Gotta throw a shout out to the next Shanklin to become a legend. Even though he already is. Leaving to the MTC in a matter of days that can be counted on both your hands. Mind blowing. Keep it real brotha.
Miracles!
So this was a great start to Thursday morning. We woke up and when we went into the store beneath us, we found a shopping cart full of dreamworks films for only 20 kr each, which is like the equivalent of 3 or 4 dollars. They were in both Norwegian and English so I of course bought like 14. Word.
Not Miracles...
Well this Wednesday I had to travel to Sandvika to renew my residence permit in Norway. I did it there and not in Oslo because there was no option on the website to choose Oslo when you sent in your application, so I just picked the next closest place. Well when I went there the guy was a total turd. "You don't live here so I can't help you". Uhm dude, I'm registering to live in the country, Whether you take 15 seconds and do it right now or whether some guy in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean does it, I think is irrelevant, stop being a grump."Needless to say I walked out without much accomplished. I was however impressed with my ability to counter-argue in the Norwegian Language. #goingdownwithafight
We ended up going into the office in Sandvika and working with the office couple there to get it done. After a while everything got sorted out, the thing that made it even more difficult was that I lost my church issued debit card earlier that week. Lame. All should be good though, we got scheduled with the place in Oslo...sorry ladies, I won't be coming home anytime soon!
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| Pictures taken in Sandvika while waiting for the office to call to tell him what to do about his situation |
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| Another picture in Sandvika |
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| Oslo |
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| The view from their running trail in Oslo |
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| A Jellyfish commonly found in the waters |
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| Oslo where Elder Shanklin runs in the morning with his companion |
Transfers
The Shank is staying in Oslo for another 6 weeks. I've got no complaints there. Elder Ellsworth will be bailing out to Stavanger which he has mixed feelings about. I will be getting Elder Clark who was a zone leader up in Trondheim before this. It should be a good new experience. Elders Childs and Halverson just got called as zone leaders and I love those guys so I hope there's a chance to serve with them in the future.
United Again
Elder Nielson was called to be a trainer this transfer so on Friday he came down to Oslo for a meeting with President. His plane didn't leave until 8 o clock so from 2 to 6:30 he was working with us. We took a trip out with Elder Ellsworth and Drage to a door knocking area and then split up. Working with Elder Nielson was unreal. If you really wanna pray for me, pray that I get companioned up with that guy one day. He's a good friend and it was way fun to work with him. Best hours of the week for sure.
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| Elder Shanklin and Elder Nielson |
The Ball is Rolling
Things are really picking up here in Oslo. We've been really blessed and my testimony is strengthened every day. Lots of fun experiences and good times. The Lord has been putting people in our path and it's been a huge blessing. Sometimes you don't even feel worthy of the blessings you get but hey, totally not complaining. Great week though, our zone put up incredible numbers so I'm in a great mood. The work in Norway is coming along.
Our Best Friend
Okay so I may have made a mistake in my last letter, the Chinese guy Charlie (mom, he's cool with his name being on here) is the one who will be getting baptized this weekend, not our Fresh Prince man. Not sure if that was clear. Anyways though, this baptism has not been smooth sailing and nor do I think it will be this last week. Things have been absolutely crazy. Going into Sunday though we thought everything was good, but at 7 o clock he called us and said that he had bed bugs in his apartment and would have to leave as soon as possible. He either had to find someone to stay with by the end of that night or he would have no choice but to go to Sweden where the hostile places to live are way cheaper. So our day in church was a hunt for members who would let him stay at their house just for a week or so. It was a ridiculously tiring day. I can't even explain it. We ended up finding someone and may I openly pronounce blessings on that mans head. But the madness didn't stop there. Charlie couldn't come to church which was fine because he had to take care of moving out and stuff. However he came right at the end and afterwards we talked to him, explaining how we found someone for him to live with and stuff. He was happy but you could tell something was bugging him. Turns out some lady he met during lunch at a free food place gave him a hard time. Told him not to get baptized, that he was being brainwashed, that he needed to run away, and other ridiculous stuff. Normally I think he could have handled it but he was so tired and the day had been super stressful so it got to him. Which I totally understand. So our Sunday was spent being a friend to him. Leaving the 99 for the 1 and making sure that, baptism or no baptism, we just want whatever is best for him. He really is a great guy and his desire to change is outstanding. This will be a rough week and it will be stressful but I think it will turn out to be a memorable one. To end I'd just share a story....as we were discussing the bedbugs we mentioned how Satan was trying to use all means to stop his baptism. That this was an attack on him. He paused for a moment and then said something along the lines of, "Maybe this is actually God blessing me, now I can be around a member of the church all the way up until my baptism. I don't have to be around bad influences."
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| Elder Shanklin and Charlie |
Clear Eyes, Full Heart.
Elder Shanklin
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