Kalkun... jooooooo tak

This week has been quite the adventure! It's been pretty tough actually, but I don't mean tough in a bad way, it's been quite fulfilling actually. I've definitely learned to rely on the Lord more this week!

Zaki
Zaki is this fantastic member! You can tell he just has a drive to learn more and I love it. Hes read the book of mormon, just finished doctrine and covenants and is doing come follow me with us every week. He's just a great guy, and he really has a desire to go on a mission. We've met with him a bunch this week and we watched Prophet of the Restoration and it was super hyggeligt. We got popcorn and everything and just chilled at the church. I'm super excited to see where he goes and I'm praying that he's gonna choose to go on a mission!
Jacob
Jacob is a super awesome member also, he's a returned missionary from Norway (he's a native Dane) and he makes us food almost every week (if not more). He's also addicted to Pokémon go hahaha. Which is apparently still a thing here?? Anyways he met this one girl named Jeannette in Pokémon Go, we knocked her house, did some service for her a few weeks ago and she invited us back to have drinks and snacks and talk about religion, but she also invited Jacob over! He absolutely sent it with the first two lessons and taught them as a friend, it was powerful. It just goes to show that member splits is POWERFUL.
Challenging Day and a Half
Alright well let's get into why this was a tough week. It was raining like hardcore, we were soaked, everyone was saying no to us, we had 6 hours of work (3 hours straight), it was crazy. It was one wack day. But I wouldn't have changed it for anything. I had a though "Why am I here, in the rain, biking up this hill, in the middle of Denmark?" and then I had to think about it. Why am I doing this? Because I believe it with my entire heart, I don't know where I would be without our Savior, without our Heavenly Father, without my ward, my bishop, my church, my family. I don't know what I would do without the knowledge of being with my family for eternity. I don't know what I would do if I thought there was no way to repent and become clean. I don't know what I would do without the healing that the Savior has brought to my life so many many times. And that's why I'm out here, I want to share that with everyone, for my Savior, for his sacrifice, so that others can have it. So that others can feel the healing, the forgiveness, the burdens lifted off of them, the love, the joy, that all comes with this Church. It was hard, but it made me realize the only way I'm going to get through it is if I depend on the Lord to get me through it. That's the only way I'm going to learn the language, and that's the only what I'm going to improve.

Tender Mercies

Though that day was hard, it was full of tender mercies. The rain eventually stopped, a member brought us food, and eventually we found someone that was excited to hear our message. It is always the last door, the last person you contact, the last thing you do, that shows the Lord that you are committed to him, and he blesses you accordingly. My spiritual thought for today is remember the small things that the Lord brings to pass in your life. Though they may be small, they meant the world to me in a day of frustration with the language, sopping wetness, and biking up hills (while we). It was the little things that helped me to keep going. But the next part of my spiritual thought is that we must also hold out to the end, there were many times where me and my trainer thought, "let's just go home, no one wants to hear it anyways" but because we didn't do that, we found two people that might want to hear more. Without doing that, we might not have ever met them. So always keep going, hold out to the end, and if you can, enjoy it. Especially enjoy the success that comes from a tough day, after finishing it, understand that you, through the Lord's help, completed it, you did it, it's over and you can move on to the next day.

Olivia

We had a blitz splits and it was super fun! I went with Ældste Grossnickle in Aalborg and we met this woman named Olivia, she was really sweet, let us into her house, and I taught her lessons 1-3, and answered her questions about our faith. She was super kind, she was catholic and from Peru, but her husband was Danish and didn't really want to have anything to do with religion. But you could just tell that she hungered for more and more religious talk, but she said she couldn't meet again sadly, but perhaps a library, so we gave that to Ældsterne in Aalborg. Hopefully something comes of it!

Wack

We went to visit the wack girl in Hjørring but she cancelled on us for the second time!! So she actually came to church... and then she left because she couldn't sit still hahah, it was funny. But it was great when she walked in and the entire sacrament room began to smell smoke. President told us the first week that he has a goal of having the back row smokers, the next alcoholics, and the next with problems. And that is exactly how it should be, we go to church to be better, to improve. So I was glad that she came, and hopefully she will come back!

Sunday!

This sunday was awesome! I loved it. I actually could talk with people and get to know them! I felt so happy. There was this sweet member who was around my age and we were struggling a bit to understand eachother, but eventually we got it. It's great to just throw myself out there, and know it's wrong, but then realize that the majority of Danes can speak english haha.

KALKUN

As missionaries, you gotta keep P-days exciting, and the work exciting. So we were trying to keep it work so we did a deal, we had two hours on one of our harder days, whoever found the most new friends, they got points added to their score in bowling. And whoever had the most points, they had to buy the others a drink! So we didn't find any people, but we went bowling and this got intense so get ready. We play a casual game and Ældste Brown is just killing us. He finishes with around 130 points, and I have around 98. So we get into the next game and we are all just terrible. He's getting low scores, but I'm consistent, so I stay at the top. Then they start getting strikes and spares, and I start falling behind. So I'm freaking out a little bit, we lost our advantage, and Ældste Leland get's 3 strikes! 2 of them in a row! So my comp and I are now really getting into the game. But selfølgelig, I put my head into the game. I get one spare, then another one, then I get a strike and that makes it the 10th square. And we are still dragging behind even with all of those points. So it gets to the last round, Ældste Brown gets a spare, my comp gets a spare. And now I'm worrying, because I need that drink right? So I send it, and I get one strike. Feeling pretty dang good, I step up again, and get ANOTHER STRIKE! It was amazing hahaha. So I finish with 132, and Ældste Leland bombs his last one, and we make it through by EXACTLY 1 POINT! We got soda with one point. It was the best feeling ever. And this goes exactly with my spiritual thought - It is ALWAYS the last door, the last frame, the last bowl, whatever it may be, but you gotta keep going on. Keep trying, never give up, because the rewards - even just the reward of saying, "yeah, I did that" - are greater than what giving up would be. Press on, keep going, because it will work out, especially if you look to the Lord.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/fourth-floor-last-door?lang=eng  

Challenge: Read the talk above and let me know your thoughts about it. How will you keep continuing this week when things get hard? What are some tactics you use to get out of that pit of wanting to give up?

Favorite Word this Week: Slap af (pronounced "Slap ay") - Relax

Scripture: Helaman 13:38–39 (Kind of a harsh scripture, but I love it haha)

I love you all and I hope you have the best week! Thank you all for the motivation and love!

Med kærlig hilsen,

Ældste Salisbury