March 24, 2014

Definately not a bust :) 

Though, at this point i'm oficially concerned about our family's obsession to pillow pets. Unfortunately, I have no time to consider that and I have even less time to write emails, from now, to the rest of my mission. Which is a slight drawback. In fact today we're not even taking a Pday, we're just kinda going. Because We are going to be gone a ton this week. ANd next week. And the week after that.... So I have to write this super fast unfortunately. 

ANyways. My life has been crazy. I'll tell you all about it sometime, but my first few days in the office have been super hectic and fun, and stressful, and i've learned a ton of stuff. REally though I just realized I have no time. 

My last day in trondheim was hilarious and awesome. I got to eat dinner with Ben Weggerson and Jan Peder and Tore were there, which is super cool because they are my favorite. :) Tuesday we went ham and I met with Elinor for the last time, and then had a way cool dinner with Faviola dunn and her husband. It was cool because I was able to share the experiences I've had and more especially in Bergen with fighting on the Lords team. It was way cool. 

Wednesday I had a 7 hour train ride from Trondheim to Oslo. HOly smokes. It was pretty , but mostly eventful. I didn't know to begin with that they had assigned seating so when the man came to check my ticket he told me to move, along with all my stuff. FAbulous. so wonderful right? So I got to move all my luggage from one end of this long region train to the other. 

First was car 6, full of old people, who looked at me funny. Car 5 had the workers who clearly saw that I was struggling. Car 4 had a bunch of weirdo's but I realized I had found my seat. I was sitting in the one spot on the train where you have 4 seats facing each other, and of course 2 of them were already filled. One with a lady who clearly looked like she was irritated and another with and older looking man who looked like he could be a biker, complete with a du-rag and all and definately smelled funny. But hey at least I had a window seat. So I spent like a half hour making 3 trips, and collapsed sweaty on the chair. 

A few minutes later a girl got on with a HUge luggage that she clearly needed help with so i helped her to heave it up onto the rack over our heads and then she thanked me and ran off. Unfortunately it was snowing a bunchoes and the train was warm. Enter the trains rainy season. I thought it was funny. And at this point I learned that the man was actually a priest from another church, though youd never guess it by his clothes. He was a funny guy. That church is actually the church that houses all of the narcopeople in tronheim. (druggies) So these two poor people got up and moved for a minute because it literally started raining water from the meltage from the rack above us, so I grabbed my bag got some towels and fixed it... sort of :) It was funny. Me and Ane (the lady who was super nice) had a really nice time. She was super nice and we ended up talking for almost 4 hours. It was a fun experience. 

THen it was 3 in the afternoon. Elder Linge my new companion picked me up, and I didn't stop or eat anything that day until sister clark's burny dinner. He can't drive, so I get to drive the missions van everywhere :) Joy. Especially in Norway where having a big car is a huge disadvantage. I've been learning. I've forgotten most of what I know about excel. and yup. THats basically it. Axel is a recently baptized young man 15 years old, and he is unbelievable. So cool and so mature. He gave a talk yesterday after being a member for 3 months and it was amazing. We are still teaching his dad. 

We flew up and had a conference on friday which was fun, and me Elder BAdger(my mtc comp) Elder Linge and Edler Bitner said our last goodbyes. Elder Linge leaves in less than 3 weeks. INSANE: i still have a ton to learn. 

On a much more serious note: I have had some way cool spiritual experiences this week. I went back and read my setting apart blessing, and you basically could say that it was a patriarchal blessing for my mission. It had everything. In such cool ways I can't even describe right now. Me and elder linge the first guy we contacted told us he wanted to meet and then said, hey i live right above you! here's my number! lets meet next week. INSANE. 

I cant' even explain how much i've learned. It's been unreal. I still have so many things I lack. I have however learned, that if you have a spiritual confirmation that you are where you need to be. then STICK TO IT. And don't look back. No. What you were doing then wasn't perfect. You needed to do better. But it doesn't take away what you did in the past. If you are where you need to be then trust in the path that brought you here. AH I can't even explain it. If people don't like you as a leader, then cool. Join the club of Christ who did the same. If its hard to be what you need to be, join the club. If you still aren't good enough then get in the club where through Christ we can be perfected. 

Wow. I could rant for forever right now. Do missionary work! Its the best thing ever! Hunt it down! Sniff it out! Its hard and always worth it. 

love,

Christopher

March 17, 2014

Hey I'll start by talking about the weather for a minute! Thats always fun! Its been absolutely WEIRD!!! All the norwegians are scratching their heads and doing a dance at the same time. We've had the warmest winter in trondheim in recorded history. Get that. 0 snow for 3 months. December...none. January. none. Febuary. STILL none. it was always like 12 degress C. It was insane. THAT felt like spring. However. Starting last thursday morning as we flew down from Tromsø, we couldn't take off because of the snow storm, and its been snowing a blizzard almost ever since then. Its been sOOO pretty. 0_O

So now we have winter. Spring is over now :)

As for what Trolls do, I think they go out and start suntanning. In the summer its too much but I think the spring is ok. Honestly for as much as trolls have to do with norway I don't know that much about what norwegians actaully say about them. I just know I've definately met some people that remind me a lot of trolss. 

My week wasn't overly exciting, but it was pretty fun. Monday night we visited the mckenzie family and played a game with them that symbolizes the atonement, and had a way cool discussion with them and their kids about that. Sometimes when things are easy we don't appreiciate how fun and uplifting it is to just talk to people about who chirst is and how He can help us. So that was fun, and then we played a really fun game where you scribble somthing and then pass it around to someone else who tries to draw something out of your scribbles. It was super fun. Tuesday we spent the entire morning preparing for a meeting which by all accounts, we shouldnt have had enough time to plan for it and make it good. But it ended up being super cool and super fun. it was about norwegian, so we would play little games, translate stuff, and we showed them some clips from tarzan, cars, and surfs up in norwegian to see if they could understand everything that the people were talking about. Even for us who understand almost all of what people noramlly say, sometimes in movies its suuuuper hard to understand. I think thats because they have to talk just a little faster than normal, OR, people do go a little slower for us. 

That night Jan Peder one of the recently baptized YSA took us out for chinease food and we had such a super fun time!!! He is unreal cool. He wants me to go to his wedding this summer which is in oregon which i hope im home for. Our conversation with him interestingly enough ended up being a discussion about how the gospel is true. ANd how incredible that is. It was actually one of the coolest little thoughts I've ever had. so he's way cool. Also the Backstreet boys visited trondheim that night... it was pathetic. 

Wednesday was tromsø and that was also super fun. I LOVE going up and being with all the elders up there. I think thats one of my favorite things ever. AND I GOT TO GO ON SPLITS WITH ELDER GARRARD AGAIN!!! I don't think you realize how much i love him. He was the first one I trained in Bergen, and he is legit the coolest kid ever. And he helped me a ton. Interestingly enough we only had like 20 minutes and in that 20 minutes we found a lady from Bergen. :) i love gods sensse of humor sometimes. We really only stayed because we couldn't get a flight back that same day, so we ended up eating whale again... OH and i made homemade guacemole and chicken fajita's which is probably the most bomb thing i've ever made in my life. I really am becoming a quite profficient cook. :) That night there weren't enough beds so I slept in a chair, which was actually way cool because I slept by the window and as I was falling asleep, I saw a streak of green through the clouds, and almost had two bilnk twice because I thought it was a joke, but it wasn't and I fell asleep watching the norhtern lights through the cloudns. Our trip home the next day was also kinda funny befcause it reeminded me that only like 2 weeks before we had run the whooole way. I wish I had some pictures or something of where we ran. Good memories. :) 

As we were waiting to take off we had these suuuper cool trucks that looked way janky come over and spray us off of all the snow build up. It was crazy. good times. We also got to see 10 f-16s take off in front of us the day before. that was cool. 7 hours later we were back in trondheim and taught elinor who continues to sing to us while we teach her. But for realsies we had a way intense teach with her, and she really started to get that we are different than the traditions she grew up with. so that was cool. We had MMK with our super cool mmk leader benjamin weggerson, and on friday we had Elder Whitmer on besøk with us because his companions had left him for Ålesund. We taught this suuuper cool guy who I had made lunch for before named Trond and He is sooo cool. He really wants to come back to church and we commited him to taking all the missionary lesssons which was way cool. ANd on saturday, after having all three appoiintments fall through, we went to visit this finnish guy who was way cool. It was just really cool that he actually has a desire to turn his life around. And I could tell that he felt very good about us coming over. We're going back over tonight which should be cool. And sunday was moves call....

Speaking of not being able to choose what you do or where you go, and just enjoying it regardless, i'm moving on Wednesday. Down back to oslo area, though in Sanvika ward. Sooo its kinda like the rich suburbs of Oslo. I will be working as one of the Assistants which could mean a whole bunch of things I don't really quite understand yet. I know that as the mission gets bigger and biger their job gets more and more complicated. So that will be something completely new. I'm not going to share a ton of my feelings regarding this right now. But if this had happened before I would have been scared out of my mind. Worried nervous, and lacking confidence I could actually do it. The last part I still have some of for sure. I don't feel like I have come near as far as I need to, though I have come far. But its not in the worst way. I still feel like I have just as far to go as when I started, still things to improve, still ways to become more obedient, more christlike, better, more commited, you name it. But I recieved a really special blessing yesterday. And I just feel good about everything :) Sometimes it takes faith to work miracles you can see. other times it takes faith to work miracles you can't see, or no miracle at all. To trust that it was gods will not to have a miracle. But that He is waiting for something else. The whole feeling I got is: 'youve come far, and you've done great, but I need you to just focus on the now and give it every ounce of love and energy you've got' :) I miss you all. So much. That is getting worse, though not distracting, still very real. 

Anyways, I learned a ton of way cool things at church, and Ben came up to me and gave me his AP tips :) How to just use the priesthood and love and serve and leave everything else behind. :) Or i guess we just kinda talked about it together. Life is super fun. to top it off we went to the mckenzie's and got ambushed by 3 of their kids in a snowball fight. I think they won :) I slipped and fell and hurt my leg :)

ANd I think I've talked your ear off now :) I hope you know that I've given up on my journal writing because I always tell you more anyways. I still have other little journals I keep of other things but this is about all i got in other terms. :) MOm I love you ot death. I'm also excited for the 8 hour train ride from Trondheim to Oslo... yeay... Actualy itll be really pretty. I can't wait for you gusy to see some of my pictures :)

loves!

Christopher Elder Whetten

March 3, 2014

Mom!

I don't have a lot of time right now because I spent it all playing with elder clark, but I had a week that was awesome and I want to tell you about it. It's kinda of a followup from last week and everything that I was feeling there, it's just kinda a lot more clear to me now and I had some way cool experiences along with it. So imma just dive in. 

Monday we went out, and honestly didn't get that much, which is hard when you are going to be gone during the week. But regardless we had a good night. 

Tuesday, was hard. I dont really have time to go into all of the details why, but it just was. It was one of those days where you realize that you've been going for a really long time, and a whole bunch of things just start to mess with your head. when nothing super exciting is happening with your area you're brought back to the point where its really easy to throw myself down and to say that I must be doing something wrong. Despite the fact I've experienced this over and over, after a 5 hour trip from trondheim to Tromsø I was having a really hard time. Not that anyone really knew it, but I just felt done with everything. 

We were about to have another splits and I think I was just feeling the pressure that everyone expects you to have success and to help others, and I was afraid in a sense, and tired of the whole thing. My prayers that night were some of the most honest I've ever had with God. I came to the point where its not that I didn't have a testimony, I was just done. I give up. Its not worth it. I've tried for almost 2 years to not compare myself to others, and it still happens. I've tried for almost 2 years to have results and good things happen, and it just doesn't seem like i'm getting anywhere. Let it be known I was having a hard time. 

Wendnesday, was amazing. I woke up, and for studies I did a free write in my journal about all the different thoughts I had. I knoew that I needed Christs atonement. I didn't want to give up. I needed help to really want to be here still though. A mission is literally the best thing ever. But for many reasons it gets really really hard at times. SoWednesday was gods day to prove me wrong. I was feeling quite a bit better after a good studies, and when we went out, I honestly wasn't really sure what would happen. I honestly felt like I had lost faith in myself. Not neccesarily god. More just me. God kinda proved me wrong though. Or at least he lifted me up when I felt like I couldn't go any farther. In the 3 or 4 hours we spent on the streets that day, I don't think i've had any more success in my life. In terms of quantity anyways. And in a lot of ways quality too because most of them were norwegians. We knew exactly where to go knocking. We knew who to talk to, and we knew what to say. I and I learned a very important lesson that it is really God that is behind everything here. Not that I didn't know all these things before, but by the end of the day I felt great. And it only got better when I stuck my head out the window, and saw a streak of northern lights that night. We busted out of the apt. and ran to the nearest hill so we could see them better. They were still just off in the distance but they were still really cool. All in all by the end of that day I just felt Gods love. Thats what I bore my testimony about in sacrament meeting. I knew that what i've done is enough. It was an amazing experience where God just picked me up and took me forward. 

Thursday. Our plane boards at 6:20 in the morning. No problem right? We'll just call a taxi. I go change and Elder skinner Calls. its now 5:05. Wait. No one is available? All booked out? You cant help us? ok. bye. ... So wait. no busses. no nightbusses, no members, no senior couple, no car, no taxi, no anything. Well... We could run to the airport... it'll probbalby faster if we go over the middle of the island. Dude thats a 40 minute bus ride from here. its now5:20. Shoot. We're running. Pakc fast, Pray that we have God Speed and Get out. Its now 5:25, and we're hauling down the icy road. We've got a long way to go. I feel that everything will be ok though. 5:40. Wait our plane leaves at 6,55 right? nope. 6,40. Crap.  We find the cross country skiing trail that leads across the island. We slip and fall a few times, but get up and keep going. 6:00: We make to the main road again. We can see the airport but we're still a good ways away and we have to run around the airstrip. You're kidding right. We start sprinting. 6:09. We make it the Jekta senter. at the bottom of the airstrip. Our plane starts boarding... ( they started early) We are all cashed out. But the spirit says: You've got to keep going! You Cant give up now! DONT GIVE UP! So I grab his bedding and mine and take off again. This next run was the worst 10 minutes of my life i'm pretty sure. I think I know what it's like to run a marathon and throw up at the end. And It was made harder by the fact I had 35 pounds of extra stuff (i wieghed it). 3 times I wanted to just start walking. 'No you cant walk!" Every time I was told to keep going! 6:22 we made it to the airport. They would let us print off our tickets at first and then they relented and we ran! Tons of lines... We skipped and jsut went through. WE were COMPLETELY SOAKED at this point. mY suit jacked was completely wet. It was sooo gross. WE stunk. We ran through, didn't even bother to put on our belts or shoes ran onto the plane and the gate closed behind us. ... 6:25. We took the back 2 seats on the plane and collapsed. 

10:35 I got the best tasting powerade of my life. Stupid planes with no water. Long bussride home

11. Shower

12. WE go out with a member after grabbing a sandwhich and teach some old people while we're half falling asleep. The first lady asked for a blessing and we were able to do that for her. She has had her husband die just recently, and now she cant walk. But God does take care of us. He always helps us. She said that its really him that knows whats going to happen and what we can do. I was in complete agreence. Be at peace with what you have. Reap the peace that comes from your faith. 

5:30 Myren buys us kbab, and then we run to help George.

6:30 I'm afraid for my life because he drives no handed. 

7:30 We're at Missionary coordiantion meeting. I'm really tired. 

8:30 We run out to see a strip of norther lights RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS!!!

9:30 We get home and haven't seen any more. But we run out onto our balcony just to check. THERE WAS A HUGE BRIGHT SQUGGLIY LINE right over our heads. ANd more popped up. We started going crazy and i got some amazing pictures even with my little dopey camera. IT WAS SOO COOL!!!! They were the best lights anyone has seen in trondheim in years. We were going nuts. 

11 the lights have stopped. I'm going to bed. Heavenly father, thanks for the awesome day. :)  

That run taught me one of the coolest lessons on my mission. EVERy single time I wanted to give up. God said: NO. Not yet. Don't give up yet. Just keep going a little more. K i'm out of time. There is sooo much more!

The two black ninjas challenged the white ninja in our apt on saturday. needless to say, my closet door got broken, and our apt. got trashed in the fight. We went all out :)

And At the end, on sunday after talking with olea, I know why i'm here. Sort of :) I'm doing what God needs me to do. And I feel great about it. The whole rest of the week was amazing. WAy cool finding. random referalls. 

aNyways. 

I love you mom! 

I'll send some pic!