I am very excited to be in Narvik. It is quite a big change, but I am glad to be here. We have a branch of the church here with anywhere from 3 to 15 members each Sunday. We have very wonderful and faithful members. Narvik itself is fairly small in terms of population. It is very mountainous and beautiful. To travel here, I flew from Oslo to Bodø to Narvik on a small propeller plane from Bodø to Narvik. We have quite a bit of sunlight still, but it is getting darker and darker as well as colder and colder. We still do not have snow though.
We are the only missionaries for quite a ways. The closest missionaries are in Bodø and Tromsø. It is just the two of us in Narvik. We have a nice apartment, which even has a computer in it that we are allowed to use. We have one family with three children, but apart from that we do not have much else of a primary for now. I know that the gospel is true and that we live in a time of miracles. It is usually through small and simple things that these great things come to pass, but through those means and us the weak and simple things of the world, I know that the Lord truly doth confound the wise. One of the things I really like about being in the North of Norway in a small branch is the simplicity that allows us to recognize blessings more readily than I think we otherwise might. We can see more easily the progress we are making at times. Each individual always makes a difference, but that is more obvious when you have fewer parties.
We had a really cool experience this week while we were out talking to people on the street. We stopped a man who was pushing his young son in a stroller and started talking to him about the church and the restoration of the gospel. He was very positive, and Elder Copper realized that he was a man who had actually referred himself to the church on mormon.org, but the missionaries were unable to begin teaching him because he works in a city that is pretty far away, and we do not have a car. He lives in Narvik on the weekends though and said we could come visit the next day. We did, and he also came to church on Sunday. We will be meeting with him again on Saturday. He is a very kind, wonderful and strong man with a powerful faith in the Savior. It was truly a miracle that we were able to cross paths. I know that the Lord led us to meet each other.
I am also very grateful to be with my new companion Elder Cooper. He is so kind, considerate and unselfish. He is also quite a big fan of music, which is a big topic of conversation. I know that the Lord has a plan for each of us to prepare ourselves to return to live in His presence with our families. We must be willing to follow His plan for us. He does and will shower blessings upon us. Everything we have and are is a blessing. Thank you for the blessing you all are in my life. The Norwegian word of the week is flott, which means great.
Love,
Elder Ankenman
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