January 19

We started the week on Monday by not having a pday, but kind of having a pday at the same time. I know that makes no sense, but what I mean is that it wasn't supposed to be a pday, but we had so much to do that it didn't really turn out to be very different. Somehow we are just always busy, no matter how much we end up getting done. So we just keep chopping away. 

On Tuesday we did a lot of different things, but one good one was that we were able to teach a girl named Tea and her friend, Draya. Tea is half American and half Norwegian, so she speaks both languages perfectly. She is the daughter of one of our former investigators, and is really cool. Draya is a muslim girl who has lived in Dubai and travels a lot and is just doing her thing in Norway for the time being. We met them at a cafe in the city, and had the best lesson I have had for a long time. The Spirit was strong, and we committed Tea especially to try the "God experiment." Read the Book of Mormon and pray every day for three weeks, with a promise that an answer will come by the end. I am so excited for her atheist mind to be converted and realize there is a God in heaven who loves her. Teaching the gospel is so much fun, and there is no greater joy than that which comes from helping people we love come closer to God.

On Wednesday morning we hopped on an airplane and headed over to Bergen to start our adventures with Elder Kopischke. From that day, I was in meetings for 6 hours a day, every day until now. It was exhausting. Spiritual experiences can be so tiring, and it's such a bizarre thing. Do you remember when Joseph Smith had the first vision or when he had his run-ins with the angel Moroni a few years later and how tired he was afterward? Okay, so maybe my experiences this week haven't been quite of that caliber, but it's been pretty intense all the same. 

I learned a lot of things that I think will help me with my missionary work, and Elder Kopischke managed to absolutely blow my mind in a couple of instances, but all those things were secondary principles that I learned. The main lesson that I got from Elder Kopischke's visit was from the way he taught. In every meeting that he went to, he invited us to come with questions to be answered. He didn't care what they were about, and in most cases he didn't even know what the questions were. Instead, as he answered a few of the people's questions, he did it in a way that the spirit filled the room so strongly. He taught from the scriptures and applied them to his listeners, and as he did so, answers came through the spirit to each individual person. He didn't even have to say anything about their question, because the spirit did the teaching, and EVERYONE got an answer. What an amazing principle. It has completely changed the way that I teach, and I think that teaching in the church has a long way to go. Whenever we have these visits, it is no wonder to me that these men were called as general authorities.

I have a lot of inspiration and revelation to digest at the moment, but I am so grateful. Things are good and I am so blessed. I am so lucky to be a child of God. Never underestimate that truth. I love you all, and thanks for your support!