A Time to Remember Ruth

After a long and hard day of missionary work, Søster Love and I headed home. It was Friday, October 21, a day I will never forget. We had missed a call from President Hill and Søster Love was in the process of calling him back. He told Søster Love that he needed to talk to me and thats when he told me that my 101 year old great grandmother Ruth had just passed away in her sleep. Even though it shouldn't have, the news came as some sort of a shock to me. I wasn't really sure how to take that. I spent the rest of that night writing in my journal and honestly in deep prayer with my Father in Heaven. I needed to be okay, I needed to be able to wake up the next morning and have enough strength and energy to do a previously planned service project at 8:30am. I needed to get up and get going and keep going until the day was over and until I had served those people who relied on my strength. I needed help and that's exactly what I received. I've seen this many times on my mission, with myself and with my fellow missionaries, where we may feel either mentally, physically, or (in this case) emotionally drained, where we feel like we can't take one more step.  I can't continue on with this grueling fight against Satan. It's times like these where I am reminded of the scripture in Matthew 11:28 which reads, "come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "

After receiving the news about my great grandmother's passing, all I wanted was to be surrounded by my family. To give my mom a hug and to talk with her, and yet here I was thousands of miles away from them.  But, I was not alone. My Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ were there for me. They took me in with open arms and much like the Scripture in Matthew, they were inviting me to come unto them. To find divine peace and rest in them. I've been a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints for a little over seven months now and my relationship with my Father in Heaven has never been stronger. I've learned to rely on him, to find refuge in him. All he asked is for us to come unto him and he has promised us that if we do that, He will give us rest. I can testify of the truthfulness of that promise. I was able to find rest. 

Me, Great-Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dee

I was able to take a step back and take that time to remember Ruth. I was able to remember all the wisdom and knowledge I have gained from her. I was able to remember her kindness and love towards me and others. I was able to remember her truly incredible testimony and the strong spirit that she had with her. I was able to remember her sense of humor, along with her other characteristics and talents. I was even able to remember the many time she would beat me in a game of Skip Bo or phaze 10. She truly was an incredible woman and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had to get to know my great grandmother. I recognize that it it was truly a blessing for me to get that opportunity to know her and to learn from her. I will never forget her. The earth has lost another wonderful woman, but heaven has truly gained an angel. I'm so grateful for that knowledge. After getting The news, I began to think back on my last interaction with my great grandmother. I started to ask myself, did I give her a good enough hug? Did I take our time together for granted? Did I let her know that I love her, it's hard leaving your family for 18 months, but almost always you get a chance to come home and see them again.  In this case I won't be coming home to great grandmother Ruth.  Many have pointed out to me, she's here with me now. She's a lot closer to me now than she was before and I can feels of her loving spirit with me here in Norway.  I'm really grateful for that. I'm grateful that I know exactly where she is and I'll see her again. It may not be in 11 months when I come back home, but I'll see her again. I'm truly grateful for that knowledge and for this opportunity that I have to share that knowledge with the people here in Norway. 

I'm so glad that I came to help Norwegians come closer to Christ and Heavenly Father.  To help them find that rest, that refuge. Life is perfect for none of us. We all need that peace, that joy, that only the Savior can bring. We can help by serving and loving one another along the way. Last night we were at a members house sharing a message with them and before we left we had decided to share the Mormon message entitled "lift"

 them, which I would invite you all to see. It tells the story of this woman Kathy who, due to illness, is not able to get herself in bed at night. Members of the church, as well as some of her neighbors, got together and set up a schedule where every night they would come to lift her into bed. In the Mormon message, one of the men who had helped to lift her into bed says, "it's interesting, the dichotomy between healing the body and healing the soul. When we heal the body, it's always an inward effort. We're always paying attention to ourselves. When we heal the soul, turning inward doesn't work. And the triage of the soul is found in turning outward to other people. Every time I've gone to Kathy's home and dealt with her, it feels like it heals a part of my soul."  

I just thought that was absolutely perfect. Being able to go out every day and serve the people here in Norway has help to heal my soul. I would invite you all to take a second this week and watch "LIFT" and then find a way to go out and serve someone in need. Not only will it help them, but it will help you as well. I would just like to end by saying how grateful I am for this gospel and for the opportunities and challenges I have been given in this life to help me draw closer to my Father in Heaven. I'm grateful for my great grandmother Ruth and for the light that she was. I'm grateful that I willl be able to see her again someday. But, until that time...

Gud vær med deg til vi ses igjen!

Love,

Søster Blankmeyer

Contacting, Klems (hugs), Conversion stories and Koselige Fests!

Once again, it's been quite the week for Søster Love and I here in Asker. We started out the week by teaching a family home evening lesson to a family in the ward here. They are one of my absolute favorite's. I love when you can walk into a home and just feel of the love that the family members have for one another. Whenever I walk into this family's home, I feel just that, as well as the spirit that abides there. It's so refreshing to spend time with this family. It was such a fun night for Søster Love and I to get to spend time with a family that is so welcoming and kind to us seeing as we are very far away from our own families. We were able to teach the children exactly what it is like to be a missionary and then we had them all try and be a missionary. It was so fun and the kids were naturals. It was so awesome! It actually wasn't our original plan to teach that lesson but we got there and one of the kids was expressing his worries about his future mission. So we decided to switch it up and man was that lesson just so cool! I loved it! We also got to play the game "Sorry" and even speak a little English afterwards which is always fun. Also this family is BYU cougar fans seeing as the parents attended the wonderful university so needless to say they are just the best.

Family Home Evening

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 We also got to meet with another American from our ward this past week and that was way fun as well. She is from Arizona and is actually in the motherland as we speak. She was kind enough to give us all of her Mac and Cheese before she left and even offered to bring us back something from the U.S. of A.  Thats what I like to call a tender mercy.  She really is such an incredible person and it was a blast for Soster Love and I to get to know her better and to talk with a fellow American. I hope she is enjoying her sonic Dr Pepper drink right now and just living up that American life.

On Wednesday Søster Love and I hit the streets and tried to talk to as many people as we possibly could, but before we did that we got a phone call from Søster Brostrom from the office reminding us to keep checking for mail at our old place. Being the responsible Sister Missionaries that we are, we headed straight to our old apartment and you all would never guess what we found in our mailbox! My dad's conversion story! How cool is that? I was able to read all about how my own father was able to come unto the knowledge of the gospel and eventually be baptized. It was definitely a tender moment for me and I can't wait to be able to share his experience with others here in Norway. It was absolutely perfect and I just want to take this time to give my dad a major shout out for taking the time to write that out for me and for the people here in Norway that will really benefit from hearing your experience. This is something I will definitely never forget and that letter has become one of my most prized possessions out here on my mission so thanks again for that! I would just like to share a little bit of his testimony with you all when he says, "sometimes I am asked about my joining the church or faith. I hope others can realize the true happiness the gospel of Jesus Christ brings in my life every day. While I still have good days and not so good days, I will never deny the blessings of happiness I receive every day from my Heavenly Father. I never really knew "happiness" prior to becoming baptized although, I thought I did. My happiness now is significant as it provides me joy and peace in my life. It guides me in my decisions. My life has never been the same since I joined the faith; my only regret is I didn't join the faith sooner."  Wow there is an anything quite like reading your parents conversion story or testimony. I'm on cloud nine right now. I was also on cloud nine right after reading it for the first time and was ready to go and bring that joy and peace that my dad was talking about to everyone here in Norway. 

Soster Love and I headed out to the Sandvika city center and began to talk to everyone that would listen about the gospel. We once again had the "Nei takks" (no thanks) and even got a new one when some lady said, "Jeg ikke bo her!" That didn't stop us though because we know just how important the message we are bringing is. We were able to stop a few people and had some really cool gospel conversations. After talking with this one man for a little bit he announced, "KLEM!" and went in for a hug. I think he was just happy to have someone actually listen to him and give him the time of day. We were able to share what we believe and share the joy that this gospel brings. 

To end off our week, we were able to attend the ward party. There was music, food, dancing and friends.  Man was it such a blast. I'm so glad that we were able to go. It was also quite a hoot to see Norwegian's throwing down some cha-cha-cha and country line dancing. Not quite like the stuff in Texas, but still such a good and uplifting time. I hope and pray you all have a wonderful week and know that I love you all.   The quote of the week; #IKKESTRESS

KLEM,

Soster Blankmeyer

Our new apartment

Classic middle school selfie!

A week of Repentance and Conversion

Just me and Bond the Norwegian forest cat

To begin the blog post this week, I would like to share with you all a wonderful Norwegian word that will be the focus of this weeks entry. The word is omvendelse and this word can be used two different ways. Omvendelse means repentance, but it also means conversion. I think that it is truly beautiful. I think it's beautiful because both words are dependent on one another. You can't be truly converted if you haven't truly repented and you won't have the desire to repent if you don't have the desire to be converted. You really can't have one without the other. It just doesn't work. 

This past weekend Søster Love and I had the opportunity to drive out to Drammen to go and hear her grandfather give his first talk in church. It was stake conference so there were people from all over Norway and they had asked him to tell his conversion story to the Gospel. He got up there and told everyone how he, after many years, had come to be baptized and converted to this gospel. He talked about his journey and his experiences that eventually brought him to baptism and his strength and his testimony along the way. It was incredible and you could just tell how happy he was to now have the entirety of the gospel in his life and to be able to share his story with others. 

The stake presidency had also asked another recent convert to share her story with the congregation and you'll never guess who that was. It was none other then Alida from Ålesund! 

Alida and her mother had driven the nine hour car ride from Ålesund to Drammen so that Alida could share her amazing conversion story with us. With just a few notes and one or two scripture verses, Alida got up and shared her amazing testimony which brought the spirit so strong. She shared with us how she had grown up in a non-Christian household and how what she was trying to find direction in her life. Much like Joseph Smith, she decided to get down on her knees and pray for help. She said, "God if you are really there, please help me." She got the impression to research a little bit more about the Mormons she ended up on LDS.org, the church website, and began to read and read and read. To make a long story short, she eventually got in contact with the missionaries serving in Ålesund and they were able to teach her about the Book of Mormon and the gospel. Shortly after, Alida was baptized in one of Norways most stunning fjords. Alida is one of the most amazing people I have met during my stay in Norway and I am so beyond grateful for her. At the end of her talk she was able to share a scripture with us from Doctrine and Covenants section 18 verses 14 through 16. I would like to quote it in Norwegian first. It reads,   

14  Derfor er dere kalt til å rope omvendelse til dette folk. 

15  Og om så skjer at dere skulle arbeide alle deres dager med å rope omvendelse til dette folk og bare bringer én sjel til meg, hvor stor skal ikke deres glede være med ham i min Faders rike! 

16  Og nå, hvis deres glede vil bli stor med én sjel som dere har bragt til meg i min Faders rike, hvor stor skal ikke deres glede bli om dere skulle bringe mange sjeler til meg!

In English it reads, 

14 Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.
15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!       
16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

I thought this scripture was perfect and I specially love it in Norwegian with the double meaning of omvendelse. 

As a missionary in Norway I'm here to cry conversion and repentance, both of which lead to a change in heart. In preach my gospel we read, "our faith in Christ and our love for Him leads us to repent, or to change our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are not in harmony with His will."  The key word there being changed. Elder M. Russell Ballard once said, "True conversion comes through the power of the Spirit. When the spirit touches the heart, hearts are changed."  In both cases, there was a change occurring. A change for the better. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that we have to change, to try and Be better, to try and Do better. In a talk that my amazing brother recently gave on repentance he shared a story from President Thomas S. Monson about a woman and her husband that strayed from the path. He quotes the woman and she says, “How does someone go from being one of the lost sheep and gripped by [sin], to this peace and happiness we now feel? How does that happen? The answer … is because of a perfect gospel, a perfect Son and His sacrifice for me. … Where there was darkness, there is now light. Where there was despair and pain, there is joy and hope." We have been infinitely blessed by the change that can only come through repentance. (I would add conversion) How amazing is it that we have the opportunity to continually repent and continually strengthen our conversion that brings us that joy, that hope.  

I would like to end by quoting my brother when he said, "Throughout our lives we will need to nurture strong testimonies by studying the scriptures and by praying and by pondering the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When firmly planted, our testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that we do."  I would invite you all to do just that.  Study the scriptures, pray, ponder the different aspects of the gospel and then let that testimony that you gain influence all that you do. Share that testimony through your actions so that others can see the joy it has brought to you. Lastly, never forget omvendelse. Our heavenly father has blessed us with the opportunity to change, let us take advantage of that. I love you all and I love this gospel.

Until next time, 

Søster Blankmeyer

The Good old 7-11

7 months out 11 to go

Well everyone, it's been quite the week here in Asker and I can't wait to tell you all about it.  But first I want to give a big thank you to Rebecca Dover for the cute card and also a major thanks to my mom and family for the absolutely amazing package. It really made my week! Speaking of my week, Soster Love and I were able to witness many miracles and really see the difference this gospel can make in peoples lives. I can't wait to share some of our experiences with all of you. 

It all started Wednesday night when we got a call from our district leader.  He told us how the zone leaders wanted to get the zone pumped and so they were going to choose a couple people and give them a challenge. Sure enough Søster Love and I were among the lucky two companionship's that were delivered this challenge. Shortly after we had gotten off the phone with our district leader, the zone leaders called and extended the challenge. They told us it was going to be a competition between the Asker sisters (us) and the Draman Elders and that whoever could invite the most people to be baptized would be the winner. 

Well, Søster Love and I are both pretty competitive people so we were determined to win. But we also wanted to be sure that we didn't just invite people to make such an important promise with our Heavenly Father just to add another number to our ranks. We decided to sit down and really think about all of our investigators and discuss which ones were ready for the baptismal invitation. We came up with a list of about eight of our investigators and then picked dates for each of them. We only had about four days to invite all of these people to be baptized but everything was pretty last minute. We knew that a few of those original eight people were not in town, so we proceeded to call the rest and set up some appointments. We were able to get three appointments from that list and we were so excited about that. 

Our first appointment went perfectly. We talked about Joseph Smith and the restoration and invited her to be baptized she excepted and is scheduled to be baptized on the 5th of November! We left that lesson and had no words. Asker hasn't seen a baptism for over a year and here we were with a very positive baptismal candidate. What a miracle! That was just the first of many. 

The next day we had our second appointment from the list. We had met this guy at the hockey game and he had been coming to church ever since. We weren't 100% sure if he would commit to a date but we felt confident enough about inviting him to be baptized. The lesson started out a bit rough as he wasn't as comfortable with the Elders having to be there but we just continue to pray that the spirit would be there and that all would be well.  We began to teach him the plan of salvation and he was loving every bit of it. We only got to the part of the plan that talks about our life on earth because we began to talk about the things we must do while here on earth. It set us up perfectly to invite him to be baptized and although it started out a bit rough, the spirit was so strong when it was time for the invitation. He also excepted the invitation and he now has a date to be baptized on October 22! Of course after that lesson we were freaking out, the Elders were amazed and we were ready to conquer the world. The elders ended up having an appointment right after so Søster Love and I got to thinking what else we could do. 

We looked back at the list of names of people we thought were ready for the baptismal invitation and one name was sticking out to us, Erika. We had tried to get in contact with her to set up an appointment but we hadn't had any luck. We knew that she had school until around three and that she was usually in the center around that time. We decided to put our faith in God and try to find Erika! In the busy Asker center and invite her to be baptized. Asker is a pretty big city and there are tons of people at the center, so we were kind of asking a lot of our Heavenly Father but we knew that if he wanted it, he would make it happen. We parked our car and prayed for a miracle and headed out. We went through the mall and the library with no luck. We did run into a couple members working on family history in the library and even got one to commit to come to an appointment with us next week which was a tender mercy. We came out of the entrance of the library and Søster Peterson called us on the cell phone. We were talking to her for a bit when I looked up and realized that one of our potential investigators was sitting at the table right in front of us. We had stopped and talked to her the day we went out banking. I thought to myself, maybe this is why we are in the center today and determined that once we got off the phone we would go and talk to her, and then the real miracle happen. As we were talking to Søster Petersen, Erika walked in! I ran up to her as Søster Love quickly ended the phone call. We were able to teach her a quick lesson and invited her to be baptized she didn't commit to a day as she is going through some things right now but wow was that experience such a testimony builder for me that God is there and really knows and loves each and everyone of us. We were able to meet with Erika! in a crowded city center because He knew how much she needed us and how much we needed her. What a miracle! 

Our last appointment was on Saturday morning seeing as we had general conference the rest of the day. She was a new investigator we had just gotten from the assistants and she lived a good hour away but we were told she was ready to change her life and so we were glad to be the ones to help with that. We decided to teach her the gospel of Jesus Christ and invite her to be baptized. It was an incredible first lesson and she committed to be baptized November 19. What a miracle that Asker, who hasn't seen a baptism in over a year, now has three positive baptismal dates just from a few days of hard work and miracles. Our reward for that hard work was a weekend of General conference which was incredible. 

I would invite you all to listen to my favorite talk by Lynn G. Robbins  (the link should take you to it) and think about how you can be better able to follow Christ example. I love you all and am beyond grateful for each and everyone of you. 

Klem, 

Soster Blankmeyer

Elders bought us some DP

#blessed

stop

in the name

of love