This past week was absolutely fantastic and I bet you all can guess why! This past week we were able to go on splits and visit the sisters in, none other than, Kristiansand! It was literally such a blast I can't even tell you guys enough but I sure do plan on trying today in my blog. Before I do that though I want to tell you guys a little bit about what has been going on in Stavanger this past week. Since Norway does not have an LDS temple yet, most of the members have to go to Sweden or Denmark when they want to go and visit the temple. Most of the wards and or branches will then plan a trip to go to the temple together at least once or twice a year since it is such a trip to travel all the way out there. Well this past week has been the chosen week for the Stavanger ward to go to the temple. We were even lucky enough to watch some members cats this past week and hear some wonderful testimonies yesterday due to this outstanding trip.
However, all the Mormons in Stavanger didn't ditch us completely, we still had a handful of members here with us. One of which had just been called as a ward missionary and was completely ready and willing to go and do missionary work with us. This member is actually a recent convert to the gospel and has such a strong testimony about her faith that she is just so excited to share that with everyone. The same Sunday that she received this calling, she came up to me and asked if she could, at a minimum go out with us each week for at least a couple hours. Of course we said yes! This past week we went out with her on Tuesday and Friday for a couple hours just going around the city and talking to people. It felt as if I was training all over again. This was a recent convert who had never been on a mission before and actually comes from the Middle East so she doesn't actually speak Norwegian and English isn't her first language either, although she is really rather good at English. We went out and started talking to people while this member was literally taking notes on what we said or what we did. We would sometimes ask her to stop someone and she would think over her notes and then do it gladly. By the end of the first go we sent her back home with a Norwegian Book of Mormon and some pass along cards to hand out while we were away in Kristiansand. She was literally so excited! You can tell she loves the gospel and loves that, unlike her home country, she can share that with others here in Norway. She truly is a champion and I'm so glad that she got called as a ward missionary here in Stavanger.
Shortly after contacting with this member we had to catch a bus and the train to Kristiansand! I was literally so excited. I was hoping that maybe, if I was lucky, I would get to see some of my member friends that I had made while serving down there. After a wild trip, we finally made it safe and sound in Kristiansand where we ran into one of my YSA (young single adult) friends who was just coming in from Oslo, talk about a blessing! It was so great to see and talk to her and it just made me so happy, and the happiness continued. The next day I found out that we would be meeting with another one of my favorite young single adults, Evan. Evan is honestly such a light. He is always so happy and kind and you can tell that he cares and that he loves the gospel as well so I was super pumped. Before meeting with Evan, we were supposed to teach some Chilean guys some English but they were running 45 minutes late so we just combined them and had Evan help us teach them English. While in the meantime me and Søster Geddes got to clean the YSA center basement and talk a little bit. Søster Geddes and Søster Newell as well are both such lights as well. They are exactly the sisters that Kristiansand needs right now and I feel so lucky to get to go on splits with them this past week. I know they brought a lot of light and joy in my life but I was very grateful for. In the end, Søster Geddes, the Chileans, Evan and I had a great time and then it was time to switch. Søster Newell, The elders and I all headed to a dinner appointment at an older members house which was so good. After the dinner appointment Søster Newell was kind enough to ask me if there were any other members I would like to say hi to and I had just the couple in mind. It was actually a miracle because as we showed up to their house they were just leaving and the man told me that they had been running late and if they had left on time they would have just missed me so that was pretty lucky. I was able to say a quick hi to them before they headed out and then crazy coincidence the two kids of theirs I had met during Christmas time we're back home again from school for the summer so we went in and had some ice cream sandwiches and just talked about our missions. It was such a cool and literally a perfect experience for me and I think for the other missionaries as well. We shared a spiritual thought and then we were off and as soon as splits in Kristiansand had begun it was suddenly over.
I was so grateful to get to go to Kristiansand again and see some of my absolute favorite members there. It was great to learn from them and to learn from the absolutely amazing sisters there. It was literally the perfect splits and I left that city with so much happiness and joy in my heart. It was a wonderful week. I hope you all have a wonderful week as well.
Klem,
Søster Blankmeyer
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