Week 8 - Trondheim

Whoa has it really been 8 weeks already?? Two months coming up fast!!! :)

Norway is the best. Again, I really just wish I could sit down and write about the food because that is really truly honestly the best part. I loooove the food and I love waking up and eating breakfast and elevensies and lunch and second lunch and middag and night time snacks and then some. I promise I'm not gaining weight. 

So something fun that has hit me this week is a big batch of homesickness. Which, hey, every missionary probably goes through it, but it has been way super tough. I have been praying and praying this week that I can stop thinking about home and the beach and my super rad family. It's hard to make the transition, especially when you have friends and family as good as mine. But hey, I'm here for a reason. :) and I am way excited to keep pushing forward.

So one thing about Trondheim: we're right on the water, and there are SOOOO many seagulls here. Like millions. Billions. Everywhere. The sound of a Seagull's screech will forever remind me of Trondheim. <3 It's de best. Well, with lots of birds come lots of poops. (heheheh) so while we were out on the street contacting, we started talking to this lady and you could tell she wasn't interested or anything and out of nowhere a big poop just plops on her head AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE HAHAHA so I'm trying to hold it together and Sister Leland is like in the middle of bearing a hardcore testimony about the book of mormon and she was losing it too so that was my very favorite part of the week. It was almost like Heavenly Father was trying to tell us she wasn't the one and just to move on. So that was fun.

This week was tough work-wise. We had an investigator (with a baptismal date) that we love so so much say he wanted to stop meeting with us. It was heartbreaking. We tried everything we could, but sometimes it's not up to us. We can teach by the spirit and everything, but it's up to that person to open their hearts to it. So that was a bummer, but I know there are more prepared people out there. ONWARD AND UPWARD :)

Oh but then that same night that our investigator dropped us, we decided to meet with another investigator who we hadn't heard from in a week. When we met with him, he told us that he quit smoking and drinking IN THE LAST WEEK just so he could feel closer to God. This was literally our third lesson with him (I didn't even know he smoked or drank!!) and we hadn't even brought up the word of wisdom!! He did that all on his own. And we talked about how we can come closer to God by being baptized and he said that was something he wanted to do!! WAAAAT. So Heavenly Father rocks.

We have a lot of super awesome investigators. Trondheim is seriously the best!

One cool thing is that I met someone that my teacher from the MTC baptized!! He was one of the first people I met in Norway :) His name is Tore and he rocks.

Also I learned how to knit. I'm basically the happiest person on the planet now. :):) Sister Leland and I seriously knitted on the bus yesterday. It was such a good time.

Also, torrential downpours. It's a thing. Every. Single. Day. But we're still out contacting and doing our best and it's actually so fun. :) But yeah it's basically like a free cold shower every time we leave our apartment. 

Norway is the best!! Hope you all are having a great week, I love hearing from every one of you!! Ha det bra :)

Love,

Søster Sims

ps: Read "Choose to Believe" by Elder L. Whitney Clayton. It's so comforting. My favorite part from it:

"There may be times when we have been hurt, when we are tired, and when our lives seem dark and cold. There may be times when we cannot see any light on the horizon, and we may feel like giving up. If we are willing to believe, if we desire to believe, if we choose to believe, then the Savior’s teachings and example will show us the pathway forward."<3

Week 7 - NORGE!!!

Holy cow IT'S ALL REAL. This is definitely the best and craziest experience of my life!!!

This has been a really crazy week and a half. I got into Norway on Tuesday afternoon, went to my mission presidents home, they fed us dinner, and then we crashed. I got some much needed sleep and it was the best day of my life because I love food and I love sleeping.

I love being a real missonary!!! The MTC is so great but it is really nice to be back in the real world. Real investigators, real Norwegian, REAL FOOD :) it's the best thing ever.

I wish I could write a novel about the food here because OOOOH my heavens. Norwegian food can't be topped. I look forward to eating every day, it's definitely the highlight. And my favorite is breakfast because goat cheese. That's why.

My companion is Sister Leland and she is one of the cutest human beings I have ever met. We get along so so so well and we are kicking some serious Trondheim butt. OH by the way I'm in Trondheim. Trondheim is incredible. It's literally like living in a fairy tale land. When I flew in, it looked like something Walt Disney dreamed up. I'm not even kidding. Like if it wasn't cool enough to be going to Norway, I am literally in the coolest spot with the coolest people and it is such a good time. Seriously the best. We go running around it every morning and that's kind of how we go sight seeing. It's a good time.

Also, I ride the bus everywhere. EVERYWHERE. 

My investigators are amazing and it is so cool to see how God is working in their lives and the different ways he guides us to them. We are really working with some incredible people. I want to tell a couple of experiences just really quick because I have seen SO many miracles this week!!! 

Kevin.* Oh my heck, Kevin. I love Kevin. He's a little man from Poland who speaks Polish Norwegian so we catch about half of it. I have never met anyone with as much faith as he has. He loves his Heavenly Father and he loves church and he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon already. We brought up baptism earlier last week and he was really skeptical about it. Well, Saturday we had a lesson with him, it was so crazy spiritual and the spirit felt right so I INVITED HIM TO BE BAPTIZED ON THE 30TH OF MAY. WHAT. 

Well he pondered for a minute, and said, " I don't think I'm ready. God hasn't given me an answer yet." My heart sank a little bit. Then I went into like crazy mega missionary mode and said, "Kevin, we are representatives of Jesus Christ, and because of that, I can promise you that this is what your Heavenly Father wants for you right now. I also promise you that if you get down on your knees right now and pray in sincerity, Heavenly Father will give you an answer. So he got down and prayed and said the most heartfelt prayer, and when he was finished, he didn't say anything except that he would let us know next time and then left. I was a little discouraged, but I knew it would work out. We started walking home to our apartment and then he texted us and said, "You were right. This is what I'm supposed to do." iaehgadhfgjkahsdjkfhjkdfssdhgi HEAVENLY FATHER IS THE BEST. So we will be having his baptism in a little less than two weeks, and then we have two other baptismal dates lined up. I AM SO EXCITED!!

Also, I was here for the 17th of May which is Norway's independence day. After experiencing that, every fourth of July will be such a huge letdown for me. They are so patriotic and awesome here, it's unbelievable. Yeah, we had a really good time.

Okay well jeg må dra!! Jeg er so glad i dere! Norge er den BESTE :)

Ha det :)
Søster Sims

ps there is a town called Hell here and if you don't think that's funny then I am so very sorry but "Gods expidition" basically means "expedited goods" so there you go

(*Names of all investigators have been changed-Mel)

May 17... Norway's 'Independence Day'

More tender mercies

This is Mel again!  We got the most excellent email Saturday morning!  This is incredible! 

(Jake is Kensie's boyfriend who is serving right now in Texas!)  Absolutely random awesomeness! (But not really, the Lord is in the details!) Anyway, here you go:

Hi! My name is Brandt . I got home from my mission in Texas about two months ago. One of my last companions was Elder Jake Rasmussen! He is such an amazing missionary. He told me about his "friend" Makenzie (sorry if I spelled that wrong) and about how she was going to be serving in Norway. I knew that I was possibly going to go to Norway right after my mission so I would joke about seeing her while I was there... Well now I am here. And the first missionary I see said she was from Hawaii and she looked familiar. After about 5 minutes it clicked! I knew who she was! Here is a picture of us. 

So I don't know if this is ruining the surprise but I am she that you are all dying to know where she is. She is in Trondheim, Norway! It's an awesome town! She is loving it! She is so happy. Her Norwegian is really pretty good! ( My brother served his mission here..)  Her companion is Sister Leland from Oregon.

Anyways.. Just though you would like to know! Feel free to reply with a short message for her or a picture or any questions. I will be going to church tomorrow and will see her again. 

Safely in Norway!

Hi all, this is Mama Mel.  Since Kensie left the MTC early Monday morning, we won't receive any email from her this week.  Her 'P-day' is Monday, like most mission's are, and all communication from now on will be then!  I will do my best to update her blog by Tuesday each week!

We did get to talk to Kensie for 1/2 hour on Mother's Day, and it was wonderful!  She sounds as happy as I've ever known her to be.  She is growing, learning, and loving it.  She speaks amazingly good Norwegian for only having studied it for 5 weeks! It's incredible how the Spirit uplifts these amazing young men and women.

The Norwegian Missionaries, in a photo sent to me by a random Church Member in the Dallas-Ft. Worth airpot!  So grateful for this! :)

We got a brief call from the airport in SLC and Texas, and another one from London.  (She sounded so tired!) We then received an email from her mission President that she arrived and was on her way up to Trondheim!

Kensie and her Mission President (Pres. Evans) and Sister Evans

The group, after more than a day's travel, in NORWAY!

Her new mailing address is:

Mckensie Sims

Eirik Jarls Gate 4

7030 Trondheim

NORWAY

You can always email her at the same address, as well.  I'm sure she'd LOVE to get mail more than ever! As always, her current address will be up on the side ----> of this blog. 

For fun, here's some screen shots of her street and apartment from Google maps:

looking left from her front door

looking across the street from her front door...yep, that's an LDS church!

to the right

annnnd, her door!

Week 5 MTC 5.6.16 (Last MTC email!)

Hallo alle!

Again, thanks to everyone who has supported me with emails and letters and packages and even just sweet comments on things my mom posts :) I love all of you!!!

Oh my heck oh my heck I will be on a plane to Norway in FIVE DAYS FROM THIS VERY MOMENT. Oh my heck I am so stoked. Being a missionary is the best thing in the whole world but it will be even better when I get to go out and actually teach!!!

Shower songs of the week: I'll admit, it was mostly Imagine Dragons. I miss that new album of theirs so much

I am so beyond excited for Norway. I have been super stressed because I found out that since I will be arriving in Norway at 1 in the afternoon next tuesday, I will be contacting (in Norwegian) my very first day there. BUT I CAN DO IT. I CAN TOTALLY DO IT. I am actually amazed at how well I know Norwegian already. It's an amazing language! (and to my family who keeps writing me in Norwegian -- it's SO awesome to be able to understand everything!!!) 

So many awesome things this week... I wish I had time so write everything!!! But I wanted to share what I learned at the devotional on Sunday night. It was AMAZING! Elder Holland's son, Matthew Holland, came and spoke to us. He's just as amazing as his dad!!! He spoke about Joseph Smith. He told a bunch of stories I had never heard about his life before and it made me admire the prophet that much more. 

I think most of us know the story of how Joseph got sick when he was nine and had to have surgery on his leg (they cut open his leg and scraped all of the infection out of the marrow of his bones... without any alcohol to numb the pain or anything. His only requests were that his father held him and his mother left the room). Anyway, a year or two after that surgery, Joseph's family made the trip from Utica NY to Palmyra NY on foot in the middle of winter. Joseph's leg was still not healed, so he basically limped the entire way. In the snow. YEAH so crazy. Well, Joseph's family arrived in Palmyra... and noticed Joseph was missing. It turns out he had collapsed in the snow a few miles back and nobody noticed. A stranger who just happened to be walking that same way found joseph, picked him up, and carried him the remaining couple of miles to Palmyra.

Brother Holland told this story then asked, "Was there not an easier way to get Joseph to Palmyra? Couldn't the Lord have sent angels down and helped his family get there? And instead Joseph walked a trail of tears." He then went on to explain that without these difficult experiences early on, Joseph wouldn't have been prepared for what he was about to experience. Heavenly Father lets us go through some pretty tough trials.But why? Elder Holland said this next: " God is shaping us and directing us to ends more glorious than we could ever imagine." 

Guys, whatever the struggle or trial you are enduring right now, I PROMISE YOU that through the atonement of Jesus Christ and with our Heavenly Father's divine help, YOU WILL MAKE IT THROUGH! You are all such amazing people and I know of some of the trials my friends and family endure but I truly believe with all my heart that our trials will help us to get where Heavenly Father needs us! Don't you dare give up or give in. Trust in your Father in Heaven and pray always. "If you find that the harder you try, the harder it gets, TAKE HEART -- so it has been with the best people that have ever lived." -Elder Holland. 

I love you all and sorry for this weeks novel, I just felt like I really needed to share that. I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God and that THIS is the true restored gospel. Joseph Smith was an incredible man and had an amazing life, second only to the life of Jesus Christ in my opinion. We ended that devotional singing "Praise to the Man" and I just sobbed the whole time. The spirit was so strong!!!

I love you all!! Til vi ses igjen <3

Søster Sims