HAPPY (late) FATHERS DAY! I just wanted to start this blog post out by thanking all the wonderful Father figures in my life. I have been blessed with some pretty amazing people in my life and I am so thankful for the wonderful influence they each have had on me and my experience as an individual. I am so lucky to have grown up with an amazing Father who not only taught me a lot of life lessons but also loved me along the way. I know that my Father is a big reason why I am out here in Norway serving a mission and I hope and pray that I can make him and everyone else back home proud. Love you all!
Alright now for the run down of the week. The beginning of the week was just like any other normal week and then *BAM* while speed walking from appointment to appointment, I tripped and injured myself pretty badly. While cleaning my wounds and icing my ankle, I thought to myself, "There's got to be a lesson here." Sure enough, I found out that the Lord was taking a more direct approach with this lesson than usual. I am a very independant person and like to do things on my own and figure things out for myself. It was only when I had injured myself that I learned to rely on my companion. I needed her help. It put me in a very vulnerable situation and way out of my comfort zone but I am greatful for the growth I was able to gain from my injury. This experience also made me think of a conversation we had with our recent convert Ben. Ben is honestly a very intelligent guy and comes up with some of the greatest analogies for the gospel that I think I have ever heard and I hope to one day be as great a teacher as him. We were over at Ben's house going over the restoration lesson and he started going off on this tangent and said, "Sometimes our problems are our solutions." I have really pondered that statement this week and can tell you all from first hand experience that it is true. What I thought to be a major problem of twisting my ankle ended up being a solution to so many more problems and it really was a humbling experience. I just hope that next time I need to learn a lesson I will be humble enough to do so without the need for physical pain.
I had also been pondering another one of Ben's super cool analogies this week as we are frequently questioned about the existence of God here in Norway and I thought Ben's example was a perfect answer to those who don't believe that God exists. Ben told us that our blessings are a shadow of God. I had never thought of my blessings as a shadow of God before but as soon as Ben said it, it made complete sense. For example, you can't have a shadow of your hand without having your hand first. There's no way that you would be able to have a shadow of an object without first having the object and that object must surely exist if it is going to give off any kind of a shadow. Therefore God is like the hand in this scenario and the shadow is our blessings. I have seen countless times in my life blessings from my Father in Heaven and although I haven't seen him with my own two eyes I have seen the shadows or the influences that God has had in my life and I can say with a surety that I know I have a loving Father in Heaven and that he really and truly does exist and he knows me personally. A lot of the blessings (and the lessons) that I have had in my life have been tailored to me so perfectly that there really is no other explanation to it than they have all been shadows of God.
One of my most recent "shadows" or blessings was to have had 3 of our investigators in church this week. We may have had to bribe a couple of them with brownies but no matter how they got there, the Spirit was present and all were edified. I loved hearing them participate in Sunday school and I consider it a true blessing to be able to serve here in Ålesund and make such great friendships with these wonderful people. I really do learn so much from each and every person that we stop and talk to and wish they all would come to church and let us learn from their life and experiences. I would challenge you all to invite a friend to church or to a church activity in the next few months. I know that all in attendance are able to learn and grow and ultimately grow closer to their Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ.
To wrap things up I just want to say thank you again for all of you reading.I know I'm not the most eloquent writer or that some blogs posts may be more interesting than others but it means a lot that you all take the time to come on this journey through Norway with me. I know I say it a lot but I really have been blessed with some of the most amazing people in my life and I will forever be greatful for each and every one of you.
Hope you all enjoy the pictures from my 3rd hike up fjellstua!
Håper det går bra denne uke!
Søster Blankmeyer
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