What a fantastic week!! :D Probably the greatest one in all of history! I'll give you all a quick run down of just how great it truly was-
On Monday, we took an ''essentials'' pday and enjoyed our time by teaching and finding new people to teach :) On the train ride towards Copenhagen, Sister Sorensen showed her amazing missionary skills and contacted a women who later accepted a Book of Mormon :) We were both so happy for this young woman- I know that as she puts in the effort to really learn from what she reads, she will find such great happiness awaiting her as she learns of God's love and strength that is available to everyone :) After a meeting in Copenhagen, we jumped off the train in Roskilde and switched companionships as I conducted my first 'exchange/splits' as a Sister Training Leader. I spent the rest of the evening with Sister Haag (a sister who came in with Sis Sorensen), as Sisters Williams and Sorensen headed back to Slagelse for the night :)
Tuesday was a great day with Sister Haag in Roskilde :) It felt so good to be back in that city! I look forward to coming back this summer! Sister Haag is doing so well on her mission so far- the language is coming along well, and she is a phenomenal teacher! We were able to teach my good old friend Thomas, who I haven't seen since the beginning of January when I was last in Roskilde! It was great to see him again, and to teach him more about Christ and the importance of using the tools that God has given us to get to know Him and His Son. Prayer and Scripture Study are such beautiful methods we have to recognize and understand our Beloved Father in Heaven and His Son, our Brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through prayer and study of the scriptures, we also come to recognize the divinity within ourselves, and become more confident and steadfast in our faith. As the Holy Spirit testifies to us as we diligently seek to hear and understand His voice, we will feel the power of confirmation of the things that we learn :) After all, we believe in God because we have recieved the confirming voice of the Spirit in our hearts <3 I know that God lives and loves us, and that He answers us with quiet but firm reassurances of the truth of His love and His help.
Also on Tuesday, all the way in Slagelse (about an hour trainride away from where I was in Roskilde), Sisters Sorensen and Williams were doing a great work in this cute little city :) Among the great miracles they wrought, they were able to be with our dear friend Marianne as she was interviewed to be baptized on Saturday (March 26). When one is baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they much go through an interview process, where after they have learned the doctrine, repented, and recieved a testimony for themselves of the truthfulness of God and the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are asked simple questions regarding their faith. After passing the interview, we know that they truly have a desire to follow the Savior Jesus Christ, and are thus cleared for baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
After that short explanation, I am excited to announce that Marianne passed her baptismal interview :) We now had to work on preparing the baptism for the coming Saturday and confirmation on Sunday!
But it would not be easy! All of the new sisters in the mission, including sisters Haag and Sorensen, had now been in the country for 30 days!! New missionaries always come to the mission headquarters for a training at this point in their mission, after they have expereinced and adapted to the first month of life :) So every single sister in the mission (because every sister is either being trained or is training) headed down to Copenhagen for a great 3 days of training.
Wednesday rolled along, and the entire day was filled with being trained and taught by our Mission President and each other :)
This was on the last night of all the training- we're all just hygge-ing and having it great!
during the training, this shot was taken of me and Sister Naylor (hey, shout out to our friends in common, Emily and Graham Allan!!)
When Thursday came around, we were all so spritually uplifted and ready for more missionary work, but the training wasn't done yet!!
We all got to go to the Denmark Copenhagen Temple!! :)
It was such a beautiful opportunity to enter into the House of the Lord and enjoy the sweet spirit that can only be found there! I felt the Spirit enter into my heart stronger than ever, and I feel so strengthened and ready to finish out this last week of my mission with all my heart, might, mind and strength! I know that the Temple is a holy place, and I definitely felt God's pressence as we opened our hearts and minds to His instruction and love :)
I also got to see this guy again-
It's great having a cousin in the mission :) Thanks for makinng life great, Elder Ericksen :)
We got home Thursday night, and we were able to visit with Marianne and set up the baptism we had been trying to plan for at a distance all week long.
On Friday, we utilized our pday hours from our ''essentials'' pday, and held a Vest Sjælland (West Zealand) District Birthday Party down in Nykøbing Falster (the Soelbergs reading this will recognize that as where Grandpa and Grandma Soelberg served while they were here on their mission back in the 90s :) ) It was really great!! Of all 6 missionaries in the district, one missionary of each companionship has a birthday in the next 7 days!! Elder Matthew Light will be 21 on the 30th, Elder Joseph Gudmundson will be 20 on the 31st, and I will be 21 on the 4th! Since we're all going to be so old, we partied as hard as missionaries can with ping pong, board games, cherades, and good food :) haha, it was great!!
After the quick festivities, we headed back to Slagelse and finished planning and preparing for Marianne's baptism :)
But this is where the greatest miracle of my life began. This entire week, though it was wonderful and spiritually uplifting, I was stressed behind the scenes as I was trying to figure out how the baptism would work! Marianne is a larger worman, and has many health issues, some of them causing her to be confined to a wheel-chair and unable to walk on her own. When friday night rolled along, we were still trying to figure out how she was even going to get to the church building, let alone in the water, which required walking down a narrow staircase into the font. There was no logical way that this baptism was going to work!
When we were leaving our apartment to visit her friday evening, I put on my coat only to realize that my nametag was missing- that was super frustrating! I had made this far into my mission without losing a nametag, and here we were, the 2nd to last week, and this one could be anywhere from Slagelse to Nykøbing! I was super frustrated, but offered up a silent prayer in my heart that we would be able to finish planning for this wonderful baptism for an fantastic woman of faith.
I searched around the apartment, but I couldn't find the nametag anywhere- I decided to let it go, stuck on another nametag on and headed out the door. Just as I was unlocking my bike and puting on my helmet, I felt something slip past my wrist and into my hand- I looked down to see my nametag! The one I had lost! Sitting there in my hand!! And in the very instant, the scriptures Mormon 9:19 and Alma 37:40 shot into my mind. God is a god of miracles, and those miracles are wrought by the power of God, day by day. The voice in my head whispered strongly to my soul- 'I am a god of Miracles- don't be stressed or worried. Everything will work out.'' I couldn't believe what had just happened before my eyes, but my soul was calmed and quieted, and we biked to our appointment with a fire of confidence burning in my heart.
When we arrived, everything worked out smoothly and we found a ride for Marianne to come to the church :)
Saturday brought a feeling of nervousness but excitement as we helped Marianne get ready for her baptism. We arrived to help pick her up, and she was so excited and happy :) We wheeled her out to a car, and she was on her way.
We went to the church and finished printing out the programs and making sure the font was filling. The Elders had been figuring out the best way to get her into the water, but nothing would work. They couldn't carry her down because of the narrowness and steepness of the staircase, and we were all stressing. But the peace spoken to my heart the day before was still resting on my soul- I knew that it would all work out.
As it turns out, Marianne and the elders were blessed with strength and security as we accomplished the impossible. Marianne, an old woman who physically cannot walk, WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS with the assistance of 4 missionaries dressed in white. She was baptized by the power and authority of God, and she then walked back up the stairs, and was confirmed the next day :)
Sister Morgan Soelberg, Marianne L, and Sister Hayley Sorensen :) What a great day!!
This was such a great miracle to me! I know without a doubt that God's angels were around us, helping the events play out the way they needed to. The faith and hope of everyone around us was strengthened as we witnessed this miracle in our lives.
I wish I could express all the feelings of my heart right now, but I just cannot convey my heart through this computer!!
I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He provides the way for us to find true hapiness and accomplishment in this life, and prepares the way for us to continue along the path of happiness through the eternities :) As we do our best to follow Christ in our lives, miracleswill happen! And God will always let us know that He is there for us!
I have cherished this time I have had to be a full-time missionary of the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel at a loss of words to think that this is my last time emailing everyone as a missionary. I can't imagine my life without my name badge on, but I feel such an exhilerating rush to know that this is only the beginning! The skills and knowledge I have gained about the world, about myself, and about God have forever changed my life!
I know that God lives! I know that Jesus Christ came to the earth to provide the way for us to come back to Him! And I know that God is a god of miracles, and that we can be those miracles for others, just as they can be for us :) The people I have met and the friends I have made will always be engraved on my heart, right next to the name of my Savior :)
I know that Christ truly came and performed the Atonement for all mankind. I know that as we follow him, we can truly find new life :)
I am excited to talk to you all, and to actually see you all again shortly :) Know that God loves you, and is always reaching out, all the day long :) Please accept Him and His help. Please accept the love and help of others. I have learned that as we are in the service of our fellow men, we truly are in the service of our God (Mosiah 2:17). I have felt His strength and love in my life, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity I have had to serve Him. I have come to know Him, just as I have come to know myself.
I used to think I knew who I was and what I could do for my God. But now, I truly know who God needs me to be, and what I can do to for Him and His children.
I express my love and gratitude to God, in the name of His Beloved and Blessed Son, Jesus Christ, amen.
-Søster Morgan Brooke Soelberg
