I live in a cloud... :)‏

Hey family!

Mørketid has officially begun and each day it get's dark 15 minutes earlierthan the previous day.  It's crazy! It now starts getting dark around 5 p.m.! And the sun isn't up until 9! And it's just getting darker.  Uff da.  Also, THE FOG!!!! I have never seen fog this thick in my life.  I get claustrophobic sometimes.  It was like that pretty much all week long, and then came Sunday with BEAUTIFUL clear sky! It's amazing the things you take for granted. 

The two of us got invited to dinner at President's house (along with the Nordstrand Sisters, and The Bodø Sisters).  The four of them were there as "Family History Leaders" So they will be traveling the mission talking about how we can better use family history.  After dinner, we shared stories about our ancestors. Sister Hill shared about her Norwegian ancestors too.  I thought about Joseph Leland Heywood and his conversion story, and how Joseph Smith helped cut the ice in the Mississippi river so he could be baptized.  The Spirit was so strong as we all shared! Than we got a challenge: Start collecting not only names, but stories of our family.  So.... Anyone reading this who is related to me in anyway, please find one story of an ancestor of ours and send it on over to me :) That would be superb! Tusen takk!!

Yesterday, Oslo Stake had their Stake Conference and oh man! I have never seen that many Norwegian mormons in one room! It was AMAZING! And all of the members from Oslo were there so I got to catch up with a few of them.  I know I've said this about a bajillion times, but I LOVE these members!!! They are so good! I was walking out in the foyer of the church and all of a sudden Sister Sorensen calls out, "Sister Heywood turn around!" I turned to see the Bjergas coming into the church!! Who are the Bjergas you ask? Probably one of the best member families in all of Norway.  And they are from Stavanger! I hadn't seen them since May! I seriously almost started crying! Stavanger is not in Oslo Stake, so I have no idea why they traveled across the country to come to the wrong Stake Conference, but I'm really really REALLY glad they did!  I can honestly say that their home in Stavanger is where I have felt the most at home here in Norway.  Johannes, the dad, plays guitar and would always play for us, Johanna, the mom, is just SO loving and honest and GOOD! So yeah! definitely a tender mercy to see them again!

I also got to see my best friend Tora Nyman again, and she gave me the cutest little note ever! AH! These people! I could honestly go on for ever and ever about them.  

As an update from last week, I am still SO SORE! But I'm pretty sure most of it is from soccer on Saturday.  Norwegians are all crazy good at soccer and it is so hard to keep up! But I'm getting better.

As far as investigators go, we met with an awesome lady named Magni this week.  She is a single mom, and Norwegian!! I swear, most of the people we teach don't come from Norway so it is always awesome when we get to teach Norwegians.  She is so sincere, and she really sees how this could help her if it is true.  Which it is.  So that's lucky ;) Really though, I've been feeling just so lucky lately.  The gospel is SO amazing and SO true.  I'm so lucky to know that.

Contacting this week has kinda been like trying to hand out a 100 dollar bill on the street and no one will take it.  But then again, it's just a peice of paper until people try to use it.  Same with the gospel.  Question is, how do we get more people to try? :)  but we have found some pretty awesome people that are open to meeting again.  Sister Firth met a girl on the train who had met with the missionaries before and wanted us to visit again!  Sister Firth hardly did anything.  This girl was just prepared.  All Sister Firth had to do was open her mouth.  There are prepared people here :) sometimes I forget that.

Welp family, I love you all so much! I think about you all the time.  I love talking to people on the street about my family and how we get to be together forever.  Thank you all so much for the prayers, and emails! Ya'll are amazing!

Ha det!

Søster Heywood!

 1- Johanna Bjerga and I :)

 

2- Sandvika Church