Well, my first week out here in Nordstrand is over, and it is a lot different than living in Oslo. In Oslo there were always people on the streets to talk to whenever we wanted, and there was never a time in the day when we had to try to find something to do, we were always very busy. But out here in North Beach, as I like to call my area, there is never anyone on the streets and we are always trying to decide what to do. Which means that we spend a lot of time just knocking on doors trying to find new people to teach. Which is really hard when no one wants to listen.
There are good times and times that are not as good on the mission, and this week has definitely been hard. However, it has forced me to look to my Savior for guidance and comfort, and He has been there every step of the way. Every time we get a door slammed in our face, he feels the rejection just like we do. He walks with me every step of the way as we go out and try to find new investigators. I have come to understand the personal power of the atonement so much more this week, and I am so grateful for the trials we have in life which teach us our most valuable lessons. And, it just so happens that my favorite conference talk revolved around that very enabling power of the atonement of Christ.
General Conference was the best! I have never been looking forward to it this much and I have never been as spiritually prepared for it as I was this time, and I have never gotten as much out of what was said as I did this time. I took the time a few days before to write down several questions that I had and wanted to get answered, and then I just prayed that Heavenly Father would give me guidance through His apostles. It was amazing to watch as the talks went down my list almost like a check list and I received answers one by one. Heavenly Father truly knows his children and He is so anxious to communicate with us if we will just let Him in.
A quote that I really like from conference says this:
“We humble people, we who sometimes feel ourselves so worthless, so good-for-nothing, we are not so worthless as we think. There is not one of us but what God’s love has been expended upon. There is not one of us that He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us that He has not desired to save and that He has not devised means to save. There is not one of us that He has not given His angels charge concerning. We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes and in the eyes of others but the truth remains that we are the children of God and that He has actually given his angels—invisible beings of power and might—charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”
I have truly felt angels in my life and I know that they are there around us, bouying us up through every hardship that we are called to endure through this life. The Lord knows every single one of us perfectly and He knows just how far we can bend before we break, and He goes with us to that very point so that we can become that much stronger as a result. It is only through the storms of life that we are able to grow to our full potential, and I would not have it any other way. If life were easy, what would be the point?
My shoulders are squared and I am looking to the future and I am ready to face the challenges that are going to come. I don't know where this life is going to take me, but I know that where ever it is, I can count on the fact that I will be walking with my Savior's arm around my shoulder, and that will never change. I hope that we can each develop our personal relationship with the One who knows us best as we take the journey back to Him.
I love you all, and I know that this week is going to be the best! Thank you!
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