Heavenly Father has bigger plans for us than we even realize!

My dear friends,

I typed this once and then the computer deleted it... so sorry if it's not as good the second time. Maybe that's not what Heavenly Father wanted me to say. "No, Mikelle, start over. Try again." Haha He says that a lot.

On Friday we met with Adrian and he sat down and wrote, "I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I want to get baptized very very badly. Amen." And he wrote the last period and then sat back with a grin. Of course I just sat there and cried. Who is this kid? I feel like he is my little brother or something. I always tell him that this decision is more significant than he even realizes and I try to explain it to him. He's probably sick of me talking. Haha. After church yesterday Sister Hilton and I made him hamburgers cause they are his favorite food. We made them extra fat and marinated them over night to make sure they werevery American. Haha and then we made homemade fries and chocolate milkshakes of course too. I think he liked it :) Only he ate his hamburger with a fork and knife... Norwegians always do that.

At church yesterday I sat in sacrament meeting with Tonje on one side and Adrian on the other and I had one of those "look at your life" moments. Who would have ever thought I'd be sitting with my friends in a chapel in Norway, understanding what the speaker was saying, and wearing a name tag? Not me. Heavenly Father has bigger plans for us than we even realize!

We got 11 referrals this week and we got to talk to Lauren! I don't remember what I told you about her and her cute family, but they are the ones Sister Pitts and I got the impression that we needed to visit them. She told us that we could come back for dinner sometime! Unnur went with us and it was so dark and pouring and rain and we had puddles in our shoes of course (it sounds like a movie) but we got to the top of the hill and I asked if Unnur would say a prayer for us. We huddled our umbrellas together and prayed. I love when Unnur prays. And then our prayer was answered! I was so happy that we got to talk to Lauren!

Also. The bible dictionary is magic. Here is what is says, "Fear is spoken of as something unworthy of a child of God, something that 'perfect love casteth out.' The first effect of Adam's sin was that he was afraid. Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God's children should feel in a loving Father and produces instead a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall, God has been teaching us not to fear, but with penitence to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it."Amen! Don't be scared. That's something I'm going to work on this week. I don't want to be scared anymore.

we tried to bring halloween to Norway!

I love you! Heavenly Father knows our hearts and He takes care of them. Pray for Adrian too, please! He is going to need lots of strength this next month as he makes such a big decision.

Love,
Søster Pyne

look at the beautiful leaves and the sun!

Old pics from Sis. Hilton from my Northern Zone Mo i Rana Days

But then, this look of complete gratitude came into his eyes.

Hey there!

Everything is happy and good in Norway! We saw our first snow flakes this morning as we were studying the Book of Mormon. It was pretty darn exciting! I don't know what snow is like in Norway but I am grateful for my Utah experience. These two Californians that I'm with are freezing already and it's only October! Except for we are losing Sister Shaw today which is really sad... so it will be just me and Sister Hilton in Oslo for now. I found out that my companion has her visa but she won't be coming until the next transfer so I will be here with Sister Hilton for another month. I'm super happy about that! She's the best. And I've been emailing my cute USA companion a little too. I can't wait to meet her!

Guys. We have had crazy miracles happen this week. Adrian is going to get baptized!! Because he doesn't talk, he just wrote during the whole lesson again. But we taught him the doctrine of Christ and discussed baptism extensively. I felt like the spirit was literally just communicating to him directly and I was just using words from my mouth to convey the message. As we invited him to be baptized, he just smiled and nodded. That's how it should be every time. So natural. He wrote, "You asked what my favorite word in English is and it is 'promise'. I like that baptism is a promise with God. And I need to be reading in the Book of Mormon and talking to God every day and I will start that today. I promise. Words are powerful." 

And then we were looking at his calendar and deciding on a date and he pointed to November 23 and then wrote, "Birthday." Adrian is going to be spiritually reborn on his 17th birthday! My heart was so full. I testified to him that the decision he is making is more significant than he even realizes. 

I guess all of the adult sessions of stake conference are going to be about missionary work until the first presidency says otherwise and we had stake conference this weekend. We went to Romerike (the drive there looks like Utah mountains and it made me so happy) and listened to some wonderful talks! Adrian couldn't come to the session on Sunday so he came with us to the adult session on Saturday night. We weren't able to sit in the chapel cause there weren't enough seats, but Adrian sat with the YM and YW president (who just so happen to be married--perfect!) and they are fantastic! 

In the middle of the meeting, we heard Elder Teixeira of the seventy say, "And this young man has chosen to be baptized on... which day was it?" And then there was silence. All three of us jumped up and ran to look in the window and thankfully the YM president answered for him, but after the meeting we were afraid that Adrain might be scared away. Haha but instead, the best part of my mission happened. I was in the back of the chapel trying to get around people so I could go talk to him and he made eye contact with me and smiled and started making his way back to talk to me. I shook his hand and asked him how he was doing and if he was okay. He just did his normal Adrian smile and one nod. But then, this look of complete gratitude came into his eyes. And He leaned over and pressed his cheek against mine. (Norwegians have this thing when they hug, they press their cheek against yours and it's a way of saying thank you for the evening or time together or whatever. Everyone does it all the time and I think it's so nice!) 

And then he sent us a text later that night that said, "Dere er veldig omtenksomme, dere spør om det går bra med meg og dere spør om dere kan gjøre noe for meg...dere har gjørt utrolig mye for meg." He said that we have done so much for him. He recognizes that blessings that the gospel will bring to his life! This is exactly what we want! 

I know that there are people here who are prepared like Adrian. Norway is a crazy place to be a missionary, but we are finding those who are ready to accept Christ right now in their lives. I picture the gratitude in Adrian's eyes and think about how much I love these people. They are in such need of the happiness we have and the blessings we have from covenants! I am so grateful for my knowledge and testimony and the opportunity I have to be a missionary.

We also met with Tonje this week. She's so cool! She just follows her heart and her dreams and becomes what she wants to become. I feel like every time we meet with her she teaches me new things. She knows that baptism is right, and she will be baptized. It will just be in her own timing. What a woman.

Just a random thing: Norwegian is really close to Swedish so I can understand it for the most part too! We have these cute Swedish twins that will be getting baptized soon and we got to visit them in their student apartment this week! Um.... crazy. Haha European students live like it's the last day of their lives! I've never heard music so loud. But I was so proud of these two girls. They told us how everyone just knows that they don't drink or smoke and that they are chaste. Ah yeah. The protection from keeping commandments is the best.

I think compared to other missions people would say that the work in Norway is slow or something. People would always tell me before my mission that Norway is a hard mission! I don't know if it's because they were referring to the number of baptisms or what, but every mission is hard, and yes, I haven't had legit baptisms, but the person that I am becoming and these people that I am bringing closer to Christ are all that matter. And I am so grateful to be here. I know that this is the true church! How could it not be? Live it and find out for yourselves. :) I love you!!

Love, 

Søster Pyne

Jeg må løpe men tussen hjertelig takk til dere!

Kjære alle sammen,

I love you! I'm realizing more and more lately that Christ is coming quickly! Very quickly. Especially after the last session of general conference. We don't know when, but these are the last days. And I
feel this urgency to help these people come unto their Savior before He comes in the flesh. But I am also realizing more and more that only those who are truly prepared will the Lord lead us to. Everyone needs the gospel, but not everyone wants the gospel. I'm finding that to be so true as we talk with people on the street. And there is so much more to missionary work than we realize. The Lord could do it by Himself, but really, it's about the missionary. It's about helping the missionary grow and change and become.

And as I was reading Alma 9, I felt like the scriptures were so alive. They were talking about my life. Alma was commanded to take Amulek and go forth and preach. Alma was Amulek's trainer! And these people have forgotten the tradition of their fathers. Their fathers are the early saints who sacrificed everything for the gospel. They have been so prosperous and "saved from famine and sickness and all manner of things." They have "received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord" and yet they"transgress contrary to the light and knowledge which they do have."

Most of the people we talk with don't even believe in God. It's scary. And you should hear the excuses they come up with! But I love what the promise is from God, because He does live, and He is aware of us. "And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word...and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name. And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his
people and answer their prayers."

I know that this is true! "He cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance through faith on his name." Our Savior, Jesus Christ lives and He is the solution to every problem. I love these people of Norway and I know that those who are prepared are here. It's exciting to find them! And "if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ." Which is what we all want, right? Cling to our Savior! He lives! On

Saturday we were leaving our apartment to talk to some peeps and we said hi to this lady and she stopped and stared at our tags and then said the craziest things I have ever heard! I wrote about it because I was just so baffled at what she had said. This is what I wrote: We just talked to this lady who told us that she thinks the American government is corrupt and sending us here to live in such an expensive place when so many people in America need help is ridiculous and we should be sending our money to them instead and she literally told us, "Stop. Just think about it and stop. Go home." She said we shouldn't be telling people how to live their lives and what they should believe in. I've never felt so defensive in my life! But I also immediately thought of Christ and His persecution and suddenly I understood. So I am grateful. And I know He lives! I know that this is His true and living gospel.
I can't describe it very good, but it was crazy!

It's just amazing to me how hard Satan is working to do anything he can. I'm not sure if I'll ever have someone to tell me to go home like that again, but I'm grateful that I walked away with a stronger conviction of what I know. And sorry, lady, I'm not going home.

Adrian came to church yesterday again! Ah man. He's golden. We are meeting with him this week and we are going to set a  pecific baptismal date with him. I just can't get it out of my head that he is only 16. We were talking to him about prayer and he told us that it reminded him of one time when he was really little and he felt like he should pray and thank God so he did. He said it was weird because his family never talked about God or anything religious, but he could feel that God was there. Our spirits know!! It's so exciting to remind people where they came from!

Sorry this is so long and preachy... Jeg må løpe men tussen hjertelig takk til dere! I love you!

Love,
Mikelle

Oh. P.S. We went to naked park and made delicious carrot soup. boil
some carrots, pour them and their boiled water in the blender, add
coconut milk and curry and then put a dollop of greek yogurt on the
top! We're getting all fallish over here in Oslo!

I am so blessed to be a missionary in Norway.

Heisann!

No... Norwegians aren't Asians... they just have that weird word that sounds like it. I think it's funny so I like to say it. Haha.

I had to say good bye to Sister Pitts this week and that was really sad. She is a fantastic missionary and I am so grateful for all that I have learned from her. So I got to move into the other sisters' apartment because my poor companion is still stuck in the USA. I pray for her to get here every night! But in the meantime, I am with Sister Hilton and Sister Shaw and they are awesome! I am grateful to have companions like them and this time to learn from them. Some things are a little awkward with three, but we make it work and it's lots of fun! I really admire them and their outlooks on life and they are teaching me how to just relax and get rid of stress.

We had a weekend of miracles! Ah man. First of all, conference was wonderful. I can feel the urgency in missionary work because this truly is the last harvest. Heavenly Father is calling His forces and that means everyone. Every member of the church. I thought that President Monson's comment about how this was one of the most inspired conferences was really interesting. It just shows how close we are to our Savior coming. I am excited and so grateful for a living prophet. It brings such comfort and peace in a crazy world. It's true-- the gospel is just true. And we are so safe when we follow what the Lord has told us to do.

So we haven't had a ton of contact with Tonje this week, but she showed up at conference and halfway through she asked me for a piece of paper and a pen so she could take notes and write questions. Her heart is so in it. We aren't sure how to help her, but I pray every day to be able to receive guidance of how to help her. And conference had some answers too. I love that girl!

Also, Adrian came to almost all of conference! Even the priesthood session! We got to sit in the back and listen to it and it was powerful. I am so grateful for the worthy priesthood holders in my life.

I just sat there and cried cause I was overwhelmed with gratitude. We texted Adrian after and asked how he liked it. He said that he he liked it a lot and he has felt his doubts decrease since he has been meeting with us. This is HUGE! He is only 16 and we haven't even taught him a first lesson because we have been establishing the concept of God and then we had conference all weekend. He is going to be a stake president someday. He still just writes stuff down, no talking, but we're getting there. He is incredible and the spirit is so strong every time we are with him. Heavenly Father is so aware of him!

You guys met Unnur!!! Ah man. Isn't she so beautiful and so strong? I love her so much. I can't wait to see her this week and hear all about it. It was really fun to see the pictures and I'm glad you got the chocolate. Was it good? :)

Oslo is all fallish and beautiful as ever. I think it will be a really pretty city at Christmas time too. I'm excited! The weather today is really nice! We have had some rain lately, but not too much. It's like 14 degrees. I don't really know what that means, but your iPhones probably do. Haha. Somedays I think that missionaries would be so much more effective with iPhones.

I love you guys! Next week I will have been a missionary for 6 months. It feels like it's been about 6 months. Haha but I think that time is going to move faster and faster. I am so blessed to be a missionary in Norway.

Thank you for everything! Do the little things that matter most and your faith will be sustained and your testimony will stay strong. Scriptures and prayer and church, people. That's where it's at. Jeg elsker dere!

Love,

Søster Pyne