Monday, January 5th, 2015

Godt nytt år! Happy New Year! We were advised not to knock on doors on New Year's Eve, so we attended mass at the Catholic Church to see if we could talk with some people in a good environment. We gave some gifts to the Priest who we have become fairly close with. He is a very kind man. We left before too much of the party they were having afterwards began. I will be staying in Narvik at least until February 18th. I am excited. I think we will be able to get a lot of good things done. We will be visited by Elder Kopschke of the Seventy in about ten days. We will be traveling to Bergen, which I am very excited about because I have never been to the west before. I am sure I will learn a lot. We have had a family move into the branch recently who is bringing a great strength. They live in the Harstad area, which is quite a ways away, but they are at church every Sunday. I know that our combined faith truly does make a difference. Narvik is warmer than Alta, which makes it a lot more slippery. It has snowed more often in the time I have been in Narvik, but it has also melted much more often, so we had more snow on the streets in Alta. I have seen Northern Lights in both places. The people in both places are very kind.

I am very grateful for my testimony of the restoration and that God truly does live. He desires to be as close to us as we will let Him be. It is always wonderful to be able to fast and bear testimony. It is particularly inspiring to me to hear the testimonies of people who live in areas of the world where the church is small. It is to me a great testimony of the divinity of the work. We have been building up some momentum here and have been finding more and more people to teach, which has been a great blessing. I fasted specifically yesterday that we would be able to find and teach a family who would accept the gospel. That prayer was answered as we were able to teach a family of two parents and a mother-in-law who have a young son about the restoration of the church and the gospel. Many of the principles we taught, particularly that of a loving, personal God who is our Heavenly Father, really seemed to touch them. I know that the Spirit will bear witness of these truths to the honest and pure in heart. I am so grateful to have these truths in my life. I know that the gospel truly is the good news. I hope you were all able to scoop some joy. I know this is going to be a wonderful year. Two of my New Year's resolutions are to truly and actively consecrate myself and to exercise. I know that God is aware of us and will always be there to help us. The Norwegian word of the week is en forsett, which means a resolution.

Love,
Elder Ankenman