"I double dog dare you" Mar 24 letter

So the theme of my companionship with Søster Hale is definitely daring each other to do things. Like not inappropriate things or things that are against the rules but things that make a missionary stretch and really push beyond their comfort zone. So that has been a lot of fun. For example, one night we had about 20 minutes before our curfew and so we were just out on the street contacting. We saw this big group of guys on their way to a frat party coming up towards us. Sister Hale says "oh no, I just prayed to God for Him to send us more people to teach and He answered by sending all of them. I dare you to contact them." And so as they were coming up to us, I stopped and just yelled "Hey! Hej med alle jer! Hey all of you! We are out talking to people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ." And some of them laughed and walked away but about half stopped and listened. So now Søster Hale dares me to go contact groups of people all the time. Also, Søster Hale one time dared me to use the word "sloths" when talking to someone on the street. So I did. Don't worry, I worked it into the conversation so the person didn't think I was too crazy. 

I've made a lot of new friends in Aarhus. Like the other day, when the Sister Training Leaders were up on visit, we met this young man named Ben. We were at a bus stop and I saw this young man and I thought "hmmm, I should talk to him" but the bus was coming and I was a little hesitant to talk to him because I didn't know what to say, so I shrugged off that prompting. But thankfully, Heavenly Father gave me a second chance and I sat down on the bus and the young man stood right next to me. I knew I needed to talk to him and so I asked him where a certain stop was (which was good too because I'm still struggling with trying to find my way around). He answered and then asked where I was from. I told him the U.S. and he asked why I was here. I explained who I am and why I am in Denmark and he got excited to meet a mormon face to face because he's done a lot of research into religion but hasn't found something that can really convince and help him believe in God. So my stop came up quickly and I had just enough time to get his number and later that night we texted him and set up an appointment for the next day. He came with lots and lots of questions and doubts but we were able to bear testimony and invite him to learn more. He's interested in hearing what we have to teach so that was a great miracle. Also, he is a magician and he is way good at card tricks and he mesmerized Søster Hale and I for about 20 minutes with his awesome tricks. We made him do the same trick about 5 times in a row because each time we couldn't get over how magical it is. 

We also met this young man who is half danish and half spanish. We met him at the bus stop (bus stops are just the place to meet people in Aarhus I guess). We talked for a little bit and then set up an appointment and it went pretty well. We also invited him to basketball and he came and loved it. After basketball, Sister Hale and I had a service project and I just felt like we should ask him to come with so I did and he said that he'd love to come help us work in someone's garden. So he came and spent 4 hours mowing and pulling weeds and planting trees. 

This week, we also spent a lot of time with a member in the ward named Maria. Maria is so wonderful. She takes care of all the missionary, all the time. For Christmas, she put together a goody bag for EVERY missionary in the mission. She sacrifices so much for us and then she is also an amazing member missionary. She shares the gospel with everyone she meets and it's inspiring to me. 

Well I love you all and hope you have  a great week! 

Love Diana

Break in!

So...here's the thing. we went shopping yesterday and then when we got home our apartment had been broken into and so that's why I couldn't email yesterday because we spent our whole day trying to figure out what was going on......APRIL FOOLS! Did I get you? Haha :)

Well, really we didn't have time to email because life is just too dang busy in Aarhus so we had to switch our Pday and email today instead of yesterday. 

This week has been very busy and kind of crazy. It's ranged from taking care of this old Jewish woman who has broken her arm, to eating a kebab and teaching a group of 20 British students in the kebab shop, to suddenly getting my hair cut short at a lunch appointment (something I had not planned on doing), to getting hugged and kissed by a drunk lady, to having a member stick me with a needle, to giving a talk in church and yes, just so many things. 

Life is busy and as a missionary, the busier you are, the better off you are. It's always nicer to have too many things to do than to feel like you can't do anything. 

I'll tell a few stories of my week. So we met this old Jewish lady a few weeks ago (named Dasha). She invited us over a couple times and then invited us over for dinner. We called the day before to confirm our appointment with her last Friday and she said "I can't make you dinner, I'm sorry, I've broken my hand". She sounded really confused and distressed so we said "hey, that's fine, we can come help you out with your house since your hand is broken." She liked that idea, so we came over and knocked on her door and she yelled at us to come in. so we walk in and it's really dark inside her house (also she is a hoarder).  We see her and this is the order in which I noticed things: 1. she has no pants on 2. her arm is in a big sling and her hand is three times normal size 3. not only is her arm in a sling, her one side of her body is just really black. It looked like she had been hit by a car, although she said she just fell in the basement. So that was shocking. We helped get her into bed and cleaned up a little in her house. It was sad though because we couldn't do a ton to help her because we are not nurses and we don't know how to change her into night clothes or give her a bath or do half of the things she asked us to do. We were able to call the home nurse that visits her and she will come more often now to take care of her. 

Also on Friday we went to eat lunch at a member's house. I had heard from other missionaries that you had to be very careful at her house because if you did anything wrong, she'd grab a sewing needle and stick you with it. Sister Hale told me that if you ever spoke any English you would get stuck. So I thought "hmmm, I wonder if that's true" and I tested it out and yeps, it's true. I got poked with a needle because I said "thanks" instead of "tak" but this member is really sweet. Quirky but sweet. Also right as we were sharing the spiritual thought, her neighbor who cuts her hair just walks into the house with all her hair supplies. She had accidentally come an hour early. But that was fine with us. We started chatting with her and I showed her how beat up my hair was and she just said "sit down, I'll cut it" and so within 5 minutes, I got a new hair cut.she took about 4 or 5 inches off. But hey, I got a free hair cut in Denmark which is a rare thing. 

Things are really picking up here and Sister Hale and I are having a blast. Sister Hale is so sweet and really fun. The ward is great and I am getting lots of eating appointments (so if I come home a little rounder then it's definitely because of Aarhus). And I'm meeting some of the best people in world here, like Maria. I love Maria. She is amazing. An angel to missionaries. 

I love you all and am praying for you too! 

Love Diana

Yes, most of these are from our dinner/cleaning the church with the Romanians, but hey, they really like pictures and we have a lot of fun together. Who would have guessed that 4 mormon missionaries and a group of 4 romanians would become such good friends in Horsens Denmark of all places? But I love it :) Søster Ogrill and I decided that we are going to be BFFs with these guys.

here are a few more pictures of us and Ankha's birthday breakfast :)

The birthday cake Søster Orgill made from scratch

Michael instructing us on the white handbook. He'd be a great district leader

Us and the Romanians, trying to be cool

The whole gang again (I did not know we were taking another picture so I was fixing my cardigan)

A nice normal picture of all of us.

To all my wonderful family and friends,

This week has been so much fun and so wonderful :) 

First of all, Kaj was baptized this past weekend!!! Yes, that is what I am talking about. His baptism went really well and a lot of members came to show their support for his decision to be baptized. He felt a lot of love and after he was baptized, he bore his testimony. he also bore his testimony at church yesterday. It was so incredible and inspiring to see the change that has occured in him. I remember when we first met him, he told me over and over again that this Gospel was just so new to him and that it would take him a long time to get used to it. Well, he's being to get used to it. And as my good friend, Ruslan told me yesterday "anyone can get used to anything, which can be a very good thing or a very bad thing". That is so true. I've seen people get used to the good and seen the light of Christ grow stronger and stronger within them. I've also seen the opposite, where people allow themselves to slip little by little until they're nearly blind and they have a hard time seeing the light of Christ. Or they even blatantly close their eyes to it. But thankfully, this Gospel is to help the "blind receive their sight". how grateful I am for that. So Kaj's baptism was a wonderful experience and the ward is really helping and getting him home teachers and getting him a home teaching companion and people to visit. I'm very excited to see his continuing growth in the church. 

Another great thing this week: we are friends with this girl named Ahnka from Mongolia. She invited us over to her apartment Tuesday and she made us some traditional Mongolian food. It was so delicious. I'm going to have to get the recipe because it was really good. When we were over there, we found out that her birthday was 1 March and that she had no plans for her birthday. Sister Orgill and I thought about that and talked about it and decided that we should do something for her. We called some members and asked them if we could come over to their house and do a "birthday brunch" for Ahnka. They said of course and so Saturday morning, we were able to eat some american pancakes and then just regular cake for Ahnka. We also gave her some American candy and a Mongolian Book of Mormon. She was so touched that we found a book in her language and she said she was very excited to read it and couldn't wait to get started. 

Then this week we were able to see our Romanian friends again. Those guys are great. They came to the baptism and then they helped put everything away and set the chairs up for church. They were more than willing to help us out. Also, we ate dinner with them that night at the church. We had tortilla soup and apple pie. We also had a competition of who could eat the spiciest food. We had a cup full of tortilla soup and then put lots of hot sauce in it and then had to drink it all in one gulp and the first person to drink water or saft, lost. I don't remember who exactly won, but I did not lose. Also, these guys would be the world's best mormon missionaries. They have read nearly all the rules in the white handbook and they remember them too. They are also really good at reminding us of our rules. Like if we for a second leave our companion, they will call us out on it and say "hey, you're not supposed to be without your companion!" So yes, they're great. They are super good about keeping us on the ball and being obedient. I'm grateful for good friends like them :) 

Anyways, It was a wonderful week, full of lots of celebration, food, and cake. Can life get any better? No, I don't think so. These people that I've met here have really shown me the power of good friendship and how much we can learn from each other. I've definitely learned a lot from them and I hope that they have/will learn something from me. 

Also, I totally want to visit Romanian now. Anyone want to come with?

Love, Søster Briscoe 

Pictures:

Me and Ahnka, eating delicious Mongolian food

Me and Mary Joy (a member from the philipines) making breakfast (also, anyone notice my earrings?)

Kaj's baptism :) 

There is Sunshine in my soul today! :-)

Dear Family and Friends,

Oh my word, this week has been amazing. Can I just tell you all how much I love life? I love life. This time I have spent on my mission has been the best time in my life. And I love being able to tell other people that. They always seem so surprised. They ask me how I like being a missionary or what it's like to have so many rules and I can always answer honestly when I say that I absolutely love it and It's been the best time of my life so far. Then people ask me why and I have the chance to explain to them the joys the gospel brings and the happiness it brings into my life and the joy I get when I see the gospel blessing other people. I love being able to just explain that to people and this past week has been full of opportunities to do that.

We've been meeting a lot of young adults recently (because of the university close by) and we seem to running into many many Romanians. Like the other day, the Elders met a Romanian student who has read the Book of Mormon several times and the Bible many many times and he is really committed to try to "explain religion out of existence" as he puts it. We met with him at institute and he wasn't super interested in staying but sister Orgill and I convinced him to stay because we knew if he stayed, he would have a good time. So he stayed and he did have a good time and lightened up and saw that we, mormons were regular people.

Then just the night after, Sister Orgill was on splits and ran into 2 romanians who knew the romanian the elders had met. In fact, one of them was his roommate. So we invited all of them to come to church and guess what? they all came :) the elders investigators and ours. And after church, they invited us over to eat Romanian food later that night at their place. So we went and we met their other roommate and ate some traditional Romanian food. We ate pork and some stuff that was made of sheep cheese and special corn flour. Also, they made us American pancakes for dessert. It was awesome and we didn't argue once, we just had the chance to explain to them the joy we felt as missionaries and the wonderful joy the gospel brings into our lives and they were really respectful and interested. They even wanted us to stay and play a game after dinner. Sadly we didn't have time but they are definitely interested in coming to institute and church again. So that was very exciting.

Things are all going well in regards to getting Kaj's baptism ready. Sister Orgill and I cleaned out the font and that was fun. It has not been used in quite a long time so when we turned on the water, rust came out of the pipe but it was red so that was creepy. but it's all good now. Nice and clean and ready to be used this Saturday.

Also, Amanda May got her call to Denmark! what in the world? Crazy. The Lord loves me so much :) She'll love it here. It's the best mission in the world.

Other than that, things are picking up lots in Horsens, tons to do and I've started learning Romanian, haha. The Lord is leading us to the elect every day and it's so exciting to see.

I'll send lots of pictures of my life now.

Romanian style dinner :)

Dear family and amazing friends,

 

This week has been such a great one. It has just been full of happiness and joy because I've been able to see the people that mean so much to me here in Horsens make amazing strides in coming closer to Christ.

 

The best experience we had this week was with one of our investigators who is the young man we met about a month ago (the one who had lived in Salt Lake city for like 10 years but didn't have good experiences with mormons). He came to church yesterday for his fourth sunday and then after church, we went to dinner with him at a member's house. On our way to dinner, were were walking and talking with him and he asked us how the "preaching of the gospel was going" and I told him "Great! How is the gospel going in your life?" He told me that it was going good and that he had made a new years resolution to give up coffee, drinking and smoking. That really surprised me because I remember him telling me when I first met him that he would not give those things up. I asked him why and what had changed and he todl me that it was because of spending time with the missionaries and coming to church and meeting people who barely knew him and yet were so nice to him that had changed his mind and his heart. He said that he wanted to be closer to Christ and have more of Christ's light in his life. He then told us that he had already given up cursing because he wanted his thoughts to be purer. He talked about his desire to prove himself to God and his desire to serve other people. It really was one of the best moments of my mission so far and it made me so happy to see this huge change in this young man's life and even in his countance.

 

Sister Orgill and I have been very blessed this past week to find many of the Lord's elect here in Horsens. We stopped by one of our investigators but she wasn't home so we decided to knock the apartment complex. The very last door we knocked, a young mother answered. She is from Poland and speaks limited Danish. So we told her we had a book in Polish we wanted to give to her and we set up a return appointment and came back with a polish book of mormon and restoration pamphlet. Most of the lesson we had with her when we returned was just us pointing to a section and asking her to read it but the spirit was very strong and later her husband and 6 year old son came home and we had the chance to teach them because her husband speaks english. It was a great experience to show me that the Spirit speaks to people in their own language and will help others understand the things we cannot explain about the Gospel.

 

And things are just going so well with our older investigator who is getting ready to be baptized very soon. I'm very excited for him because he will be the first person in my mission that I have found, been through the whole teaching proccess and then seen baptized. Everyone else I've taught, I get transferred right before they're baptized but not this time. Anyways, he is awesome and a great example to me.

 

Miralces happen every day. Remember that. Just open your eyes to them and you'll be surprised at how much the Lord blesses you and how many miracles happen every day. As a missionary, every person who smiles back at you is a miracle :)

 

I love you all!

 

Søster Briscoe