courage and miracles

Kjære alle sammen,

Wow it has been a great week! I am pressed for time again, but I just want to say a couple things.

1.) we found a new investigator that is WAY cool. She is from Gambia. Sister Wood and I met her on the street on Monday, we gave her a Book of Mormon and her address to visit her the next day. We visited her again in the week and invited her to church. She was able to get a ride from a member and was in all three meetings! she even got a priesthood blessing because her situation is a little rough. She started Crying and said I don't know why I am crying. Sister Ulrich asked her a little bit afterwards what she felt during the blessing and she said "like a warm feeling coming over me" and we told her that is the spirit- the power of God. and she said through tears "I think you're right. I think so."

2) we have focused ourselves an everything we do for that matter more on Jesus Christ this transfer and it is making all the difference. This is a changing point in my mission and perhaps my whole life- that I focus on the One who makes my life possible. Our savior and redeemer has the power to change people. To heal broken hearts and enable us to improve. I love my Savior, and am so blessed to bear his name.

3) my new companion is flat out amazing. She comes from Ogden, Utah. She is so fun! Miracles are happening. I feel like we are much more ourselves while we are out and we are being bold. After stopping by the bishop's house one night, we walked by some people that were eating outside. We debated for a little
bit whether or not to talk to them because we didn't want to invade their privacy or anything. But we went! And we had a great conversation. The Lord blessed us in that moment with courage. The courage to bear his name and message boldly. And wow did we feel empowered after that! The Lord blesses us when we do things that are out of our comfort zone to serve and to talk to others.

And that is about it for now! thank you for your prayers and love and support. I really do feel it.

Med Kjærlighet,

Søster Stephanie Williams

ps 

Shoutout to by brother Sam who will be 16 tomorrow! call and sing to him if you know him. and even if you don't. He is a cool guy. :)

Just a quickie

HEY! 

I Don't have a ton of time today, but I want to share a quote that I loved from my study this morning: Weaknesses become strengths, challenges become opportunities, trials become triumphs, and adversity becomes and adventure in the service of the Lord."

Amen to that.

This week we met a way cool lady on the street that opened up to us about her past life and also accepted a copy of the book of Mormon and promised to read it. She was English. :) also she said that she felt a good feeling when we were talking to her. It is way cool when other people can recognize the spirit when you are around them.

other highlights- we sang/ i played in sacrament meeting and zone conference this week.

Moves call came and Sister Wood is going to Trondheim! I am staying and Sister Ulrich is coming to the promised land. She is amazing and I can't wait! 

we contacted this lady from poland and got a call from the elders later on saying that they contacted the same lady and talked with her for like 40 minutes! They got her number and gave it to us so that we could call her and remind her to come to church next week.

We met with the girl from Uganda. She is a saint. But unfortunately she'll be going on a long vacation soon. 

Our finding on the street has been a lot more enjoyable because sometimes we open up with a question about the norwegian language that others can help us with. 

Life is good. I know our Savior lives. 

Thank you for prayers and support! keep praying for Band J A.

Love,

Sister Stephanie Williams

The Savior of the World

Kjære alle sammen,

Just a quick update on the people that I spend a lot of time praying about and thinking about:

B is amazing. He will not be baptized in June, but in August because he has a couple of things he has to work out. His desire to change and become a better person is so inspiring to me! I am so blessed to be teaching him. teaching someone that wants to learn is very gratifying.

J A is one of my best Norwegian friends. Love that guy! We see him everywhere. He is starting to have more sincere prayers and he has told us that he read a scripture about "waking up" in the scriptures and he feels like that is where he is- trying to wake up. It's like this whole nation is sleeping and it's our job to wake them up. It has been eye opening to see his progression and his journey to a new life in Christ.

The Lord blessed us with a couple of other miracles this week. We went back to give a book of mormon to a family that donated some clothes to a big project norway is doing to send supplies to Africa and they were so ready to hear our message! They have questions and and willing to learn and we are going back! They are from Brazil. Another day, we were in the Library waiting for 2 muslims to give them a book of Mormon in Arabic and we started talking to a way cool girl from Uganda. We'll meet with her this week! But while we were talking with her, the two muslims came up and so sister wood was talking to them and I was talking to this other girl and then an Indian less-active in our ward that we have been trying to get a hold of forever came over! So we were talking to 4 different people all at one time- all from different places in the world. I am serving an international mission!

But it doesn't end there. Sister Wood and I were out on the streets in Sandvika and we met a guy from Thailand (his name is X). The language barrier was huge, but we invited him to come to church, and he asked if he could bring a friend- we said of course. AND THEY CAME! It is hard to communicate with them, but they do have a book of mormon in Thai and we will be watching the restoration video in their language today.

and to throw a couple of other cultures in there, our Croatian new-convert Drago gave the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting in his own language and Then we had someone bear their testimony in Spanish. Norway- who knew I'd be getting a little taste of everything here!

Sister Wood and I have been memorizing Den Levende Kristus - the Living Christ- during our language study. It has been so cool to be thinking more about the life of Christ and his divine role as the Savior of the world. I know that he didn't just come to save those that lived around him or those that hear about and follow him now on earth, but that he is the redeemer for every soul who has lived, who now lives, and who will yet come to live on the Earth. He is all powerful and all knowing. He is the savior these people from Brazil, Africa, India, Norway, America, Peru, Thailand, Iran, and everywhere else in the world.

In Alma 37, We learn of the great blessings in store for us if we listen and follow the counsel of Christ's words. "it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss... the words of Christ, if we follow their course, will carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever."

I add my testimony that he is our Savior. How blessed I am to have his name forever upon me- now as it is literally on me (I mean, people see my name tag from a mile away (: ) and before and after I have the nametag he is written on my heart.

Love you all!

Stor klem (Big hug),

Søster Stephanie Joy Williams

Charmed Life/ A day in the Life

Kjære vennene mine,

I am kinda at a loss of what to say this week, so I thought it would be nice to walk you through a day in the life.

6.30 Pray! and then either go out for a run/walk or do p90x (we switch off every other day because sister Wood isn't a huge fan of running. but oh I love it here! Sometimes we will go on a run and then run into a neighborhood and then off into the woods for a little bit. I live in an enchanted land)

7 the regular get ready routine. and usually I like to read something like a conference talk or the scriptures or another book. We take turns taking showers and usually have granola for breakfast

8 where the magic happens! I love my personal study hour. The scriptures are living for me. Very real and very applicable.

9 we pray together to start our companion study, read from the white handbook, share what we learned during personal study, finalize our lesson plans and practice for the day

10 we study the language for an hour. right now we are working on memorizing the living Christ in Norwegian. We are about half way there! We also have been memorizing different verbs from our book. then we will take a couple minutes and each read a different article from the ensign out loud at the same time trying to find as many words that we are learning. I think that is kinda fun. :) 

11 we pray together as a mission. every missionary around Norway gets on their knees and prays together for each other and for the people. then we usually eat lunch because we are hungry

12 and we are out! usually to Asker Sentrum to find people to teach. or we will go visit an old lady in the ward. 

13.30 the rest of the day's activities are usually going to sandvika to contact people there, knocking on houses in an area, maybe visiting a less active now and then or trying former investigators. 

18.30 dinner with the silva family every thursday night (they are a way awesome family in the ward!) and maybe we'll have like one or two other dinner appointments during the week. those are always great because the members are to faithful here! I love the norwegians. if we don't have dinner with a member, we usually have one of our best teaching appointments (J A or B). and those happen at the church for b and for J A, at his house or the house of a member.

20 (9 PM) we are home, planning for the next day

20.30 getting ready for bed or making a smoothie or talking or writing down the highlights of the day. Prayers

22.30 (10:30) sleepin

I live a very charmed life if I do say so myself. :)

I have been thinking a lot about what the Joy of missionary work is, and I think it is bringing others to repentance. I have felt for myself the joy that comes from relying on our savior and His cleansing power, and I want everyone to feel that. I want to be like Alma in the Book of Mormon Alma Chapter 26:15 but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.

We can all be tools in this marvelous work, and indeed, after we have been brought into the everlasting light of the Lord, it is our privilege. Missionary work is a natural side effect of conversion. and baptism is the natural result of a growing desire to follow Jesus Christ. Shoutout to my little brother Josh for deciding to be baptized! Like Alma, I testify that this is a great and marvelous work.

Press on in a steadfastness of Christ this week!

Med Kjærlighet,

Søster Stephanie Williams

The District

 twinning

I love this life!

Kjære alle sammen,

I would just like to announce that I love my life.

Highlights of this week:

We were street contacting in Sandvika Sentrum and we talked to a 17 year old Norwegian whose name was Jakob, but it may as well have been Korihor. He was trying to convince us to go a week or a few days without believing in God. But how could I be justified in Denying the very power that makes it possible for me to live and love and the have given me everything? I cannot deny the existence of a God or Christ. The blessings and confirmations I have experienced are too great for me to reject. Everyday my faith is tried and in so doing becomes stronger. I feel like being on a mission is like training for the Olympics or something. Your spiritual muscles go through extreme training. I love it. I am on God's team.

Our investigator B is heaven-sent. He is SO willing to change and come to Christ! We met him in the library one day this week and helped him with the Norwegian language. He is teaching his self- amazing. He loves his daughter , and brings her to church. Pray for this guy! He is preparing to be baptized.

We had President Evan's grand-daughter with us for a whole day this week! She is so adorable. 15 years old and preparing for the future. I am so impressed with the youth of this church. Our lessons were in Norwegian, but occasionally on the street, we would talk with someone that spoke English and she was so ready to bear her testimony to them! Wow!

I am learning about the depth of the atonement and how great it actually is. That was the theme of our lesson yesterday in church and there was a comment made that if we were to live completely perfect lives and never make any mistakes, we still would not be able to make it back to our father in heaven without the atonement of Jesus Christ. It makes me think that this life is not just to have fun, and a vacation away from God, but it is a time to take it to the next level. We are not going back to where we lived before after this life, but we are continually progressing to attain a higher state of living. And Christ's atonement is the only thing that can perfect us to become glorified creatures one day. The Gospel is a lifestyle that brings happiness and an eventual god-like life. I love it and I know it to be true. I love the invitation at the end of the Book of Mormon given by Moroni: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.  And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot." What a beautiful promise! I add my testimony that this is true, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Med Kjærlighet,

Søster Stephanie Joy Williams

ps I can feel your prayers and love. Please pray for J A (he needs help with his testimony) and B, and the missionary work where ever you live in the world! :)

pic 1 us and sister grand-daughter...

pic 2 asker sentrum in the rain. where all the magic happens!