Like all of the others since we arrived here (except perhaps the days Nancy spent in the hospital back in September and October) this week has gone all too fast.
We began with a great family home evening on Monday evening with the largest group we have had since we arrived in August. There were 13 people present—even with 4 of our active young people out of town or unable to attend. It was a room full and we had an enjoyable time. We are finally getting these things organized so we don’t have to give lessons every week and do refreshments, etc. We put together a FHE chart and have had people sign up for the various responsibilities and they are doing a wonderful job. The group of 13 included one young man (Justus) from Ghana (Gaye and Bud—note he is from Accra) whom the sisters had contacted on the street a day or two earlier, invited to come to FHE and he did. They met with him later in the week to teach him a little about the gospel and he is very interested. When I mentioned that my sister and brother-in-law are in Accra at the temple, he said, “I have seen your temple, it is a beautiful building.”
During the day on Monday we spent some time trying to get a few things we need to keep our Outreach Center working effectively. Nancy received some vinyl lettering from Kristin for a sign she is putting together, so we had to find something to put the sign on.
On Tuesday was our District meeting with the missionaries here in Trondheim plus Elders Liddle and Gardner in Ålesund. Elder Henshaw leads these meetings and always does a very good job. We talked about using church tours (of the building interior) to help contacts feel at ease and know what to expect when they come to church. There are some powerful messages given as one walks around the church. Lunch after district meetings is always Pizza. We are still trying to find a good “combination” pizza with “everything” on it. The choices are pepperoni, sausage and onions, ham and mushrooms, beef and onions and cheese. But it is pizza.
One of the older members of the branch, Jan-Erik Carlsen, was in the hospital last week for a skin infection (he was hospitalized for about 3 weeks around Christmas time for a skin infection which had him in a coma for about 10 days and required some skin grafts to repair some of the damage). I visited him on Tuesday after District meeting and he said he would be able to go home that afternoon. He was planning to take a cab home. I told him we would take him home, which we finally did around 5 p.m. We stopped and got a few things from the store first, then made sure his house was warm and he had what he needed, then Nancy sent over some dinner for him—which he greatly appreciated.
On Wednesday, Elder Henshaw had to go to Oslo for a District Leaders conference, so I met him and Elder Richardson at their apartment at 5:45 a.m, dropped Elder Henshaw off at the airport bus stop and brought Elder Richardson home for breakfast and study time, then we went to the church to meet with some of their investigators. Nancy used the day to catch up on some ironing and preparation for her talk in church on Sunday.
We had a good attendance at Institute on Wednesday night (after a good dinner of chicken and pasta and salad, prepared by Torunn). The attendance was not as good as at FHE, but the discussion was good. Next week we should have Nadia and Robin back from extended Christmas vacations—Nadia to the US and Robin to the Ukraine—so that will help. Some of those who would normally attend had class projects they were working on with study groups.
We had an appointment on Thursday evening with Erik and Åsta, but Erik called around noon and said he had to work overtime, so we had to reschedule for Sunday evening. We had been trying to get an appointment with Catharine Bjørnevåg on Friday evening, but her phone has not been working, so we decided that it was a good day for a drive to Skaun (about 45 minutes). When we arrived, her son, Joe Matthew (5) answered the door with a plastic bucket in his hand. We found when his mother came to the door that the bucket was because he (along with most of his siblings) had been throwing up most of the night and morning. Everyone in the house, except Catharine, was sick—including her husband, Frode, who was now off to the store for medicine (we did not pass any stores close to the house, so we are not sure how far he had to go to find the nearest store). Catharine has not been active in the church for several years, but had come to a primary activity back in October with her children and we became acquainted with her there, started to visit and have made good relations with her and her family. Frode likes to play basketball and we convinced him to come in and play with us when he picked up the family after the primary activity, so we got to know him a little better also. We visited for a short while, made an appointment for next Thursday afternoon and headed back to Trondheim.
On Friday I took Jan Erik to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions, then to the store to restock his pantry and refrigerator. We then joined the sisters in a meeting with Justus, the young man from Ghana. He had read the parts of the Book of Mormon they had asked him to read and had some good questions. Shina (baptized in December) was also present and gave a wonderful testimony of how the gospel has blessed his life. He told Justus that it has not been easy, there have been many obstacles, but it has all been worth it. Justus is going to be out of town for the week end, so was not at church on Sunday, but should be at FHE again on Monday.
Still lots of snow and not so”0” degrees. Last night it snowed most of the night and now we have three new inches of snow with more expected throughout the week. Then Friday it is back to “colder” again.
Saturday, the elders held a baptism for Benildo Balate from Mozambique. Shina, who was baptized December 5th, performed the baptism. That really brought a lump into your throat and a few tears in the eye to see him using his priesthood. Shina was very scared but did a great job. Benildo is a student and has a wife and two children in his homeland. Several students we have met have families “back home” while they continue to study here.
Many investigators are working on Masters’ degrees or else they are from the refuge camp here—quite a contract—but all humble and ready to learn. Another baptism is scheduled for this coming Saturday for a man from Nigeria who is a refuge.
With the sisters we visited a young family Åste and Erik. Åste is a member and Erik is not. They have twin daughters that are 2 ½ yrs old. Åste is 19 and going to school to be a teacher. Erik works construction. They are remodeling an old home and it looks very good. Erik and Åste read all that we suggested just after we left last time. The sisters gave them a calendar for a week with several chapters to read in the Book of Mormon each day. We also left a Liahona there. We have an appointment for next Sunday evening.
Sunday we had a large (20) group of teachers visit at church. They came to the whole block of meetings. Priesthood, Relief Society and Sacrament meeting were very full. Elder Henshaw did a special Sunday School class for them. It would be interesting to know their evaluation of their observations.
I (Nancy) gave a talk in Norwegian about church organization. Gerald had made me practice a lot saying all those words I still had a hard time saying. If I was listening to me I don’t know it I would have understood all that I said. The missionaries translate the meeting in English to those wearing headsets. I told Sister Engebretsen that if I mispronounced south east to please interpret it correctly. The way I had been saying it was like “south cheese”. Note: She did a good job and everyone was proud of her, most of all me!!!
On Sunday Gerald teaches a young man in Priesthood meeting and then the Temple Prep class during Sunday School. He also goes to pick up investigators and perhaps take them home after block time. I play the piano in Relief Society and the organ in Sacrament meeting.
We skpye most of our family on a regular basis. It is great to see and talk to them.
One of our Young Single Adults (Nadia) has been in the US since just after Christmas and will be returning home on Tuesday night (we will meet her at the train station at 9 p.m.). She spent time in AZ and in UT. She was able to meet Alison for a few minutes on Saturday. The couple she stayed with in AZ are Clyde and Nancy Christensen. Clyde was one of my missionary companions 50 years ago and they served a mission here in Trondheim about 5 years ago (they were in Bergen when we were there on vacation, but we did not know about it until after we had left).
We pray that the Lord will continue to bless each of you and your families. We are truly blessed to be here in Norway at this time.
Love,
Gerald and Nancy/mom and dad/grandma and grandpa/Elder and Sister Sorensen
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