Joy In The Journey!! Søster Schneck Wk 68

What's up?! Can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since I moved to Alta! These past few weeks have been such a great time for growth and reflection for me and I have been able to see God and His children in a new light. My motto this transfer is “Joy in the Journey” and I can truly say I've never felt more joy, smiled more or laughed harder than I have in the past few weeks. It's definitely been hard filling our empty days, with the days getting shorter and colder, but somehow the joy and light that I do experience, outweighs the difficult moments. 

Here are some moments that have brought me JOY these past few weeks! 
☆ We moved into our new home! We are staying in an AirBnB and it is so cozy!! 
☆ We don't have a car quite yet, so we get to walk to the city sentrum everyday! It's about a 30 minute walk, and there isn't a soul in sight, which is unfortunate… BUT, me and søster matthews have had some of the best conversations ever!! Going on long walks is one of my favorite things in the world, so it's been a huge blessing for me!
☆SØSTER MATTHEWS BRINGS ME JOY!! Nothing like living in the north pole with one of your best friends 
☆ we have messaged SO many girls on facebook (probably half of Alta at this point lol) but we've been able to meet with one almost every day. Its been so fun to get to know new people and try and tell them about Jesus 
☆We went to the språkkafe that these two old ladies run at the library and they were freaking out that there were “GIRL MORMONS” in Alta now HAHA 
☆ we are here to mainly help a Family who all have recently been baptized. They have 4 teenage girls and 2 friends who we are focusing on and so we decided to have a weekly “book of mormon party” we dance, sing, eat snacks and then read the book of mormon together! It's definitely a challenge to get them to all pay attention, but they are starting to understand and appreciate the stories
☆ God has been blessing Alta with the most BEAUTIFUL sunrises and sunsets! 
☆ Søster Matthews and I have a laugh attack at least once a day and sometimes that's what keeps you going HAHA 
☆ we saw the northern lights!
☆ DISCO WITH GEIR!! Geir is a 60 y/o member with autism and LOVES music!! So after church on Sunday we had grøtt with him and his mom and then had a DISCO!! We sang songs and danced and it was so FUN! PURE JOY!! Afterwards he wanted to say a prayer and in His prayer he thanked God for our disco, and I started to cry, because I could feel God's love for him and I just knew that God cares so much about his discos with the missionaries, definitely a moment I will never forget! 
☆ we had an amazing lesson with this lady! She loved the BOM and wanted us to come back and teach her brother. 
☆ The senior couple from Bodø came up to visit and took us out for dinner! 
☆I GOT TO GO BACK TO TRONDHEIM!! It was such a blessing to go back and see all of my favorite people!! I went on splits with Sister Nartker, who I trained back in February. It was a perfect day in my favorite city, but I was so excited to get back to Alta, as crazy as it sounds. I'm really trying to live in the moment and look to the future with hope and joy, and right now my future is in Alta Norway! #rememberlotswife 
☆ a ysa from Kristiansand texted me and told me she is going on a mission! HAPPIEST DAY EVER!! 

There are so many ups and downs to missionary work and life in general, and it's really easy to focus on what is going wrong. I'm not going to Lie, at the beginning if this transfer, I was really focusing on the negatives of my situation; moved to the northernmost city with No people, no light, no members, no car, no apartment, no friends to teach, my credit card stopped working, we had no sim card, we are 6 hours from the nearest missionaries, and our missionary app wasn't working. I was upset, and frustrated and missing my perfect missionary life in Trondheim. I just had to laugh at the situation because if I didn't laugh I would've just given up and cried lol. But during one of my personal studies I randomly came across this talk by President Monson that changed EVERYTHING. He said, “Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey” 
GRATITUDE has brought JOY in my journey!! Ever since I read this talk, I have started a gratitude journal and write down little things throughout the day I am grateful for, and my days are so much more JOYFUL! The work up here isn't magically easier, and I don't think it's ever going to be, but I have come to love the hard and growth that is coming from it. I am grateful for the CHANGE and CHANCE to become more like my Savior and to help others do the same. I would invite you all to express your gratitude for the things you are grateful for and fill your life with a greater sense of JOY!! 

YOU ALL bring me JOY and I am so grateful for you!!

♡søster Schneck 










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