From the new 2NE1 version (see what I did there?)

Wow. This week... Where do I begin? 

This week the following happened:

- The other sisters had two baptisms!!

-We got a baptismal date for June 14th with Omar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Found two new investigators, Hunk (from China) and Noel (From Congo)!

- Had the Sister Training Leaders here (Sister Rupp and Sister Mourik)!

-And of course TRANSFERS. 

So I shall share about transfers. I will be staying in Trondheim and am getting a new companion! Her name is Sister Burns and she's from London (we were actually in Britannia ward toegther when I was in London back in 2012. Small world right?)!!! She will be finishing up her mssion with me so I am pretty stoked to learn a whole lot from her. My companion, SIster Hornback, will be going to Ålesund (still in my zone!). So yup, my Trondheim mailing address is still good until about July 23rd when the next transfer happens :)

Phew! Now that that's said, let's move on to this week's highlights. It was incredible to be able to have two baptisms this week. Jaroslav's baptism on Thursday night really touched me. I have been able to watch him through his entire conversion process from a third person persceptive. It's truly amazing to see how people, from any background, are able to make the changes in their lives to come unto Christ. When I saw Jaroslav come out of the water, he was truly beaming with happiness. The rest of the evening, he couldn't stop smiling. I still can't stop smiling!

I spent the next few days reflecting about this feeling I had. And on Saturday while SIster Hornback and I were contacting, something randomly clicked inside of me. We stopped a man named Benjamin who reminded me a bit of Jaroslav when SIster Shaw and Sister Angerhofer found him. I thought to myself, "This man also has that potential inside himself" and instantly after I thought this, I could see Benjamin in baptismal clothes. It was one of the best contacts I have had. 

We actually got Omar's baptismal date two sundays ago, but I didn't have P-Day the following Monday so NOW you all get to know!! When we talked with Omar, we followed up with him praying about being baptized. After a little pause, Omar said, "Yes I have. I want to get baptized." SO COOL!! 

When the Sister Training Leaders were here and just this past week, we found TONS of solid potentials. Hunk and Noel were able to meet yesterday and they both became new investigators so that's fantastic. Hunk is incredbily receptive to the spirit and Noel is a bit skeptical about there being more scriptures but he is open to give this all a try. More on this as it develops!

With everything that has been happening this week, I have been reflecting a lot about the importance of bearing your testimony. All of missionary work and all we do in the gospel is because of testimony. We have experienced spiritual confirmations, the Lord's promised blessings, felt God's love, and so much more. We know that because of these things others can have the same thing and we WANT them to have it for themselves. We all are constantly changing every day and as we live the prinsiples taught by the Savior, we're changing for the better. I really do know that what is said in Mosiah 4:27 is true. There is an order to do things and we will never have to do more then we are able, but we must continue to always press forward.

Love you all and I hope you continue to have a fantastic week!

Take care,

Søster Buhler

PS: The title is inspired by two things 1) My love of Asian music and 2) It's my birthday today! So yeah, just a little clarification in case any of you were like, "what the-?"

SYTTEN AV MAI!!

Hey everybody!!

I know what you're thinking, "What the - ? Why am I getting this email on a NON Monday day?" Well here's the dealio, today in Norway is the anniversary of Norway's independence. It's like the fourth of July but times 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. It's a BIG deal and as missionaries we are not allowed to proselyte so we get a WHOLE day of P-day!!

So far this week has been pretty mellow due to the preparing for today's big holiday but still been a great week. We have been able to get a new investigator named Erling Eriksen. We had a super quick lesson with him in his doorway because he lives alone but he is willing to hear and learn about the Book of Mormon. He feels like he as the intention of Bible bashing with us but there's a reason why we managed to cross paths with him. We'll see what the Lord has in store for him!

We were able to meet with our investigator Sharifi yesterday. For the last two weeks he keeps telling us he will come to church but at the very last minute he tells us he's not coming. We talked with him yesterday about church and he says he feels like there's this wall that is stopping him from coming but if he just comes to church once, that will take the wall down. He says it's something personal that he needs to do and he wouldn't give us too much information but he appreciates how much we help him out. We went through the baptismal questions and he was both surprised and pleased how simple the interview is. He has been committed to pray for a specific baptismal date so we'll see how that goes!

Finding has been pretty chill this week as well but it's been good. It's so entertaining how different people react to us when they open their doors or stop on the street. Just that within itself is so fun but it's always even better when we have great mini teaches with them on their doorstep/the street. 

For studies this week, Sister Hornback (my companion) actually shared with me D&C 31, one of her favorite missionary scriptures. Verses 3 stuck out most to me:

"Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation."

This stuck out to me because about a year ago was when I received my mission call telling me I was to serve in Norway. And now I'm here. WHOA. Just that in itself caused me to lift up my heart and rejoice! But just finding these scriptures are simple but powerful reminders of why I am out here doing the Lord's work. I love the Lord, I have felt the power of His atonement help me overcome and change to become a better me, and I know that through living His gospel all good things in this life can become even better.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Buhler

PS: We got updated with Transfers. This transfer will be cut short because we have several missionaries leaving this month so we have transfers on May 28th and the next one will be July 23rd. Yup. So the next time I write, I will be informing whether I'm staying or moving. Stay tuned!

Let the good times roll

Hello everyone!! 

How was everyone's Mother's Day? It was pretty swell for me and I'm so glad I got to talk with my family. Even while a giant pond is placed right between where my family and I are, we are still able to talk. Technology man, it blows my mind. 

Anyhoo, this past week has been great. Really, the last few weeks have been great and I am so thankful for them.

With our investigators they are doing pretty well. Omar is simply awesome. He told me yesterday after church was over how much he loves how every time he comes to church, he feels like he's with family. As of now, he's just having a difficult time recognizing answers from the Holy Ghost. Our last lesson with him we went over how the Holy Ghost speaks to us through our feelings and thoughts to confirm truths to us. We asked him to pay attention to how he specifically feels when we reads and prays until the next time we meet so we'll see how it goes!

Another cool experience is with a newer investigator named Susann. We met her entire family on Sunday and her husband Paul actually joined us for our lesson! THAT WAS HUGE!! As we taught the restoration to her, Susann was like, "That makes sense. I've always wondered why we wouldn't have a prophet today to help us with today's problems." Seriously, each time we meet with Susann, I become even more thankful that they are people out in Norway that want to learn about the gospel!

Each of our investigators are all doing so good in their different ways, it's just the best! With our potentials, even though we haven't been able to meet with them, they keep telling us to come back and are still open to learn about the church!

We had zone leader training this week and it was an answer to my prayers. At times I can be harsh to myself because I am not perfect, but the Lord has helped me to open my eyes and see that 1) I am improving and 2) I do contribute to the work here in Norway.

In studies this week, I've been reflecting over patriarchal blessings. I remember the youth Mormon message by Boyd K. Packer (Enemy Territory) and how Elder Packer shared how his patriarchal blessing helped him. Just knowing how personal they are really testifies to me how perfectly Heavenly Father knows and loves each one of us. 

Thank you all for being so awesome and blessing my life with your personal incredible-ness. Keep on smiling and loving every moment!

Love,

Søster Buhler

So a quick explanation for the pictures - Bror Arne Dahlø took us to visit several places and then we ate lunch/dinner at his cabin! Best P-Day in Trondheim ever!!

1 - Ruins of a bridge the first Mormon in Norway built!

2- So we were in Hell today...

3 - Cave carvings!

1 - Bror Arne Dahlø, our awesome P-Day tour guide!

2-  Me chilling by Hell St.... Yup

3 - The view from Bror Dahlø's cabin. No big.

1 - An old fortress castle!

2 - Me chilling in a cannon place!

3 - Exit from a dungeon

Me in the castle fort courtyard :)

Peace through developing hope and service in the Lord's vineyard

We had a great week and almost hit all of our weekly goals! It's always so fascinating to reflect on the last week in preparation for the new week as we set goals. It's so fun to remember the miracles that we were able to experience and learn from.

We had an interesting week with finding new investigators. Our two new investigators are both incredibly eager to learn! One is Anita, a Jehovah's Witness whose curious about what actually happens after we die. The other is Terie, he's studied many religions, and his father was a priest. I do think my meeting them is a blessing in disguise to help me be more motivated to study from the Bible in more depth, especially the Old Testament. Just comes to really prove that this life is about learning ALL truth in REAL depth.

We are continuing to try the potentials we found during Easter, but they've all been busy. On the plus side though every time we go see them, they're also happy to see us and keep telling us to try them again soon. One of them he even talked about us with his family at dinner and they're all cool with him meeting with us! THAT'S A FIRST FOR ME! Usually once the family knows, they're forbid their kids/spouses from talking to us again. I'm so grateful the Lord has been blessing us with incredible potentials!

An update with our investigators, our last lesson with Jonny was reading 3 Nephi 11 with him. It was a simple but great experience to be able to feel the Spirit as we read. We are actually meeting him today before he leaves on a trip to the States (if any of you are in Illinois, you may run into him!) and we're planning on going over Joseph Smith's story with him...

Omar has come to church the past three sundays now! He likes how he feels when he comes. We just have to take it slower because of his atheist/muslim background. We are also meeting with him later today and we're planning on reading together in the Book of Mormon. Tune in next week to find out what happened!

Because this is the first week of the transfer, I spent much of my studies setting goals for myself. I began with doing the Attribute Activity in chapter 6 of PMG to help me identify the attribute I wanted to focus on. As I went through the questions and reviewed my results, I was able to see how much growth I had done thanks to the help of my Savior and see a glimpse of who I could become. For this transfer, I have decided to really focus on Hope. I love how PMG describes it as "an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you... It is believing and expecting that

something will occur." I've always thought of hope as wishing for something when in reality it is trust manifested through actions because you EXPECT things to happen. I hope through this next transfer I will develop that expectation to be able to perform the labors Heavenly Father needs me to do here in Trondheim. 

To close, I would like to share D&C 59:23-4 "But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and the Spirit beareth record." 

We develop that hope of expectation through learning and applying. As we continue developing that specific hope, we really do obtain that peace we all strive to have for the future. I know that peace is real and available to all because our Savior Jesus Christ paved the way for us. I know this because the Spirit has testified that to me.

Thank you all for being your fantastic selves and I hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Take care,

Søster Buhler

Not that many pictures for this week

1- I helped a YW (Alysha) with her RUSS lab coat. I drew a minion from Despicable Me

2 - Alysha and me painting

3 - The finished product!