our district has really worked to repair
friendships and we have seen great success! It was a little discouraging, but we
told him we understood his concerns and we would talk to Tonje about
them.
President Evans decided he needed to interview her himself, so he came and
met with her. But... Tonje called us an hour before and said she didn't feel
like meeting. Sister Pitts and I have spent about half our week on our knees I'm
pretty sure. So we told her she had to come or she couldn't get baptized and she
came and met with him. The interview went well and he said she passed and was
ready to be baptized.
Then. The ward mission leader texted us Thursday night
and said he had to work and wouldn't be able to baptize her. Tonje loves him and
she had prayed about everyone she wanted to participate in the program. As you
can imagine... we were just a little frustrated. We were battling Satan like
never before.
So we spent the whole day Friday calling people trying to find someone
Tonje would feel comfortable with. But everyone kept saying no! We were about
ready to call our dads and fly them in to baptize her. Finally, we found someone
that could come and meet with her that night. She told us she would have to pray
about it and let us know if she felt he was right.
And... then... Saturday came and we didn't have a baptism. But Saturday
morning, Sister Pitts and I woke up with the most beautiful peace that reminded
me of the temple and it stayed with us the whole day. We fasted and prayed and
prayed and prayed and had such an exhausting week but we saw lots of miracles in
the meantime.
Our district is really unique becaue we see each other every day so we are
really close. We are always in and out of the YSA center because we teach a lot
of lessons there. We are getting split up though, and so Saturday we had a
really neat meeting. I love these missionaries so much. It's incredible what
being a servant of the Lord does. It makes hearts so close. We all just cried a
bunch and talked about what we have accomplished this transfer.
So speaking of transfers... I'm going to be training a new missionary! She
is the only sister coming and I have no idea what Heavenly Father is thinking
because there are so many sisters who are much more qualified than me. I'm
excited though. I'm going to need lots of prayers. Sister Pitts and I are really
sad to be leaving each other. She's leaving me in Oslo and oh boy am I going to
miss her. We'll always have our friendship though. Also, the new sister doesn't
have her visa yet so I will be in a three-some for a little while with the other
sisters here. It will be real fun cause I love them so much!
We met a boy named Adrian on the trikk this week. He told Sister Pitts that
people don't just talk to each other in Norway like we do, but it's good and he
likes it. He said he has looked for God, but didn't find Him. Then he said, "I
guess I'm still looking." Adrian is only 16, people. So when we met him for our
appointment, he didn't say a word. We kept asking him what was going on and if
he was sick or if it was a school project but he wouldn't talk! When we got to
the center, he wrote on a piece of paper that he had a pain inside that he
wasn't ready to let go of and that's why he wasn't talking. We decided we were
just going to have write back and forth for our lesson. I have never felt the
spirit like I did writing back and forth with him. I know that God is so aware
of him and that he loves him. He wrote, "How I felt when we talked is what
really made me come here. It doesn't get along with my logic." AH MAN! Does it
get better than that? He came to church with us yesterday and he liked it and
wants to come next week. Now we just need to help him talk... But I know that he
is so prepared. We feel like Heavenly Father just dropped a miracle in our
laps.
We also visited Ida the other night. We were both really tired and could
have stayed in our apartment to make calls instead, but we felt like we needed
to go. We talked about modesty and family history and the lesson was kind of all
over the place and I didn't feel like it was too successful. We asked her to say
the closing prayer and she said, "Thank you for these two sweet girls who came
at a time of need." You can't help but cry in moments like that. Heavenly Father
knows His children.
Sorry that some weeks I just talk your ear off and I am all over the place.
One last thing... if you haven't read the article in the March 2013 Liahona
about raising resilient children, do it. Even if you don't have
children.
Thank you so much for your love! Sister Bowen and Grandma Sue and Justine I
love you and I am so grateful for your letters! Mail is magic. It fixes
everything and I really appreciate it.
Have a wonderful week! The gospel just makes sense. It's safe and warm and
happy. I love you!
Love,
Søster Pyne
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